Six Dissertation Strategies

It’s so much easier to say it now that we’re into 2014 and the holidays are over (though I’ve got a Christmas tree to take down still). I hope with the blessing of 20/20 hindsight, your holidays went well and precious time was spent with loved ones.

 To me, the end of the holidays and the beginning of the year indicate that it is time to focus more than ever on completing my dissertation and ultimately a decade of post-secondary education. Naturally, with each passing day I struggle more to stay focused because anyone in this position has a lot on their mind. For me, I’ve got my mind on what I’m doing to be doing next, trying to decide exactly what I want versus need to be doing next, how to make the leap to the next step (which, for once, won’t be more schooling), and how to balance all of these nailbiters with my husband. Regardless, all of these changes have the ability to be really good, but they can be so darn distracting!

 I have managed to figure out a few strategies that help me stay focused on that end goal.

• Even if you’re just working on it at home in your pyjamas, schedule a minimum amount of time each day that is dedicated to dissertation work. More is better, but on those lazy days it seems much easier to put in the time if it’s staring me down in my Google Calendar.
• Have some healthy snacks and beverages available. I’ve met many grad students who swear by a bottle of wine to get the creative juices flowing. I think it’s merely important to make sure your thirst or hungry can be sated at arm’s reach. If you’ve got to get up for something, you’re going to get distracted.
• Take breaks. If you’ve been working for a few hours and your hands aren’t typing things correctly or you can’t seem to conjure up the right word, set it down. You might need more than fifteen minutes, you might need a few hours, but stop. The dissertation process is too long and arduous to let yourself get frustrated if you’ve already put in some time.
• Back up your work! Don’t go more than a day or two without emailing your work to yourself, saving it to Dropbox, or putting it on a thumb drive. If you do go the wine route and you knock the bottle over onto your laptop, you’ll want to be able to pick up, almost, where you left off.
• Kick the cats out of the room. I don’t know about you, but my cats are pretty awesome. They’re so awesome that they’re usually big distractions. Even if Sylvester is curled up in my lap behaving himself, he’s a distraction. I want to pet him. I want to give him little cat kisses. He’s just so darn cute!
• Get enough sleep. This may be last time in your life until retirement that you have a lot of control over your sleep schedule basically all of the time. Sleep until you can’t sleep anymore. A good night’s sleep is truly the best medicine for the ability to focus. The dissertation process is relatively long, you should have enough time for an entire night of sleep.
• Talk about what you’re doing to anyone who will listen. It’s never wise to discuss exact research methods, but talk about the general ideas. It will get you used to what you’re working on and how you want to describe your research and findings. The response from others could really help formulate that last chapter when you’re discussing how your awesome research could translate into awesome future research.

The length of the dissertation process sets it apart from most of the other things you’ll do in school. Good study strategies help but will not necessarily get you all of the way there. Everyone finds their own strategies that help them cross the finish line, these are mine, and I wish you the best in finding your own.

Could I ask you a few questions?

One component of my dissertation research is a pair of surveys. The purpose of the surveys is to find out how individuals and transportation agencies/organizations use social media. I want to understand how useful sharing transportation via social media is.

The survey targeted toward individuals is interested in the types of transportation information people consider best for sharing transportation information, what expectations (if any) they have of transportation agencies on social media, and how well they believe these agencies are using social media. If you’re interested in taking the survey and haven’t already, here’s the link: http://bit.ly/1eH28pa. Those who take either survey may also enter into a drawing to win one of two $25 Amazon gift cards!

The survey targeted toward agencies is interested if they use social media and why or why not, in what information they think is best to share on social media, if and how social media has affected their outreach strategies, and how well they believe they are doing in reaching their desired public. If by the off chance you’re at a transportation agency or organization and work in communications and haven’t already taken the survey, here’s the link http://bit.ly/182vw3X.

In February, the data from each of these sources will be analyzed statistically to hopefully derive what the best practices are in social media use for both agencies and the general public. By surveying both agencies and the public, understanding what is important to each group and what is feasible by each group, these best practices will hopefully be more meaningful than what has been developed so far.

Want to help? Share this post with everyone you think may be interested—social media users or not. If we understand what people need and what agencies are realistically capable of in austere time we can create a better informed transportation network!

Pitching It: Social Media and Transportation

Tomorrow is going to be a big day.

The first part of a PhD program is spent mastering the work of others. It marks the beginning of the process of narrowing down to an area of expertise. In my case, I’ve compiled experience with transportation topics including safety, policy, human factors, design, operations, and network analysis. Ultimately, I found myself most comfortable in safety and intelligent transportation systems. Last school year, I developed topics in conjunction with my advisor in each of these fields.

Emerging in the lead was the use of social media by transportation agencies. You’re probably thinking that’s a pretty light, fluffy subject—especially for someone getting a PhD in Civil Engineering. However, with time, even I’ve become more and more convinced that this research has its merits.

First, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 67% of Americans are regular users of social media. Because so many people use social media, it is important to know if they would use social media for transportation information. If they would, it is important to fully understand what they want to know and how they want to know it. For some agencies, developing social media outreach has been a shot in the dark. Sometimes it’s worked out for the better and, occasionally, it’s been a flop.

Second, some platforms of social media have potential for integration in vehicle infotainment systems. If key traffic information can be delivered to a driver hands-free through their own vehicle, using social media as the means, it could help folks make smarter choices about their routing or trip timing.

Third, as social media has developed as a platform as have other mobile technologies. Over half of all social media use occurs via mobile devices. Because people are spending so much time on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, there could be other, more useful technologies to develop.

Ultimately, the goal is to define the state of social media in transportation organizations, both highway and public transit. Developing this profile poses a challenge because so many agencies have taken so many different approaches to developing their social media programs. To address these differences, three different methodologies are being employed, including surveys aimed toward agencies as well as the general public. A finished product will find the most effective strategies, identify particularly successful Twitter and Facebook feeds, and describe how social media users of the general public want to receive information via social media.

While working on this research, from time to time, I may even solicit your help. It’s only social!