I'm an interpretative constructionist

Wow, I've just confirmed my philosophical position in the world, it is a heady moment!!  I now know out of all the possible ways you can look at the world that I'm an interpretative constructionist.  I feel I can now come out of the metaphorical cupboard and proudly join the ranks of other interpretative constructionists.

‘To interpretive constructionist researchers, how people view an object or event and the meaning that they attribute to it is what is important’ (H. J. Rubin & Rubin, 2012, pp. 19-39). 

For those heavily into this sort of thing, and if you are doing a PhD you need to be, it is methodologically aligned to the concept of verstehen – ‘all human action, or behaviour, has an internal logic of its own which must be understood and described in order for researchers to be able to explain that behaviour’ (Gill & Johnson, 2010, p. 149).  

If I'm honest I'm glad I'm not a positivist, I'd have to join a club like AA if I was... 

The more it changes the more it stays the same

I'm sure I've used that as a blog title before which means I may very well be in ground hog day...

Progress is slow though to be fair steady and one of my supervisors has just given me excellent and comprehensive feedback about my literature review which has been very handy.  With out feedback you don't know whether it is perfect or, as is my case, needs a little work.

Work rumbles away and I'm taking 80 odd senior managers for a three hour session later this week on innovation so that will get the nerves jangling.  I'm well prepared but it will be a tough gig no matter.

And it's getting close to winter and it's already dark outside (at 5:38) which is a little on the depressing side.  I touched base with all the people I interviewed just to give them some feedback on how I'm doing.  This was to keep them in the loop as well as you never know who you may need in the future.  A got a number of replies including one (my most prominent one which I was a little chuffed about) who said the usual 'keep up the battle' but also as the nights were drawing in he decided he needed a couple of visits to the northern hemisphere.

I was jealous, no doubt he'll be at Wimbledon......

The literature review

It is one of the hardest things to nail because it just won't shut up!  There is always more literature, new literature and of course all the literature you should have noticed before that stands out like the proverbial now!

Having said all that I'm bringing it into land as I think I have a pretty good handle on what's what.  My supervisors are keen to have that first, then the research methodology (that's already written), findings (yep), discussion (about half way) and then the introduction (that's a mess).  It is quite a good order and as much as I wanted to carry on with the discussion, stepping back into the lit review will make that much the discussion chapter so much easier.

In my teaching life one of the assignments my students have to complete is a small lit review.  The paper wasn't developed by me and I feel for them as a small lit review is bloody oxymoronic if you ask me.  Still it will help all those carrying on in academic life because the sooner you get your head around the literature and how to do a lit review, the better............

The struggle

Even notice that sometimes life just seems to be a harder struggle not matter what you have going on.  I've been really busy and feeling on the top of the world and at other times (like now) it seems like the opposite is true.  I wonder sometimes whether I've really moved on that far at times.

Anyway it is coming to the end of my tour of duty in the school holidays and that will mean I will at least be able to get far more study and work done.  I tried getting up at 4:00am but managed to get up around 5:00am 3 times but gave up as the week carried on.  This week wasn't helped by ANZAC day (seems a little unfair to point the finger at such a day) which was on a Thursday but made the week feel like it was twice as long.  You have to remember for me (self employed) public holidays have long ago lost the feel good factor they used to have.  I wonder if that is true for people who now work in the weekends?

With work, study, trying/hoping to write, back at karate and being a single dad I do know that I have taken on far to much and maybe it was just to get so busy I didn't have to stop and think for a while.  But I've had a little time lately to think and reflect and realise that some things need to change.  I've been drinking way to much that's for sure and while the fitness has meant I haven't put on weight it isn't good either.  I've used it to escape into the ether but the world is always waiting when I return.  Stopping that will at least allow me to feel a little more on top of the world instead of slightly askew.  Throw in a little gambling and dating  and I can see the amount of effort I'm putting into not being here, trying to be somewhere else.

The week coming up I think will be a little bit of a watershed week.  Not sure why I think that particularly, just a feeling I get.  I'm half looking forward to the week and half dreading it.  Muse's song explorers seems to some it all up at the moment.........

Milkman's hours

The school holidays are on (again) and this time I have decided to try and rise early, like the milkman used to do, to try and get some valuable study time in before the children are awake.  So far I have set the alarm for 3:45am and on the first day (Monday) I managed to get up at 5:00am and yesterday (day 2) managed 5:20am.  That means I'm hitting the snooze button about 7-10 times on average!!!

