I recently asked a post-doc friend about her experiences collecting data and writing her dissertation. She explained that, for her, it was “like a cloud – always there, hovering.” This is an apt description of my own experiences thus far (we’ll see how they play out, as I have not yet crossed the “dissertation finish line”). In any case, though, it’s funny that she used the term, “cloud” because, for me, there is truth to this word and image on two levels.
One – Cloud Technology. My entire dissertation project (e.g., drafts, proposal, memos, audio and transcript interview files, notes, etc.) are housed in cloud technology (there’s NO way I’m losing all of this stuff if my computer’s hard drive crashes). I also have it backed up to an external hard drive, but that’s just another safety net. Thanks to cloud technology, though, this project is “always there, hovering” – waiting to be accessed and added to, improved upon, written, and revised.
Two – Clouds in the Sky. The concept of a “cloud” also works in a literal sense. Clouds in the sky are never the same. One can use clouds to look for shapes, beauty, and/or weather. Sometimes clouds are wispy and thin, like someone stretched out cotton candy on canvas. Other times, they are billowy and lazy, like thick cotton balls puffed up, stretched and dotted across the sky. In some ways, my dissertation feels like a literal cloud in the sky. For example, sometimes dissertation ideas cloud my mind (pardon the pun), filling it up with little room for much else. But, there are also other times, when there exists only hints of ideas or thoughts.
In any case, though, there’s always some sort of cloud “hanging” in the back of my mind. For example, I think about things such as how I’m going to organize and code my data as I continue forth. Or, other times, I mentally (and literally) re-examine my theoretical framework and coding schema Still, others, I imagine chapter titles and the ways I want to organize and “tell participants’ stories.” These are just two examples – there are many more. Trust me. But, at this point, for most of my days there’s almost always a cloud in sight (or mind). So, like my friend said, the dissertation project is “always there,” in one cloud form or another.
Image (2013) taken from: Officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk
My Dissertation Adventure 