I Can’t Get No…Diss-er-ta-tion

I hope you folks have figured out that when my blog gets to the point where I am writing like a third grader about the Westminster Dog Show (of which I didn’t even get to watch in entirety) that I must be at a breaking point.  Yeah, sorry about that last post.  I was even embarrassed as I was publishing it.  I am (and have been for about the last month) totally consumed with attempting to plan and write my Ph.D. dissertation prospectus.  I am hoping to have something to show my committee approximately two weeks prior to my prospectus meeting date of March 19th.  Do the math.  That is REALLY soon.  I am starting to panic.  At this point, I really don’t have anything that I am proud to present at the meeting.  If you have some room on your prayer list, please add me to it.  I am getting so tired and frustrated.

If you don’t know, the prospectus is the first “mini” draft of the first three dissertation chapters. It is usually about 20-30 pages.  If my prospectus is approved, then I can begin preparing for and writing my official proposal (the first full draft of Chapters 1, 2, and 3), take my comps, apply for IRB approval, set my proposal meeting date, and apply for admission to candidacy.  Once I achieve candidacy status and get IRB approval I will be allowed to start my data collection for chapters 4 and 5.  I am hoping that I can do all of that this semester (or at least the 8 weeks of it that are left).  Keep in mind that I am still taking three classes and working full-time.

So, that is where I am at the moment.  This arrived in my in-box last week.  It was an attempt to bring some humor to the situation that my fellow Dissertation Divas and I find ourselves in right now.  If you are a doctoral student in the early dissertation phase or if you know a doctoral student experiencing this or if you know one who has experienced this then you might find the video below funny (and sad), too.  Pay close attention to the words.  The lyrics are pretty clever and depict my feelings at the moment.  At least, by the looks of this video, I am not the only person who has ever felt this way at this point in the process.

I find myself particularly relating to the “I don’t have a prospectus and I think they are starting to suspect this” line.

Source: You Tube - (I Can't Write) No Dissertation -Metrics Gang