displayname Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 [apologies for cross-posting - I posted in "Research" but realized the general grad community might have good insights.] Hi, I am wrapping up about 9 months of dissertation research, and I am really struggling. I realize that everyone struggles to an extent with research, but I find it difficult to put aside my concerns at this point. I jumped through all of the hoops my department put in place to prepare students for research, and received feedback and encouragement from my advisers on my proposal. Since then, however, my research has felt very disorganized. I meet and write my advisers regularly with updates and have recently explicitly asked for help. In response, I usually receive encouragement and/or fairly general advice that temporarily alleviates my anxiety but does not help with the substantive problems. I feel like I am making uninformed research decisions and continually starting anew in an attempt to keep motivated. I am expected to begin writing soon, and I am completely unprepared for this phase - in fact, I don't feel much closer to having a defined project than I did before I went into the field. As a result of these problems and more generalized doubts, my morale is low, and I'm finding it difficult to believe that I'm making real progress. I sometimes wonder if I should commit myself to more serious changes - like designing a new project, or committing my energies to training myself for a non-academic path. Other times, I feel like my modest attempts to do so are distracting from progress with my research. I'd appreciate any advice or thoughts. Thank you.
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