A Great Post -- Strategies for Successful Dissertation Completion

Here is an extremely useful post on the Crooked Timber blog by Eszter Hargittai, with helpful additional comments by readers, on Strategies for Successful Dissertation Completion. I added my own comments on how to choose a dissertation advisor.

I would also add a small addendum about the reading and literature review stage of your work -- when you are reading, don't just underline or put stars next to great paragraphs. Take the time to do a little free writing about how the article or book you're reading ties in to your planned work, whether you agree with it or not, what questions it brings up, and any other floating thoughts that come to your mind. You'll be so glad later you did this.

In addition to this, free write every day, even when you're at the beginning of the process. You'll be surprised later how much of what seems like drivel can be useful in jumpstarting the writing of the final product.

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Here's a little boost for those who need a little kickstart to write over the holidays. I first offered a Holiday Writing Challenge back in 2005, so I'd say it's about time to do it again. Here's what you do: Post in the comment section: what you'd like to work on (if anything) over the holidays, and the maximum amount of time you'd like to spend on it daily . Please keep this time limit reasonable and low unless you're under huge deadline pressure -- in which case you don't need this challenge in order to get something done! Whether you're a professor or a grad student, make sure you get a copy of the Dissertation Toolkit. These tools will give you more information and tips for productive and creative writing. For those of you who have had trouble making yourself write, you may want to start with VERY short writing goals . Even 5 or 10 minutes will be enough to get you jumpstarted. Don't go more than 25 or 30 minutes withou

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