Roseanne Barr and Dissertations
November 3rd is Roseanne Barr’s birthday. Now, I ask you, can anyone come up with a more appropriate dissertation mentor? Not so fast. You just might be surprised at her words of wisdom for dissertation students…
Facts and data, rather than opinion, are the two cornerstones of problem solving… We must have facts and data in order to recognize where there is a problem!
– Roseanne Barr (Yes, Roseanne Barr!)
Surprised? See, I told ya!
The source may be surprising, but when you’ve got a point, you’ve got a point!
Academic writing is not opinion. It must be fully supported by citations from the relevant literature. But, it’s important to note that academic writing isn’t simply a matter of reciting facts and data, either.
One of the principal complaints I hear from students working on their literature reviews is that they don’t know how to properly paraphrase. If you’re worried that you aren’t rearranging the original author’s words sufficiently, then you’re going about it the wrong way.
Your lit review shouldn’t be a list of “He found…,” “She discovered…,” and “They concluded…” It should be a story that you’re telling about yourproject. The citations aren’t the star of the show; they’re supporting actors. They’re there to lend credibility and support to your arguments.
So, yes, your dissertation writing must be factual and data-driven. But, it must also present a clear train of thought supporting your research questions and your plans to study and resolve those questions.
Women are cursed, and men are the proof.
– Roseanne Barr
That sounds more like Roseanne Barr. Moving on…
In order to be able to write a good joke, you have to find the truth.
– Roseanne Barr
It’s all about the planning. Know your subject well, and you can write about it. Whether you’re writing jokes or a dissertation, it starts with your understanding of your material.
I’ve found that the best way for doctoral students to truly understand their dissertation material is to begin with the end in mind. #CoveyHabits #Habit2Rules
And, the end you should consider is collecting & analyzing your data. To be fair, you still have plenty of work to do after this point before you graduate. But, the thing is that when people hit this point, they dograduate. At this point graduation becomes a fait accompli.
So, if you want to graduate, it’s really important that you have a solid plan for collecting & analyzing your data.
Everything here must be done twice as no one can do it right the first time.
– Roseanne Barr
Well, I don’t know about everything, but, when it comes to dissertation drafts, I’d say that twice is pretty optimistic!
In many ways, the dissertation is different from anything else to you’re accustomed to in school. It’s longer than any paper you’ve ever written. But, also less structured than any other school project. And, even though no one’s telling you what to do, they sure want it done in a very specific way!
In most classes you’ve taken to this point, you write your paper; you turn it in, and you get your grade. And, in most pass/fail classes, it’s really easy to get that C or better so that you can pass the class.
Well, the dissertation is a pass/fail class, too. But, the only passing grade is an A… And, failure is not an option. If your draft doesn’t merit an A, your committee will tell you why and expect you to “fix it.”
This can be frustrating for students who just want to “pass” their dissertation, but there’s good news, too. You see, if you know how to interpret the feedback from your committee members, then you’ll understand exactly what type of dissertation they want to see in order to approve it.
You don’t have to worry about what everyone thinks, just your committee members. And, they’ll actually tell you exactly what you need to do; you just have to understand how they’re trying to explain it.
