Unstable interests have made PhD studies difficult

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Rodland
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17 Sep 2015, 5:19 am

I have been a PhD student since 2006 - so that makes almost ten years.

I generally have some indecisiveness and this causes some trouble at times but the most dramatically it has affected to my PhD studies.

I wrote my master thesis with an attitude that "I can make this thesis now on any topic and I can think about my real interests later". This worked because master thesis was not so huge thing to do (I'm ridiculously slow due to ADD symptoms but I'm hardworking which partly compensates).

First four years of my PhD I spent without managing to start a thesis. In the end, everything just felt unsuitable. Also conceiving topics to meaningful research plans posed challenges (well, probably for everybody). Then I managed to start a thesis in 2009 and worked around four years with it. But at some point I had lost motivation and started to work blindly without reflecting conclusions (partly also because the task felt so gigantic I felt I just have to keep on writing as fast as possible). When (2014) I realized that attempt would still take years since I had screwed it, I decided to try another topic which I had lately become interested in. But now I become very unsure about that interest and I am puzzled once again, what sort of topic I should take.

At this point I'm pretty pessimistic that I could find an interest strong enough to write a doctoral thesis. But still, this research thing seems to be a thing for me, and I really would not like to give it up. And I do not have much idea what else I would do. I probably cannot become a professional researcher since I am too slow, odds for that look very small. But at least I could make this PhD thing ...if I just had a topic I felt comfortable with.

One idea I have got recently is that I would try to work on topics that are at the general level such as methodological, theoretical or philosophical issues. Perhaps it's more difficult to sustain interest in particular empirical issues. There is also a faint hope that I could get my previous interest back. But I don't know about that.

Any comments are welcome.



QuantumChemist
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17 Sep 2015, 9:23 am

What area of study are you in?

The reason why I ask this is because in my area of science, the research adviser is supposed to guide students towards a project that would be the center of their studies. The project may never pan out, so you have to be adaptable to new projects as needed. (I had three projects from the adviser that simply did not work for one reason or another and the project that I developed that earned me the PhD.) The dissertation is written based upon the data collected from the research experiments. If you do not have enough data to finish the dissertation, the research adviser should be pushing you to finish the research project before starting the writing stages. This is from a chemist's viewpoint, so it may not be as relevant in your field of study though.



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17 Sep 2015, 9:48 am

QuantumChemist wrote:
What area of study are you in?

The reason why I ask this is because in my area of science, the research adviser is supposed to guide students towards a project that would be the center of their studies. The project may never pan out, so you have to be adaptable to new projects as needed. (I had three projects from the adviser that simply did not work for one reason or another and the project that I developed that earned me the PhD.) The dissertation is written based upon the data collected from the research experiments. If you do not have enough data to finish the dissertation, the research adviser should be pushing you to finish the research project before starting the writing stages. This is from a chemist's viewpoint, so it may not be as relevant in your field of study though.


This is the same with my field, sociology. My original idea was to study the feeling of "difference" in autistic adults. As in, when did you first feel "different" and tell me about it. I realized that it would be difficult to study because neurotypicals might also feel "different." My advisor tried to guide me toward a quantitative study where I would just look at existing data about autism and write about that. I was able to hammer out a topic with him by considering both my interest and what was practical.

Could you change your committee members to someone that might help you a little more?



Rodland
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17 Sep 2015, 10:01 am

QuantumChemist wrote:
The reason why I ask this is because in my area of science, the research adviser is supposed to guide students towards a project that would be the center of their studies. The project may never pan out, so you have to be adaptable to new projects as needed.


Yes, I'm in the social sciences and it makes a difference though I guess also local practices matter. I think it is not impossible for students in my department to get sucked into some project and get their PhD done that way but usually they have to come up with research plans (or at least sketches of plans) done by themselves.

It probably would be easier to me if I had more contact with other people. I can never discuss about my studies with anybody. I probably should have contacted my supervisor more often and find also other people to talk about the studies...



QuantumChemist
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17 Sep 2015, 12:39 pm

In my field, graduate students get tested on how well we can build our own research project up as a pre-qualifier to gain PhD candidate status. This happens right after the cume exams. (If students cannot do this part, then they are moved to the Masters level automatically. If they survive that, then they have the chance to reapply to the PhD program from the beginning.) The project has to be unique in thought and ability, with a high chance of success. Many people fail at this stage of the game as they have a hard time coming up with a new idea that has not been done before. You may have to take a long look at your project and see what you can come up with to make it stand out from those who are in your area.

