PhD Thesis - Hurdles and Progress

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DAY 90
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I finally decided to start writing my Ph.D. thesis. Surprisingly on Day 90 (Counting down to Day 1 when I should have a semi-finished draft), my biggest accomplishment was the decision to start. Writing the thesis is enough work in itself, so I would make more minute-long videos just for you to have a sneak peek into my progress. Of course, I have an ulterior motive - to practice speaking in front of a camera. Speaking to myself is awkward, but I'd try.

DAY 89

After battling with a set of codes that won't run, I decided to do something else - focus on the corrections from my midterm review. I knew I had to combine three variables to form 27 different combinations for my study. Who would have thought that figuring something that basic would prove elusive? After spending about an hour reviewing elementary combination mathematics, I figured out my 27 combinations. Whether this will eventually make it into my thesis remains to be seen.

DAY 88 - 87


The corrections from my midterm review were a major setback to my progress. Further analysis and experiments make the thesis impossible to write since the new results obtained would need further inferences. It is hard to imagine any part of the thesis that can be completed with an incomplete set of results - no conclusions can be made, the introduction can not be completed, and neither can the literature review. Setbacks like this affect morale. At the end of the day, I reminded myself that it does not have to be perfect, it is only a draft. I will continue tomorrow.

DAY 86-84

I settled for writing the literature review first. Naturally, I tried to update my collected literature to the most current literature available to me. I also concluded on the theoretical ramifications of my research after long and boring hours of reading textbooks. Who would have thought that much of writing doesn't involve writing? As I fiddled with the theory and revamped my literature I found something that literally sank my heart - my research problem (in its current form) does not exist anymore. This is no good news.