Dissertation motivation!

sali_mali

I've gotten demotivated all over again and my first draft is in this Mondy :eek:

I'm hoping posting on here will get me going again...

pavlovs_dog

tynna dy fys mas a dim slacio, sali mali!

does that help?

pavlovs_dog

this dissertation is turning into more of an emotional rollercoaster than i had ever imagined it could be. you name it, it feels like ive felt it! i 'swing' from a sense of being overwhelmed by the magnitude of it all, to great excitement when i find a good book or article, to dispair at the fact that research seems never ending, to euphoria after a solid day's work at it, where ive made visible progress. im going to need a holiday to get over this!

ive turned a corner with my research. ive reached the stage now where ive read so many books that in every new one im reading im seeing a lot of what ive already read elsewhere being repeated, which is usally a sign that the reading is slowly drawing to a close. alas, it hasnt stopped my "books/articles which have been cross referenced which sound rather promising list" from growing. where do you draw the line? how do you know when to stop? is it possible to overcome the "must read more in case there's some life/dissertation-changing idea out there that im yet to discover" urge? im at a stage where i feel like i ought to be writing (due to how late in the year it is rather than anything else), although i dont particularly relish the idea of sitting down and putting fingers to keyboard.

anyone with some wise words to guide me?

pavlovs_dog

oh and with regards to a bibliography, which i was going to start typing up as a means of easing myself into the writing part gently ... do i quote everything ive read, even if i wont be quoting it? or just the materials that i intend to quote? with a normal essay i'd quote everything, but ive never done research on this magnitude before. dont want to spend hours typing something that wont be necessary!

danielfulshaw

Hi

What are you studying subject wise and is it BA, MA??

Best

pavlovs_dog

degree in welsh and its a BA

Grace_

Pavlovs_dog - I know exactly how you feel! I thought all my essays were out of the way, and I could carry on with my dissertation-only to find out that I had totally forgotten about a piece due tomorrow! I've spent the past few days working on it, but I feel really ill today, so I'm struggling with typing/reading/blowing my nose!

Right now I'm feeling like I just want uni to end :-(

Oh and about the bibliography...I'm under the impression that you only reference what you've actually put as a footnote in the work, and everything else goes into the bibliography....Might be better to wait until someone who knows more about it posts a reply :-)

Does anyone have any tips on how to beat a cold and push yourself to do work? Or to get motivated?

danielfulshaw

Cool-hardest part from my humble experience is when you have a stack of notes and knowing how to use them. Best advice I got was when you do your research, maybe for an hour at the end of each day, write up some thoughts. That way you begin to engage with the notes in a more interactive way and when you come to do the writing part, you are not trying to do it just from notes. What you've written will be a good prompt, seem less daunting and act as a helpful reminder. Hope that's some use as it worked for me when I did my MA - when you've done and finished it, you'll feel such a huge sense of relief!

pavlovs_dog

Grace_ wrote: »

Does anyone have any tips on how to beat a cold and push yourself to do work? Or to get motivated?

plenty of fluids, warm ones if you have a sore throat. i find lemsip max strength cold and flu tablets will 'dry up' even the most heavy and stubborn of cold, so if you dont have an issue with any other the ingredients, maybe you could try those.

take to the sofa/ the bed with your duvet, books, paper, pencil case etc and just do little bits at a time. even a little bit is better than nothing.

today i worte myself a list of things i needed to do, before i would even contemplate going out tonight (normally see my mates and go to the pub on thursdays). it had 9 items on it and i wasnt allowed to even think about switching on the PC until i'd done at least 5 of them. i only have one left to do. its so motivating knwowing that im going to clear my to do list that ive just gotten on with it

BubbleFrogette

Motivating yourself to write-up....I can sympathize as it's a killer! Here are some things to bear in mind from someone who graduated with a PhD in Biochemistry a year and a half ago;

First thing to say is not to feel overly guilty about procrastinating or feeling un-creative. It happens to everyone. Anyone who tells you that they have already completed their thesis and got it printed, bound and attached gold bells to it before you have even written a word is either a liar, a geek or in a different year to you!

Remember, something is better than nothing. So even if your thoughts are jumbled, write something down. You can edit it and re-arrange later, but once you have some words on a page you will feel better and more in control.

A thesis, or even a dissertation, is a very personal piece of work. Only you (and possibly your supervisor) can know everything about your project. Thus, analysing how other people's research/writing is going in relation to yours is not particularly useful. So don't be worried/distracted about what others are or are not doing. Just concentrate on your work.

Keep it all in perspective. Try not to worry too much about not having started, since worrying is a fantastic catalyst for inaction! Instead, put your energy into just getting on with it!

Finally, you could keep your writing on-schedule by using your free-time in a kind of ration/reward way. For example, I used to allow myself to go out on Friday night if I had written X amount of chapter 2 etc.

Best of luck people! :beer:

P.S. I used Endnote and it was a great time-saver. It does a boring job very quickly and also ensures your references list is perfectly consistent throughout. You can usually get discounted copies from your Uni's IT dept.