cindywindy Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 On a scale of 1 to 4, how anxious were you about writing a thesis? 4 being very anxious. 1 not at all. I am very anxious. Is there anything I can do to calm myself...
Porridge Posted January 30, 2013 Posted January 30, 2013 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 on the anxiety level. Up to chapter three and at a stumbling block!
Dal PhDer Posted January 31, 2013 Posted January 31, 2013 Try and write a little bit every day. It can seem overwhelming to sit down and write an entire thesis..but if you start early and just write down thoughts and summaries from what you read, you will realize in no time that you have a lot to put towards your thesis. aec09g, Enamored, Shari A Williams and 1 other 4
uromastyx Posted January 31, 2013 Posted January 31, 2013 Advisor told me: "if you want to get into a top PhD program your thesis needs to be near-publishable."
viggosloof28 Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Begin as early as possible! I'm going to rate my anxiety (on your 1-4 scale) at a 2.5. Almost halfway done, but defending relatively soon on March 26th. I had better be really productive the next few weeks!
biotechie Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 I just started writing mine; I defend in early June and want to have a thesis draft to my advisor by May 1, earlier if I get it done. I'm going to annotate two papers every other day and add that info to my thesis draft. I figure I'll get my lit review out of the way and then piece it all together. Take the time to download a nice organizational and bibliography program line Mendeley (FREE). I've been using it, and it is amazing. It stores 2 gb of my papers online so I can access it anywhere. It allows me to group my papers into folders, highlight, make notes, and insert citations into word documents. I love it, and it has reduced my stress level tons. www.mendeley.com My stress level is probably about a 2.5.
Stingermania Posted February 18, 2013 Posted February 18, 2013 1. I am almost finished and everyone at my class is just starting. Starting early is advised.
yhakak Posted February 19, 2013 Posted February 19, 2013 I just started writing mine; I defend in early June and want to have a thesis draft to my advisor by May 1, earlier if I get it done. I'm going to annotate two papers every other day and add that info to my thesis draft. I figure I'll get my lit review out of the way and then piece it all together. Take the time to download a nice organizational and bibliography program line Mendeley (FREE). I've been using it, and it is amazing. It stores 2 gb of my papers online so I can access it anywhere. It allows me to group my papers into folders, highlight, make notes, and insert citations into word documents. I love it, and it has reduced my stress level tons. www.mendeley.com My stress level is probably about a 2.5. I like mendeley...however, if most of your sources are books, archive files, that sort of things (as distinct from PDF's where mendeley is at its most awesome) look at zotero (www.zotero.org). Also free, has a browser plugin so you can suck sources into your list of materials automatically, it has the same word integration as mendeley and cloud storage, etc. I can't even think about going back to doing citations by hand, especially since i'm up to about 100 sources for my MA thesis and counting... the other thing i would say is find an organizational scheme that works for you...i'm a planner, so i have an excel spreadsheet with my chapter headings and how i see the thesis coming together, and how long each chapter should be (just so things stay more or less balanced). Then, when i write i update the spreadsheet with the actual pages so i know where i stand in terms of not getting stuck on one chapter, etc., and I can always go back to a different chapter for a while as a break. Obviously, working like this is not for everyone. I know it would drive some people batty, the point is find something that allows you to get an overview of the process and not just the pages you happen to be working on... it also helps that i have an excellent advisor, i send him chapters and i get back detailed comments in my word files, he shares some of his research for an upcoming book with me, etc.... biotechie 1
theregalrenegade Posted February 19, 2013 Posted February 19, 2013 Anxiety level - 3 I have one section done - since it was a paper I did for a seminar. However, to integrate this section will take some reworking and editing. Since my thesis is based on a three case study, I'll have a large introduction (historiography), a section for each case study, and a conclusion. What I just wrote here is the most planning I've done so far. I'm currently finishing up my source list for my adviser, who at this point I wish was more of a hard ass, but I'm trying to impose my own strict deadlines. I know I'll need to master the skill of self-discipline in order to be successful as a PhD! As for the writing, I'm going to take Dal PhDer's advice and just write everything down - all my thoughts and summaries of the sources I read. I feel that doing this will show me the patterns and themes I'm looking for and help solidify my argument. Good luck everyone! I wish there was a check-in thread for our thesis progress.
helmsdeep Posted February 19, 2013 Posted February 19, 2013 When I was writing my thesis, I would listen to inspirational music like Eye of the Tiger and Rocky theme to get me motivated and focused.
Enamored Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 My anxiety level.. I would say it was 2 till last week but it's definitely gone up to 3 now. I have written three chapters and am gearing up for the main chapter (data analysis). I have always loved to write but it is always very difficult for me to get started. The first two paragraphs take longer than anything, but when that's done, it gets easier. When I talked to my adviser last week, he said: "Just keep writing, don't stop. Write whatever you can, but write every day." I'm trying my best to follow his advice.
memyselfandcoffee Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 When I was writing my thesis, I would listen to inspirational music like Eye of the Tiger and Rocky theme to get me motivated and focused. the a-team theme tune is also good-- its funny tooim currently doing a funding application, and my anxiety is about a 3
vtstevie Posted March 7, 2013 Posted March 7, 2013 It flucuated Early on it was a 1, there seemed to be sooo much time. Then I messed up the timing and produced a VERY shoddy outline and my adviser almost dropped me and it skyrocketed to around a 300, then I got into a groove for a while and it settled to around a 3 until the very end when it was a 4 during my thesis defense. So, I'd say it averaged around a 3.5. Don't get overconfident - it's easy to fall behind VERY fast, or so I learned the hard way.
nackteziege Posted March 7, 2013 Posted March 7, 2013 My anxiety level has shifted. It was about a 1 when I felt like I had all the time in the world. Then I would think about it and get panicked and overwhelmed, in part because I hadn't started anything, and it would go up to about a 3. Now I've had to work on it pretty much constantly for a week to prepare for a conference...and my anxiety is about a 2. I've gotten a good bit of writing in and now it'll be a matter of making my methodology more robust. But the point is, just get started! That was probably one of the scariest parts; I was so hung up on the fear that I wouldn't find a good "story" or whatever...and so far my findings are pretty lackluster and inconclusive, but oh well. It happens.
nehs Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 It was 4 when I started out 3 months ago. Gone down to 3 now and I am about 40% into my thesis. My main concern is the "main body" of the thesis.
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