How to Handle Objections from Your Dissertation Chair

So what do you do if you have a chair, and by proxy we'll also talk committee member, but who doesn't like your topic and/or doesn't like your methodology? This is a nuanced discussion to be having with your chair and/or your committee, but you may have a chair who says your topic is no good, or it's been done before, how is yours different? You have to understand your chair has most likely been around longer than you in academia and may have seen a number of things. And sometimes when they say your topic has been done or can't be done and here's why, that's something to listen to. I remember doing a topic proposal to my chair and he said, "That's a wonderful topic. Do you have 18 years to collect the data? 'Cause that's what it's gonna take based on what you've said." And I fairly quickly saw the wisdom in what he said. Because I didn't want to take 18 years just to collect data. So if your chair disagrees with your topic, this is a chance to open up a discussion and learn from the discussion. Hopefully your chair, if they say no, you can't do this, can convince you why. If you cannot be convinced, then you have a dilemma. If you want to stay with this chair, this chair has said this can't be done. So you cannot do this topic with this chair. So you've got two options: you change topics or you change chairs. This is a big thing to change chairs. Not as big early in the process, but it's a big thing. There are some schools that don't allow you to change chairs, or some that want a pretty good track record of why it's not working. So you have to understand your school's requirements before changing chairs. Now, if it's a committee member who said your topic can't be done, but your chair has said the topic can be done, then it becomes a discussion with you and the chair and the committee member, and your committee member can understand your rationale and why your chair supports it. All of this tends to make your ultimate research stronger. Now let's move over to methodology. I see too many people begin their journey by saying, "I have to do a quantitative approach or a qualitative approach," and they're hooked into that before they've even decided on their topic. Or their problem, or their research questions. They just know, "I, I don't like qualitative," or, "I don't like quantitative, so I'm going to do this." The ideal way to come to your methodology is come from your problem statement and your purpose and your research questions, and then the methodology reveals itself based on what you need to know in your research. So, if you come committed to a methodology, your chair and/or committee might say, "Well, that's the wrong methodology," and and here's why. Again, a learning position for you. But it's not something that you have to just roll over and say, okay. If you are committed to the methodology and know that it is right for the problem statement, the purpose, and the research questions that you're asking, then we open up an opportunity for you to become involved in a discussion. And part of the process of earning your doctorate and going through the dissertation phase is becoming a peer. And this is part of it, becoming a peer with your chair and your committee by saying, "I understand what you're saying. However, here is why I believe this methodology is the best methodology." And you back it up with citations and underlying assumptions needed in the methodology and the type of data you're going to have. And this is precursors to questions you could get on defenses. So getting this out of the way early can actually make your defense much easier, where you have philosophical scientific discussions about the appropriate methodology to choose, other approaches that could be used, and why the approach you've chosen is the most appropriate. And your chair, or again, a committee member, might argue, well, here's the— yeah, I see that, but here's the other reason. Or here's why you need to think about this other methodology. When you get through with this discussion, you are much more solidly based and ready to move forward because now your committee is fully bought into what you're doing and you're fully bought in and know that you're on the right approach. Research question and the problem statement, things like that. And it's an opportunity for you to become a peer and have these discussions. And when everybody ultimately buys in, then you're moving forward in strength and you've answered a lot of questions that can come up in a defense, so you're ready for that too. So there are cases where you may get a, "Well, this won't work," or, "This methodology won't work," where ultimately it's because the people don't understand what you're doing or understand why it's the right approach, which is why discussions, becoming a peer, showing them the reason you're using this, it can be education for them, and they may buy in because of what you've told them. I've seen that happen. On the other hand, you know, you may be new to this, and they may know why it doesn't work, and they can help you understand that. So it can work both ways on this. But you being fully versed in the methodology, being fully versed in the topic you want to cover, and being able to explain it, you're much more likely to have your chair and/or committee buy in if they see that you're able to to articulate why this is the correct approach to take. So when you're involved with approaching your chair or a committee member about— with questions, I find it best to approach by saying, I see what you're— I understand you're asking this, but I would like to have a conversation about it so I can more fully understand what you're saying, and you can help me understand why the approach I'm taking may not be the appropriate one. So letting them know you have questions, that you would like to discuss this, and also tap into their expertise can make things go much easier. Instead of just saying, "Nope, this is the right way to do it, you're wrong," that doesn't endear people to you and makes them less likely to sign off on things. 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