Thing 3: Talk to people and listen; subscribe to newsletters
This is the single best
time-saving strategy you will have.
Doing things yourself is admirable, but learning from others saves
valuable time. Those persons even one
step ahead of you hold the answers to many of your questions. Through personal communication, social
networking and subscriptions you can acquire the equivalent of a lifetime of
research experience.
Strategize to network with
your peers through many levels of association.
If you are in a cohort, you have an automatic network. If not, start creating one with your doctoral
classmates and those of varying stages of their program. Also, as soon as you are
admitted to your program, join the student doctoral association.
Create opportunities to
talk to your advisor and professors they have been through the whole process
many times and can give you excellent advice.
Also the librarians are experts at maneuvering through the research. They
can also tell you with which library systems your university has share agreements. This will expand your research resources.
Attend proposal and
dissertation defenses. Select defenses to
attend for both qualitative and quantitative research. Focus on those which are through your
department. Follow a proposal defense through to a dissertation defense in
order to understand the entire process. Ask
for copies of the presentations, proposals and dissertations for your
records. At the end of each session,
make notes of key ideas. If you can, try
to network with doctoral candidate to get additional advice.
Search the internet for
blogs and newsletters. Subscribe to those
which are most relevant to your research and needs. If it looks remotely helpful, bookmark or
archive it.
In conclusion, isolating yourself during
graduate school will cost you time.
Communication benefits you in expanding your assemblage of resources and
knowledge. Cultivate this to your
advantage. Happy communicating!
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