Without doubt, continuous learning will be essential for the future of work. In order to do so, we will have to gain skills by taking part in various forms of virtual and/or physical courses. Sometimes we will even find ourselves attending programs finishing with a project or thesis.
There is a lot of literature on academic writing already (find some of my favorites below). For a Master’s course at our department, I was recently asked to share some insights into a research project, as well as the respective pitfalls and learnings. Besides sharing some specific tools for academic writing and conducting good scientific surveys with the students, this made me think about my own process of continuous learning a little bit.
At the moment MOOCs are a great way to gain new knowledge for me. We did some research on gamification at our research lab ourselves (I might even come back to that in later posts) – but I have to admit that I am very easily motivated by the gamified elements used, especially so-called badges. Also, these courses are often structured in short sessions with an immediate possibility to test your understanding. That also makes it very easy to keep going on and more or less feels like leveling up in a computer game.
However, while MOOCs might be a nice addition to our CVs, for our future careers we often also need to finish other – less gamified – forms of education. I am especially talking about degree programs, and/or other forms of programs or trainings finishing with some kind of individual project or thesis. From my personal experience – and also from over ten years of guiding students through these phases – I know that these long projects can often feel overwhelming somehow.
Thus I also reflected my own process of writing my doctoral dissertation and I could identify four factors – besides practicing good academic work – that helped me be successful in the end. Although these factors describe my personal learnings, I think that they might be of use for others in the same situation.
- Apply your project management knowledge: Honestly, when I was stuck writing my thesis, a simple reminder of the salami technique by a bright person I am lucky to know helped me most. You can find a short description of the salami, pomodoro and swiss cheese techniques here.
- Ask for help: Try to seek advice from people whose main intention is to coach you and help you understand on your own. These people are rare. If you are lucky enough to know them, make sure to prepare for a meeting and make the best of your and their time.
- Own your thesis: Instead of trying to impress others, or cater their wishes, seek a result that you consider good work – but be honest with yourself.
- Celebrate your successes 🙂
Recommended readings for academic writing
Bryman & Bell (English version) – Business Reseach Methods.
Creswell & Creswell (English version) – Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches.
Kornmeier (German version) – Wissenschaftlich schreiben leicht gemacht.
Machi & McEvoy (English version) – The Literature Review: Six steps to success.
Roberts & Hyatt (English version) – The Disseration Journey.
WorkNotes 