In this reflective monologue, the speaker describes how a mentoring conversation with Dr. Steve Tippins Ph.D. clarified the purpose of various coursework assignments and linked them directly to dissertation chapters, enabling a clearer roadmap for their doctoral program. Dr. Tippins advised the speaker to double up on a current course, which would shift the start of data collection from January to September, dramatically shortening the timeline. He also provided key resources, notably the Lärtt platform, and explained methodological concepts such as snowball sampling and data saturation. Throughout, Dr. Tippins emphasized the importance of finishing over perfection, urging the speaker to treat many course deliverables as check‑boxes rather than perfection‑driven tasks. The speaker expresses deep gratitude for this guidance, noting that it transformed a fragmented program into a coherent, actionable plan and restored confidence in completing the dissertation.
Chapters
Everything just came together once he explained what was going on and what I needed to do. And I noticed in the program, we started with 32 people and I think we're down to 3 or 4, including myself. So I spoke to Steve Tippins Ph.D. last week and he suggested that I double up on this course now and move everything forward because the other thing that has happening with the program is it's dragging out. I wanna get it done. So I did. Now it's like a whole lot of work. It's a little scary, but I gotta do it. And just, I just wanna move forward to get to data collection soon. So instead of starting that in January, I'll now be able to start that in September. That's a huge difference. There are 3 consecutive classes that have this session-long project, and he is the only one that's been able to explain to me why we're doing those. Like where that it actually does fit within the template for the dissertation. So, I did all of these pieces, but I was— no one ever said why we were doing them or what they would be used for. So, you're writing about your chosen research methodology or you're writing up your research questions, but you don't know where they fit because it's not done in the sequence of the template and it's not explained that that's what it's going to be used for. So to take those little bits and pieces of the courses and say, this is what it's going to look like, this is your Chapter 1, or this is your Chapter 3. I wouldn't know where I was heading otherwise. It's not that you're not getting there. It's just that I like to know why. Why am I doing this? One, I mentioned the statistics, the resource that he gave me, the Lärtt. Amazing. I don't think I would have gotten through that module part either without that resource. The explanation of snowball sampling and data saturation, the extra readings that explained that. And really, there are just so many little pieces that are missing as I go through the course that do not come together that he has managed to say, "Oh yeah, it is this, it is for this, it is going to go here." That is huge. I will finish. I am absolutely certain. I hear him in my brain all the time saying, "The only good dissertation is a done dissertation." And I think that it is a good balance with him to keep me going because I'm very— I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, probably a bad thing at this point. I like everything to be perfect and he keeps saying, it doesn't matter, you don't need everything to be perfect, just get the stuff done and get onto the thesis. You know, like that is like your dissertation, that's what you need to focus on. Don't get too distracted with the other classes. It's more like a checkbox to get to where you need to go. So I think it's very encouraging, but it's also that reminder, you know, just get on, just move on. You don't need to spend that many hours on a paper worth 30 points in a course that you just need to pass. And you just— it's knowing when to stop your efforts on something that's not going to have you finish and focusing your efforts on what will get you finished. And I think that that's really what Dr. Tippins has helped me with the most. And I'm really grateful that these services exist because, I mean, I signed on to do this. I don't want somebody like write my paper or, you know, do that kind of stuff. I just really need to know, like, where is the program going from the course to the end product and how do I get there? Like, and soon.
