![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gina_r_snapeWell, today was . . . interesting. I barely made it out the door for my continuing stomach ache and other ailments. But made it I did, and now I can go home and sleep.
Or read.
As I am beta reading a book chapter for a friend, on zombies, and quite excited about it too.
Soon there will be no rest for the weary, as I have tasks for my dissertation. My committee chair (her name is Cathy) gave me an outline to plug in dates. Curious? Here is the TASKS column from my advisor's outline.
TASKS
* Open Word file created for dissertation and begin entering notes, including: thoughts about research question, study aims and hypotheses, study methods, presentation of results, data analyses to conduct, notes for the Discussion section on study strengths & limitations and future research
Review Word processing skills
* Basic skills
* Heading levels and table of contents
* Working with Tables
* Track changes
* Discuss file naming conventions for drafts of dissertation and for feedback on drafts
Write Problem and Justification section
* Purpose and Study Aims
* Rationale for Study
* Relevance for social work
Conduct literature search
* Obtain bibliographic database software
* Learn to use bibliographic database software (Endnote)
* Obtain sources identified in literature search
* Create outline for literature review
Write literature review
Theory Section
* Construct theoretical model
* Write narrative for theoretical model
Methods Section
* Formulate study hypotheses
* Create tables to be display study results
Design study
* Develop study design
* Select measures
* Design data entry and data management system
IRB application
* Write IRB application
* Create consent form
* Submit IRB application
* Respond to any revisions required by IRB
Write Methods section
* Study Design
* Measures (IV, DV, potential moderating variables – if any, covariates, potential confounding variables)
* Data Collection Plan
* Data Analysis Plan
Prepare for proposal defense
* Outline for presentation
* Prepare PowerPoint slides and/or handouts
* Notify Dean of Doctoral Program, arrange for outside reader, schedule a time, reserve room
Conduct data analysis
* Frequency distributions for all variables
* Examine procedure (Analyze Descriptive Explore) for continuous variables (put continuous vars in DV window, put ID in Label Cases by window, and check both in Display)
* Discussion with Committee regarding variable transformations needed
* Recode variables
* Add description of variable transformations necessitated by examining study data to Data Analysis Plan
* Create codebook
* Document creation of data files
* Conduct exploratory bivariate analyses
* Conduct analyses for describing sample characteristics
* Complete Table describing sample characteristics
* Write narrative for Table describing sample characteristics
* Conduct bivariate analyses
* Complete Tables displaying results of bivariate analyses
* Write narrative for Tables displaying bivariate analyses
* Conduct multivariable analyses
* Complete Tables displaying results of multivariable analyses
* Write narrative for Tables displaying multivariable analyses
* Meet with statistical consultant (if necessary)
Write Discussion section
* Summary of findings
* Interpretation of findings (including comparison with previous empirical findings and theoretical models)
* Strengths and limitations
* Future research
* Implications for practice and policy
* Implications for social work education
Revisions for final draft
Prepare for dissertation defense
* Outline for presentation
* Prepare PowerPoint slides and/or handouts
* Notify Dean of Doctoral Program, schedule a time, reserve room
Graduation
* Complete paperwork for degree
* Rent cap and gown
Not all committee chairs bother with this sort of thing, but I think you can see how well organized she is, and how something like this is very supportive of staying focused and getting work done.
And I love how the last dissertation task is "Rent cap and gown" :-)
Or read.
As I am beta reading a book chapter for a friend, on zombies, and quite excited about it too.
Soon there will be no rest for the weary, as I have tasks for my dissertation. My committee chair (her name is Cathy) gave me an outline to plug in dates. Curious? Here is the TASKS column from my advisor's outline.
TASKS
* Open Word file created for dissertation and begin entering notes, including: thoughts about research question, study aims and hypotheses, study methods, presentation of results, data analyses to conduct, notes for the Discussion section on study strengths & limitations and future research
Review Word processing skills
* Basic skills
* Heading levels and table of contents
* Working with Tables
* Track changes
* Discuss file naming conventions for drafts of dissertation and for feedback on drafts
Write Problem and Justification section
* Purpose and Study Aims
* Rationale for Study
* Relevance for social work
Conduct literature search
* Obtain bibliographic database software
* Learn to use bibliographic database software (Endnote)
* Obtain sources identified in literature search
* Create outline for literature review
Write literature review
Theory Section
* Construct theoretical model
* Write narrative for theoretical model
Methods Section
* Formulate study hypotheses
* Create tables to be display study results
Design study
* Develop study design
* Select measures
* Design data entry and data management system
IRB application
* Write IRB application
* Create consent form
* Submit IRB application
* Respond to any revisions required by IRB
Write Methods section
* Study Design
* Measures (IV, DV, potential moderating variables – if any, covariates, potential confounding variables)
* Data Collection Plan
* Data Analysis Plan
Prepare for proposal defense
* Outline for presentation
* Prepare PowerPoint slides and/or handouts
* Notify Dean of Doctoral Program, arrange for outside reader, schedule a time, reserve room
Conduct data analysis
* Frequency distributions for all variables
* Examine procedure (Analyze Descriptive Explore) for continuous variables (put continuous vars in DV window, put ID in Label Cases by window, and check both in Display)
* Discussion with Committee regarding variable transformations needed
* Recode variables
* Add description of variable transformations necessitated by examining study data to Data Analysis Plan
* Create codebook
* Document creation of data files
* Conduct exploratory bivariate analyses
* Conduct analyses for describing sample characteristics
* Complete Table describing sample characteristics
* Write narrative for Table describing sample characteristics
* Conduct bivariate analyses
* Complete Tables displaying results of bivariate analyses
* Write narrative for Tables displaying bivariate analyses
* Conduct multivariable analyses
* Complete Tables displaying results of multivariable analyses
* Write narrative for Tables displaying multivariable analyses
* Meet with statistical consultant (if necessary)
Write Discussion section
* Summary of findings
* Interpretation of findings (including comparison with previous empirical findings and theoretical models)
* Strengths and limitations
* Future research
* Implications for practice and policy
* Implications for social work education
Revisions for final draft
Prepare for dissertation defense
* Outline for presentation
* Prepare PowerPoint slides and/or handouts
* Notify Dean of Doctoral Program, schedule a time, reserve room
Graduation
* Complete paperwork for degree
* Rent cap and gown
Not all committee chairs bother with this sort of thing, but I think you can see how well organized she is, and how something like this is very supportive of staying focused and getting work done.
And I love how the last dissertation task is "Rent cap and gown" :-)
