Comments on: How I organize my Ed.D. thesis

By: Doug Belshaw

Doug Belshaw — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:20:00 +0000

Glad you found it helpful, Jamie! Definitely stick to things with which
you’re comfortable – it’s about iterating the system you’ve got rather than
replacing it with someone else’s. :-)

By: jamie billingham

jamie billingham — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:06:00 +0000

I organize by sticky note first then try to blog about similar ideas within the notes that relate to the themes I’m studying. I’m very kinesthetic and more inductive than deductive so emergence processes work best for me lol

I like the idea of a personal wiki to actually write a paper. Thanks for that and the XMind link. I just downloaded XMind and will try, once again to mindmap.

I love the concept, suggest it to others all the time but struggle with it personally. I think the key may be to use the sticky notes first and then accept the redundance of re-creating the map electronically for easier archiving and sharing.

By: Doug Belshaw

Doug Belshaw — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:36:00 +0000

Sounds good! You may also want to look into universities that run
summer schools – I had to catch up with a couple of modules when I
transferred and really enjoyed it. :-)

By: Doug Belshaw

Doug Belshaw — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:35:00 +0000

Thanks for the link Charles! :-)

By: Damian

Damian — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:20:00 +0000

The only advantage I can think of to opening up my notes would be for updating info as the years go on, but I have to wonder who exactly would take advantage of that. You're probably right; access is likely enough in terms of openness. I'm still in the application process, but I'm very interested in the program at Wilmington University in northern Delaware. They have a hybrid Ed.D. program that's 50% online, 50% F2F. Rowan University in New Jersey and Nova Southeastern University in Florida also have similar reputable Ed.D. programs with online distance learning components, either partial or total. I've determined that my particular combination of life & work circumstances, as well as my geographic location, makes at least a partial online component a necessary part of any further grad work I do.

By: Charles

Charles — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:16:00 +0000

If you want one program that will let you do all of that (blog, mindmap, and wiki), check out Tinderbox at http://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/index.html

By: Doug Belshaw

Doug Belshaw — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:55:00 +0000

Hi Damian, thanks for the comment.

In my, albeit limited experience, I would say that if you’re not sure why
you want to do something, don’t do it! At the end of the day, you need to
prove that your Ed.D. is *your* work. I use a wiki because it’s very easy to
edit, not because of its collaborative features.

Where are you doing your Ed.D.? :-)

By: Damian

Damian — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I’m starting an Ed.D. program in the next year or so, and I’ve already set up a wiki to organize my coursework, class notes, and dissertation information. I’m using Mediawiki, which had a bit more of an initial learning curve than Tiddlywiki (I first started using that in 2006; my first foray into Web 2.0), but I think it will serve my purposes well. I also decided to put it on my own private hosting space, for pretty much the same reasons as you.

In the interest of openness, I also plan on making my doctoral studies wiki openly accessible throughout my course of study, and then keeping it up on what will become my main domain. One thing I haven’t decided on whether or not I will open the wiki up to editing (after I’m done the degree, of course). Don’t know exactly the purpose it would serve, but as far as openness goes, in for a penny…