It’s that time of the year. Tomorrow is the start of the Fall 2013 semester at USF (and other places too, I’m sure). For many graduate students it means new batches of students to teach and continuing research challenges (e.g. grant applications, experiments, data analysis, proposal defenses, thesis/dissertation defenses, publication writing, conferences, etc…). And so the wheel turns…
Just as I feel that GAU is making progress this year, I also feel like I am making good progress academically. My data sets are coded. I’ve made a lot of progress with the data analysis for one of my data sets, and some of the results are compelling (Yay!). With that, I’m working on publishing this data. I’ll also be submitting a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement grant, which will allow me to gather my thoughts on the theoretical framework for my dissertation work. I’m working on a book chapter that will allow for a broader examination of the current research done in my field and the theoretical framework that my research fits into.
So it’s an exciting time to be a graduate student and a scientist. For awhile I felt that I was spinning my wheels with my research. I was working hard, but publication remained a million miles away. Apparently I’ve pulled out of that muddy rut and sped ahead. I’m making up for “lost” time, and this Ph.D. thing is seeming more doable. I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.
And that feels pretty fantastic.
I hope everyone enjoys their new school year, and that it’s as productive as I think mine will be!