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Category: planning

Habits Can Be a Good Thing

Habits Can Be a Good Thing

Importance of Good Habits “I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.” ~ Charles Dickens Having good academic habits reduces the chances of making mistakes in your work. Attention to detail is critical in the dissertation process.  Cultivate Good Habits To Replace Bad Ones Car manufacturers responded to government mandates for seatbelts in cars and in turn, most of…

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Where Is Your Data??

Where Is Your Data??

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Here you are! You finally made it to the dissertation phase of your doctoral program! You worked hard to complete all the coursework, did all the assignments, and got good grades. NOW, You are out of the coursework and ready to start your dissertation. Nobody will give you assignments to submit for a grade. No classmates. Only you and the dissertation. Of course, your dissertation Chair will give you feedback but you are expected to develop and support a plan…

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Looking for a way to quickly develop outlines for your writing?

Looking for a way to quickly develop outlines for your writing?

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We all have great ideas but sometimes can’t get them on paper. Start With Brainstorming to Get Those Ideas Out! Brainstorming has different meanings for different people. For me, I take the term literally. It is a storm in my brain and storms aren’t really controllable. That meshes with the purpose of brainstorming, to record as many thoughts as possible without any analysis or screening. That comes later. What will I miss if I stop and try to categorize everything…

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Get Organized!

Get Organized!

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Every year, it’s the same old thing: New Year Resolutions and Good Intentions topped with a big helping of Early Disappointments. Still, we do it because some will make it and the result will be personal, social, and/or business  successes. This is the time of year that many will clean out closets and rearrange  things to prepare for the new year. It’s the time of year when business folks feel pressure to organize their tax information to save a few dollars. Sometimes,…

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So You Want to Finish Your Dissertation?

So You Want to Finish Your Dissertation?

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How to Get Your Dissertation Rolling Doctoral programs end with a dissertation but almost half of students who do the coursework never finish the dissertation. Why do you want to complete a dissertation? I wonder sometimes if students entering the process ever really ponder this question. Why is it important to know your reasons? Simply put, the more motivated you are, the more likely you are to make the sacrifices needed to succeed. Reasons like, “my friend decided to do…

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Finding Time

Finding Time

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One of the concerns I frequently hear in a graduate program is not having enough time to get all the research, reading, and writing done. Students working full-time jobs, having family responsibilities, and taking classes experience high-stress levels at best and at worst, will drop out of their online education programs because of it. How many hours each week does it take to do quality academic work? That may seem like a loaded question but really, how much time does…

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Population and Sampling

Population and Sampling

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Population and Sampling What Do I Need To Know About Getting The Data For My Research? As a graduate student, what do you need to know about collecting your data? How will you determine where to look, who or what to use for the data sources, and what you can expect to do with the collected data. Doing all of these things correctly can determine whether you will have quality scholarly work or just another worthless paper; the latter also…

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The Dissertation Process- Seeing the Big Picture

The Dissertation Process- Seeing the Big Picture

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Do you want to maximize your time and hard work completing your dissertation? That will take some planning but it is difficult to plan without understanding some things about dissertation activities and how they overlap. The dissertation process can be overwhelming to many students – actually to most students – because it is such a different process than anything else that has been done in coursework. It is a longer-term process and requires careful long-term planning and short-term planning besides…

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Are You Interested in Finishing Your Dissertation?

Are You Interested in Finishing Your Dissertation?

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  I love birding (most people call it bird watching). For me, there is nothing equal to an afternoon sitting around feeders or walking in the open spaces to see what species are there. I can identify many birds by their calls and flight patterns. Each species has its peculiar behaviors that persist even when at a feeding station. A nuthatch will land on a pole and skitter down it to get a seed from the feeder, then go back up only…

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