I really do not know what to say about your timeline on the PhD. Is this average in your PhD program? I am not trying to be insulting, just trying to understand the differences to what I went through. At my particular graduate program, we had a strict deadline of eight years to pass the defense or no PhD, that was told to us as we entered the program. There is an appeal process, but there has to be certain rare conditions for it to be allowed. One also loses departmental support after the fifth year (ie no TA pay), so you either had to rely on external grant funding on your research (ie. RA pay) or take out loans that you have to pay back later. That part helps motivate students to get the work done as soon as they can to prevent going into the red financially.



Rodland
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17 Sep 2015, 1:29 pm

QuantumChemist wrote:
I really do not know what to say about your timeline on the PhD. Is this average in your PhD program?


It is supposed to be like four years here but probably takes more in the practice (on average) because many PhD students do some other work since they can't find funding for their PhD project. After seven years, you have to send some new documents to prove that you are still pursuing the PhD and after that every three years. I have not got any funding - I have never had any good research plan after all. I have mostly lived by the minimum welfare grants which is shame and a sin, but after my studies started to go badly, I have not been motivated to do anything.


SocOfAutist wrote:
Could you change your committee members to someone that might help you a little more?


Yes, I should find people from the department with whom I could be in touch with.



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17 Sep 2015, 3:19 pm

At this point, I think you need to take charge and not depend on others to help you.
You probably need to pick something that you have worked on for awhile and has some conclusions and go with that for your thesis, even if it is not that interesting anymore.


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BobbyKr
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14 Oct 2015, 5:14 am

I am not quite sure what you mean that you are allowed to spend so much time working on a thesis you never seem to come close to finish. But I can relate that, first of all, I have already spent 5 years in university and currently am in year 3 again, since I changed my course once and later took a year off contemplating dropping out again... And I have no desire to graduate this time either :D. Secondly, even though I rarely talk to people I study with, I have a strange feeling like I want to study for years more not graduating as I like the idea of being a fresher again and again :D. It's distressing, yes, but I start to hate people I study with after some time, so I look forward to some change then... I know it's weird and meaningless, but cannot help it. I guess, I'll end up studying for decaded too... I like learning new things but dislike formal education with its bureucracy and writing papers and so on...
And changing interests surely can be an issue- I first studied one subject, then turned to another, now think of yet another. You should try to find some true inspiration, if you find it, pursue that interest as much as you can, but I know that sometimes it feels like 'this is the thing' and after some time it feels 'nah, no way it is'.



Marvin_the_Martian
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14 Oct 2015, 9:00 am

Rodland wrote:
When (2014) I realized that attempt would still take years since I had screwed it, I decided to try another topic which I had lately become interested in. But now I become very unsure about that interest and I am puzzled once again, what sort of topic I should take.


I understand that you're in social sciences. What is the proposed topic of your thesis? I'm not a doctoral candidate but I have some familiarity with graduate school having earned a Master's in Education. I can understand the allure of graduate school and if I could have earned a living as a professional student, I'd still be at the university.

How is it possible that your supervising professor has allowed you to work for 10 years without even having a thesis? When you came up with your original thesis (which you later said was too broad), didn't you have to run this by your supervising professor?



QueenBeeSylv
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14 Oct 2015, 2:03 pm

It happens - I got myself out of academics, but I saw and heard a lot.

The thing that hits me - if it is that hard to get into a topic - it may be wrong. A woman I knew at the U and have kept up with had to drop out- uber stress - anmd is a lot better for it. Are there things outside you get excited about?



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16 Oct 2015, 11:37 am

QueenBeeSylv wrote:
It happens - I got myself out of academics, but I saw and heard a lot.

The thing that hits me - if it is that hard to get into a topic - it may be wrong. A woman I knew at the U and have kept up with had to drop out- uber stress - anmd is a lot better for it. Are there things outside you get excited about?


I'm starting toward this camp myself. I started thinking about how much I'd like to know something about brickmasonry and construction. I haven't officially told anyone yet, but I'm going to take a year off and not work on my PhD until my son is in school. Maybe a break like that would help you regain your interest?



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16 Oct 2015, 7:24 pm

SocOfAutism wrote:
QueenBeeSylv wrote:
It happens - I got myself out of academics, but I saw and heard a lot.

The thing that hits me - if it is that hard to get into a topic - it may be wrong. A woman I knew at the U and have kept up with had to drop out- uber stress - anmd is a lot better for it. Are there things outside you get excited about?


I'm starting toward this camp myself. I started thinking about how much I'd like to know something about brickmasonry and construction. I haven't officially told anyone yet, but I'm going to take a year off and not work on my PhD until my son is in school. Maybe a break like that would help you regain your interest?


Taking a break between the Masters and PhD studies is not a bad idea if you use the time wisely. At least you would be mentally rested before jumping right in to the deep end of the pool (literally!). Trust me, you will feel like that sometimes...