Response2

In my doctoral journey so far, I have encountered what I would consider to be the usual challenges that other students would face. First, the biggest challenge is doing something that I have never done before and learning “on the job.” According to Pemberton (2012), the process is difficult for students to grasp who have never done it before. Knowing this does make me feel better about the struggles I have had, and I have been able to overcome them as I become more comfortable with the process.

            The other big obstacle has been getting side-tracked each class with the other assignments that are required for those classes. I understand what the University is doing with having us research and write about some of these topics, but geez it can be tedious and “mind-numbing” at times. I appreciate the fact that going forward, most if not all of the assignments I will be doing will be centered around my study, which will assist in keeping me focused on the end result.

            As I progress, the task now is to finish this and graduate and start writing about what I really want to write about! To finish, I need to stay focused and follow the process. If I were to identify strategies to help me finish, the first would be to listen, accept, and implement feedback. Because I have never done this, I have accepted the fact that I need to rely on people who have, listen to what they are saying about how to write a dissertation, and make the changes I am told (Pemberton, 2012).

            If there was another strategy to follow, I would say it would revolve around my data gathering process. I am sending our surveys and conducting a focus group to collect information for the study. The purpose of these is to gather information from people similar to the owner of the organization I am studying and determine how they have and/or would address the situation the owner is facing (“Conducting focus groups,” n.d.). Gathering this information will be used in the study to show how past results can be used to assist organizations when they face similar issues in the future.

            The end is near folks, I can feel it! Staying focused on the task at hand and listening to others who have experience will be essential for me to finish my study. The assignments in the first module are big steps and I want to make sure that any changes I need to make to these are implemented quickly and accurately so that the assignments for Module Two maybe do not seem so daunting when they are presented.

References

Pemberton, C. L. A. (2012). A "how-to" guide for the education Thesis/Dissertation process. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 48(2), 82-86.

The University of Kansas. (n.d.). Section 6. Conducting focus groups.  https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/assessing-community-needs-and-resources/conduct-focus-groups/main