Monday, April 24, 2006

Final month o' dissertating

That's right, folks: I hope to turn in the dissertation on May 29, just over a month from now. Eeeeeek!

I've been fairly productive of late, which is bolstering my confidence that I can indeed finish this thing, and Tough Reader's response to my chapters was encouraging even though people warned me she's a really, well, tough reader. I have yet to hear from my other reader, but he's pretty much told me my dissertation is between me and Fantastic Adviser and that he'll rubber-stamp whatever she approves.

Where I'm at: about 1/3 of the way through writing Chapter 4. Since I've finished all research needed for it, the remainder (~25 pages) should be pretty smooth sailing.

Still need to:
- Finish Chapter 4.
- Write a concluding chapter based on e-mail interviews I've undertaken with a few women scientists working in natural history museums today. I need to try to get a few more interviews to flesh out the chapter. Fantastic Adviser is also asking me to be reflective in this chapter on my own experiences working in a hands-on science center. I imagine that section will be fun to write, as I wrote a couple papers on such science centers during my first couple years here, so I have all the research finished.
- Revise chapters already handed in, including dividing Chapter 3 (AKA the Chapter That Refused To Be Completed) into two chapters. This will be the most time-consuming work.
- Polish footnotes and bibliography.

That's a lot of work for one month. Wish me luck, and I apologize in advance for any blogging droughts, unanswered e-mail, and unreturned phone calls. Please bear with me, and thanks for your continuing support!

3 comments:

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Gooooooo, Trillwing! Almost there! I can't even fathom how good that will feel, when it's all in.

Anonymous said...

Best of luck! It will be a busy month, but your list sounds totally doable, especially with the lure of the finish line so close.

ArticulateDad said...

Just go! We'll all be waiting at the finish line, and wondering how you coasted in so early. It'll all end faster than you think.