It did work and I managed to get about 5 hours study in that I wouldn't have done otherwise and my literature review feels so much better for it.  If I continue I think the hours may be quite conducive to work/study and so I think I'll keep going and see what happens.  Sport and TV will be the only loser and maybe I can ditch sky TV and save some money as well.

Who knows, or as Pink says, who knew.......

The world and all that

The world spins away and you never quite know what is on the next turn.  Sometimes that is wonderful and sometimes not so wonderful.

My PhD continues to be a battle as I answer the 'so what' question.  This seems to be a common difficulty and the people I follow on twitter often have the same or similar complaints.  Not helping is I feel knackered and had to go home at lunchtime for a sleep.....

The reason for this was karate.  Since I have been back it has been great and I have thrown myself into it and over the weekend we were lucky enough to train with sensei Robbie who is a 7th dan black belt and about as fast as you can be without being plugged into the mains.  I trained for 6 hours over the weekend and then another 2 hours on Monday and by lunchtime today I couldn't function and crawled home to bed....

Feeling a little better now and hopefully the energy surge will return and my PhD will get a chudan myageri (kick in the guts).

Also the solo battle has raged on and although back on the dating seen it has been mostly disappointing but the world may have spun someone my way.  I have my fingers and toes crossed.......

No nanny and lots on, the perfect storm

Just as I lose my nanny (who id having her second baby) I have picked up lots of work, want to really focus on my discussion section of the PhD and have marking to do.  Typical.  I'm going to try and manage through without a nanny for a few weeks and see how it goes.  It will mean I will have to be a lot more disciplined in the evenings, especially now the NRL rugby league has started.

The discussion section of the thesis is shaping up to be the hardest as I have to blend in the literature with my research finding to make a cogent argument.  It is harder than the rest of the PhD so far so a real learning opportunity. yay :-(

So my posts will get fewer and further between as I try and get out the other end of this storm with the PhD, money, sanity and happy children........

Making your PhD claim

This is tricky.  You have all your data, you have analysed it and come up with your findings and now you need to answer that hardest of questions.  So what?

I was up to claim number five and I had a number of areas still to go and I suddenly realised my PhD was trying to change the world and the more claims I made the thinner I was stretching the data underneath.  So I stopped and asked myself an inspired  question.

If I can only make one claim from this research, what would it be?

I hadn't seen it as a tip anywhere, it just made sense and it focussed me instantly into finding the real 'so what.'  proof is in the pudding and my supervisors are yet to see my flash of insight so hold all tickets...

 

a 1 hour PhD session

All those doing a PhD will have come across the same issue around time.  In order to advance your PhD you need to set aside blocks of time because without three to four hours of unbroken time, your brain doesn't get a chance to really hone in.

That has been the argument I have used with myself and colleagues, and everyone nods their head in agreement.  Work tasks, emails etc can be done in the gaps but the PhD is special.  Right?

I looked at my diary for the week, and now I have picked up a lot more work (great for the bank balance), I have meetings dotted throughout and I thought, shit how am I going to advance the PhD without having to work in the wee small hours.  Then I challenged myself about the time issue and thought why can't I do focussed one hour sessions.  Tiger Woods (for all his faults) said sometimes his best practice sessions are after only twenty swings and he happily calls it a day.

So yesterday I tried it and it worked. A one hour session, focussed and I got heaps done and at the end it felt great.  I broke the mental block that I had built and had been made concrete through all those conversations.

I encourage you to give it a go.  Don't write that hour off at the end of the day, take a deep breath and dive in like you had eight hours free in front of you.

As a CEO I worked with once said, 'it's often a mindset change that is required...

It doesn't rain and then it pours

Since Christmas work has been thin on the ground and whilst that has been great for study, it has been  concerning.  So, as is common, I went and kicked on many doors and the result is that I now have too much work on and now study will suffer.  It is typical but I would rather have too much on and the chance my bank balance is worth looking at than not enough.  During this period my bank balance has been growing steadily, it is the minus sign in front of it that makes that not ideal.

I am also teaching a PostGrad paper and so the work load from that will increase as we move into assignment handing in and marking time.

I have though  advanced my PhD to a good stage and I had my thinking sanity checked by someone in the strategy field I respect and got the thumbs up so that was great.  I can now keep writing in the gaps and as long as I can block out at least 4x4 hour slots per week I should be okay.  That won't be hard on the weeks I haven't got the children but the weeks I have will be a challenge.

Oh yes there is one more curve ball, my nanny needs a month off and I'm caught between trying to cope and trying to find a replacement for the short term.  I have been putting off the decision and it will soon be to late.  Note to self - sort out what you are going to do today!