The Dissertation Workshop
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Dealing with Discouragement and Writer's Block
Getting Organized
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Workshops and Consultations

 

Bibliography of Books that May Be Helpful to the Process

 

Bolker, Joan. Writing your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to starting, Revising, and Finishing your Doctoral Thesis. New York: Henry Holt and Co.
Has an encouraging tone and is full of good suggestions.

Bruffe., Kenneth A. Collaborative Learning: Higher Education,Interdependence and the Authority of Knowledge. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. 1993.
Makes strong case for students working together.

Burka, Jane and Lenora Yuen. Procrastination: Why You Do It and What to Do About It, Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books 1983.
Describes reasons people procrastinate, has exercises and directions for changing the habit of procrastination.

Burns, David. The Feeling Good Handbook.
Has an interesting chapter on procrastination.

Cornell, Ann Weiser. The Power Of Focusing: A practical guide to Emotional Self-Healing. Oakland, California: New Harbinger Publications, 1996.
Both this book and Gendlin's book (see below) describes an excellent technique for getting in touch with one's emotional and physical feelings. Repairs mind body split. Very powerful in shifting moods. Technique was developed by Eugene Gendlin and described in his book Focusing-a more philosophical book than Cornell's book which presents a more how to approach. Don't be put off by the personification of aspects of the self. There is increasing belief among psycho-analysts that a model of multiple selves is accurate, that we move from being in one self state to another. www.focusingresources.com

Covey, Stephen. The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People.
Describes beginning with the end in mind, writing mission statements and other tools.

Deci, Edward L. Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self-Motivation. New York: Penguin, 1996.
Deci describes the role of a sense of autonomy in sustaining motivation.

Gendlin, Eugene. Focusing. New York: Bantam, 1981. See also Cornell.

Glickstein, Lee. Be Heard Now!: Tap into Your Inner Speaker and Communicate With Ease.
To order call (800) 610-0169, or from regular books stores.
This book describes a wonderful approach to becoming more comfortable and connected with yourself and your audience when you give talks. The technique may also free you in your writing.

Morganstern, Julie. Organizing from the Inside Out, New York: Henry Holt and Co. 1998.
Some simple, powerful ideas for becoming organized.

Rosovsky, Henry. The University: An Owner's Manual. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1990.
Henry Rosovsky, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University gives much advice to the academic community. His advice for graduate students is excellent.

Ruddick, Sara and Pamela Daniels. Working it Out: 23 Women Writers, Artists, Scientists, and Scholars Talk About Their Lives and Work. New York: Pantheon Books, 1977.
Has wonderful articles by women who have struggled with work issues. Of particular relevance is the piece written by Virginia Valian.

Seligman, Martin. Learned Optimism. New York: Simon& Schuster, Pocket Books, 1990.
Gives an effective way of coping with negative emotions that can be so undermining.

Seligman, Martin. Authentic Happiness New York: Simon& Schuster, The Free Press, 2002.
Gives ways to increase positive feelings.

Sher, Barbara. Wishcraft : How to Get What You Really Want. New York: Ballantine Books, 1979 and Live the Life You Love. New York: Dell Books, 1997.
Good books for getting in touch with what you want to do with your life and getting the support you need to do it.

Stern, Frederick P. The Effects of Separation-Individuation Conflicts on Length of Time to Complete the Dissertation. City University of New York, Dissertation 1985.
My first efforts to look at the problem. What I discovered helped me finish sooner.

Sternberg, David. How To Complete And Survive Your Dissertation. 1981.
Describes many of the processes of the dissertation. It is helpful to some people.


Websites:

Search in Google under Dissertation Writing, Dissertation Help, Help with Procrastination, Dissertation Funding-all yield some good sites.
Also, most of the authors on this page have websites that you can get to through Google:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center.

http://www.learnerassociates.net/dissthes/amazon.htm
This site has a review of one person's assessment of best books on the dissertation process. I like the tone of the reviews.

www.DissertationWriting.com
This appears to be a useful site to connect with someone who can advise you and help you edit. I don't have direct knowledge of their work.

http://www.waldenu.edu/acad-prog/educphd/disserthelp.html
One university's effort to guide students makes suggestions about a time line to writing a dissertation.

http://www.learningcommons.uoguelph.ca/learning/fastfax/procrastination.htm
This is a site which makes suggestions about handling procrastination.

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/dissertation.html
This site from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center gives a nice overview.

http://www.bc.edu/research/osp/funding/external/dissuport/
This site offers different possibilities for funding your work.

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The Dissertation Workshop
Fred Stern, Ph.D. and Lois Feldman, Ph.D
Phone: 212-874-4530
E-mail:fredstern@gmail.com

 


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