http://www.txstate.edu/honors/
Honors College
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Pathways to Success
Where are you
on this Path?
Stuart Borre* @ Flickr
1
Getting Started
2
Selecting an Advisor and Committee
3
Create an Action Plan
4
Time Management &
Organizational Tools
1
Getting Started
2
Selecting an Advisor and Committee
3
Create an Action Plan
4
Time Management &
Organizational Tools
Selecting A Topic
What will you study?
Selecting A Topic
What will you study?
Find a …
http://leute.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/PassionFire.jpg
Selecting A Topic
Be Curious, practice Serious Play, and Tinker!
Tinker School | Gever Tulley @ TED Tinkering is Serious Play| Bevan, Petrich, Wilkenson
A*end lectures, performances, plays, honors defenses, etc. Read! Internet, journal articles, news, books, faculty web pages
Think!
We write to Think – so write about your ideas
Tell your friends, family
Discuss ideas with faculty
Discuss! Let it Incubate
An Active Process
Research & Read
Is there enough information on the topic?
What are the open questions or problems?
Write
Try writing a paragraph summary of the topic. Time
Still interested after a week or two? Future?
Who
Who on campus can help you with this project?
http://soc.utah.edu/undergraduate/research.jpg
Developing your Idea
Work with a faculty member (advisor?)
Identify relevant literature – read it
Review class notes
Find relevant ideas.
Class projects
Can you design class projects to relate to your topic? DOUBLE DIP
Directed Independent Study
Before commi*ing to the honors project
Explore the topic, develop questions, design the project
Write a short review of the literature
Rochelle Hartman @ Flickr
Audience
Scholarship
a prolonged conversation, dialogue
you have a seat at the table
Elliot Brown @ Flickr
What will you say?
epSos .de @ Flickr
Who is your Audience? How will you reach them?
Publish?
Undergraduates Can Publish
Explorations, 2014
Overcoming Inertia
Regular meetings with Advisor
Set goals, Review progress
Schedule regular Project Hours
Set time aside each day/week
(1-­‐‑2 hrs/week during early stage)
Do
Read
Write
Think
Experiment
Interview Experts
h*p://i.kinja-­‐‑img.com/gawker-­‐‑media/image/upload/t_original/o3liphj6vnoaivcvkauz.jpg
Don’t
Instagram
Facebook
Text
Watch cat videos
Laundry Dishes
1
Getting Started
2
Selecting an Advisor and Committee
3
Create an Action Plan
4
Time Management &
Organizational Tools
1
Getting Started
2
Selecting an Advisor and Committee
3
Create an Action Plan
4
Time Management &
Organizational Tools
(typically only 3 on UNCW Honors commi*ee)
Selecting a Thesis Committee
Who can help you succeed?
Select an Advisor -­‐‑ Guide and Cheerleader
-­‐‑ Meet regularly (weekly)
-­‐‑ Consider personality and communication style
Commi*ee -­‐‑ Handbook (pp. 4-­‐‑8)
-­‐‑ Complementary skills & expertise
Finding Faculty
Departmental Websites
Classes are not the only way!
Finding Faculty
Departmental Websites
Faculty
Websites
Many faculty have websites
Classes are not the only way!
Finding Faculty
Departmental Websites
Faculty
Websites
Faculty
Publications
Classes are not the only way!
Managing your Advisor & Committee
•  Part of managing your thesis project
•  Clear, effective, regular communication
–  Meet regularly
–  Email for smaller things
•  Manage expectations
•  Rights & Responsibilities
•  Documentation
1
Getting Started
2
Selecting an Advisor and Committee
3
Create an Action Plan
4
Time Management &
Organizational Tools
1
Getting Started
2
Selecting an Advisor and Committee
3
Create an Action Plan
4
Time Management &
Organizational Tools
Create an Action Plan
I love it when a plan comes together.
Project Scope
What do you want to accomplish? Objectives? Time Available? Budget?
Identify
Tasks (subtasks)
Major Milestones
Dependencies
Travel
Approvals (e.g., IRB, IACUC)
Paperwork (forms)
Figures.com
Prepared for Action
Project Calendar
When to complete tasks & milestones
AlmightyGirl.com
Geekalerts.com
Gantt Chart
Project Management (a whole field of study!)
