The greatest psychological challenge to writing a dissertation is that it requires you to claim that you are an expert. When you write a thesis, you need to see yourself as an expert ready to take your place among the other experts and authorities in your field. This claim to be an expert in your particular area is a psychological leap that most of our educational experiences don't prepare us to take. When were you ever regarded as an expert on anything as a student?
This is the real secret of success behind a successful dissertation. Your success is no longer measured by your ability to learn the right answers. Your success comes from your ability to ask new questions and provide new answers as an expert.
In reality, for many of us, the entire education process throughout our lifetimes can be summarized by the phrase: "Learn the right answers." The right answers were defined by the "experts" who taught us, the "experts" who wrote the books we read, and the "experts" who judged our exams, essays, and papers to determine if we had
How Long Should A Good Dissertation Take?
Most of the time academics confuse time with quality. When a project takes a long time, it's almost always believed to be more valuable than one completed more quickly. While this is common belief, it is incorrect.
Most dissertations can be completed in a year or less, with two exceptions. The first is when your study will require data collection or longitudinal research over a long period of time. For example, if your research design requires observation over a two year period, you won't be able to complete the dissertation in a year or less.
The second is if you do not work consistently on your dissertation. Likewise, you can not expect to work on the dissertation in a random manner and believe you'll finish quickly.
Importance Of A Good Relationship With Dissertation Advisor
Working well with your dissertation advisor is an important aspect of a successful dissertation process. The more you and your advisor respect each other and work well together, the better and easier your dissertation process will be.
A good advisor will support you to grow as a scholar, while helping you navigate the dissertation process so you can complete easily. However poor advisory relationships are created when there is a difference in level of emotional match between advisor and advisee.
The lack of this emotional match may have great impact on your dissertation process and success. Common problems that might show up are:
- When you need reassurance from your advisor but s/he doesn't return your phone calls or not being constructive as you would expect
- You feel stressed and worried about what your advisor thinks of you as your last meeting didn't turn out well
- The fear and relationship tension impact your capacity to actually get your work done.
