- Think Attainably
Coming into the thesis process I thought my thesis had to be this great, groundbreaking research that was going to completely turn the field upside down. Let me start by telling you that this will not be the case. The greatest gift I can pass onto you is this tough love: very few people are going to read your thesis in its entirety. Very few people outside of your advisor and peers are going to care. And you aren’t going to turn the world upside down with two semesters worth of work.
This is not to say don’t try and don’t care, but to say get over your superiority complex and put unrealistic expectations at bay early on in the process. It took me three topics to find a feasible topic. My first two topics were too lofty, too time-consuming, and lacked sufficient data.
In order to succeed, you must get over yourself and get over perfection. How you will do in the course and how you will feel in the process is very dependent on how you walk the fine line between attainable research and meaningful research. Ask yourself: does this add a further contribution to the field? Is this something I can do given the resources and time I have?
- Find an Advisor Early
The greatest resource for success is the advisor. Many of my greatest obstacles stemmed from the fact I did not have an advisor early on. During the V491 planning course, I changed topics twice because there were no advisors with expertise in my desired areas. Coming into the V499 writing course, I was prepared to drop the course or change topics for a third time. I didn’t even really have an advisor locked in until two months into the writing course.
I think so many of my problems could have been solved had I had an advisor earlier on. Additionally, I think I would have wasted less time in V491 if I had simultaneously looked for advisors and chosen my research topic at the same time, instead of chasing poor topics down rabbit holes for most of V491.
Everyone will tell you to communicate with your advisor frequently, but communication with an advisor early on is just as essential.
- Before Anything, Review The Literature
My next greatest struggle stems from having an insufficient literature review. Because I changed topics literally on Day One of V499, I did everything on an extreme time crunch. I also had most of my data already collected but never had a sufficient literature review. The literature review was, in my opinion, by far the weakest element of my final manuscript. Literature review is like leg day. Tempting to skip, but critical to the overall build.
- Break it Down into Parts and Do the Small Parts First
Finally, I spent so much time stressing about my overwhelming to-do list. Break everything down into parts and tackle the small easy stuff first. You can’t expect to run a marathon without taking a first step. Small, attainable steps will generate the momentum to tackle the harder, more time-consuming parts. Set small goals and focus on meeting those goals. Stop stressing about how much you have to do and start tackling what you can do.
Sophia Downey is a senior at the Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Beginning in the Summer of 2022, Sophia will enter the public sector consulting field in Washington, D.C. This research was completed for the O’Neill Honors and CARI programs.
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