Time
Tasks
h*ps://
mechanicalsympath
y.wordpress.com/
2010/10/25/gan*-­‐‑
chart-­‐‑v1-­‐‑1/
Feedback
•  Share the Action Plan
–  Advisor
–  Committee
DH3
•  Is it Feasible?
•  Get buy-in
•  Build in extra time for the Unexpected
1
Getting Started
2
Selecting an Advisor and Committee
3
Create an Action Plan
4
Time Management &
Organizational Tools
1
Getting Started
2
Selecting an Advisor and Committee
3
Create an Action Plan
4
Time Management &
Organizational Tools
h*p://www.octane-­‐‑athletics.com/wp-­‐‑content/uploads/2015/06/time-­‐‑management.jpg
Time management
First Semester
•  Start early
•  Plan around your schedule and commitments
•  Keep in touch with your committee
•  They are there to help you!
•  The more they know about your project, the smoother your 499
semesters will go.
resources
•  Keep yourself accountable – fight the tendency to procrastinate
•  http://www.self.com/flash/work-and-life/2015/02/never-feel-burned-out-again/
•  http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/to-keep-from-overcommitting-treat-time-like-money/
•  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nBwfZZvjKo : Procrastination Video – we all do it
Project Hours
•  Treat your project like a job
•  Schedule regular time
–  2-3 hours/day – or – 15 hrs/week
•  Select good times for you
–  Biorhythm
–  Other responsibilities
Stuart Borre*
•  Space: Where are you going to work?
•  Work on your project during your hours
Tools to help you get organized
•  Research relies on tools.
•  Software for annotating those endlessly long articles and organizing your work:
•  Mendeley, Qiqqa, Dedoose (for data), PDF Annotator, Trello, Evernote
•  http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/free-pdf-annotation-tools/
•  http://www.blog.mendeley.com/tipstricks/11-free-tools-for-discoveringresearch/
•  Voice recorder apps – you will have most of your brilliant ideas while you’re
away from anything you can record them with
•  Countdown apps like Dreamdays
•  but don’t let it freak you out! It’s a reminder, not a death sentence.
•  Save constantly, and on multiple platforms (flash drives, Google Drive, etc)
Pace yourself
Narrow it :: Chunk it
Think Goldilocks – Just Right
•  Don’t get ahead of yourself, but don’t go too slowly: just right
•  Taking notes when reading and researching. Don’t take too
many, don’t take too few: just right
Approach your thesis as …
•  A thesis is a bunch of small papers combined into one. You
stitch them together so it looks seamless at the end.
OR:
•  It’s a recipe, and you’re assembling the ingredients and
measuring out how much you need (brainstorming, planning,
sketching, researching, beginning to write sections)
Tools
Stuart Borre*
Keeping Track: Research Journals
A place to keep your
thoughts, ideas, notes, dreams, roadblocks, hypotheses, sketches, data, reflections, …
Paper vs. electronic
Noble 2009. PLoS Comp. Biol. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000424
Blog (e.g. Mechanical Sympathy)
h*ps://mechanicalsympathy.wordpress.com/2010/09/page/2/
Formal vs. Informal
Leif and Evonne @ Flickr
Research Journal: examples
e fun t
m
o
s
d
Ha
Real Life!
oo!
Evidence of some planning
Data!
This appears in Borre* et al. 2007
Schedule, Calendars, To Do Lists
Many Software Tools (apps, online, etc.)
Mind Maps
Diagram to organize information (Wikipedia)
Five Best Mind Mapping Tools | Life Hacker
h*p://lifehacker.com/five-­‐‑best-­‐‑mind-­‐‑mapping-­‐‑tools-­‐‑476534555
Write
We write to think, not think to write
Clear writing is evidence of clear thinking
Unclear writing ….
Write Every Day
More productive
Eases ge*ing in and ge*ing out
Bake it
Set a timer: write – no distractions
@ Flickr
Keeping Motivated
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Exercise
Continue hobbies
Set achievable goals
Check things off a list (seriously)
Chart your progress
Share ideas with peers
Word count, Page count
Mobilus In Mobili @ Flickr
–  what did you write today?
Zach Frailey @ Flickr
Assess Progress
•  Daily
•  Weekly
•  Semester
•  Self
•  Advisor
•  Committee
Are you staying on task?
Are you accomplishing your tasks?
1
Getting Started
2
Selecting an Advisor and Committee
3
Create an Action Plan
4
Time Management &
Organizational Tools