Making Life’s Decisions like a Scholar

At the time of this posting, four or five years have passed since completing my dissertation. And as I look back, I have uncovered some of the fallacies and misconceptions I had going in. Authoring a dissertation for a doctoral degree may or may not be what you initially think – at least this was the case for me. Specifically, I remember going into my program knowing exactly what I wanted to write about. If I remember correctly, 20 years later, of what it was back then, I seem to remember it being revolved around the social construction of ideas and beliefs on society especially with regard to religions. And with that, I knew the type of message I wanted to contribute and deliver to the world. In my mind, I just knew that I knew all the hidden and special truths that I felt like I had discovered after reading many and varying types of books on world religions, on self-help, and just general history. I remember sitting in Barnes and Noble back in 2004 and 2005 reading best-selling books, magazines, and newspapers thinking I should pursue my master’s because I had read enough material to rewrite the content in a fashion that could be understood by laypeople without having to get too complex. Even now I sit back and laugh at the arrogance I had thinking I could sway people’s thinking by reciting book facts and using the interpretation of events from other writers. Even though in 2004 I was about 27 years old and had graduated with my undergraduate degree in psychology (and had even taught 3 years of high school by this point), my style of researching was elementary and outdated and unpracticed at best. There is a subtle, not so subtle nature to researching and writing that oddly resembled life that I had not yet been introduced to.

Researching is a special ability that is not limited to one person. It is not limited to one group of scholars or scholarly individuals like your teachers or college professors. It is like anything else we desire to do well in life. It’s a skill that can be learned from taking a class on technical or formal writing, by attending educational seminars, or from adopting a mentor or educational advisor like a dissertation chair. These pathways are important for sure as there are levels to researching. The methodology for writing research papers in middle school is different from the research paper structures in high school. And both are different than the incorporation of journal articles (rather than encyclopedias for those in my age group or Wikipedia from those who are younger) that are taught and routinely practiced in college. As you move to higher forms of education, post-graduate work, for example, there are still even more stylized versions of research and certainly with one’s writing style. Whether it’s MLA, Chicago, or my personal favorite, APA, each has its own nuances. But whichever is chosen and whatever is used the point remains the same, as we grow older and our educational experience advances and our ability to analyze and our ability to interpret the works of others to integrate into our work, we begin to grow and to expand our understanding.

So, if you are kind enough to be reading this (which I deeply appreciate), please know that there is a point. I don’t mean to bore you with the excitement I have for research and writing. Please indulge me as I continue just a little bit further in. That said, with researching and writing on a higher level, you are asked now to incorporate the work of others. As you gather research articles from noted authoritarians in a specialized field, you align your ideas and concepts using these scholars to serve as support for your position. Early in the game, you might be required to use 5-10 sources for papers maybe 10-15 pages long. As you continue, the ante is upped and now you may need 25-40 sources for a 25-page paper (not including the cover page and reference page – no cheating). Not only are you required to provide more sources and resources that maintain or defend your stance, you need sources that also refute or argue your point. In other words, you need the literature that disputes or disagrees with your point of view. And just when you think there isn’t really much more that could be asked of you: no more citing from non-scholarly sources. This means no more popular books, themed magazines, editorials from the newspaper, information from blog posts or podcast intellects, and generally, much of what is published freely online. Your references need to come from peer-reviewed or peer-referenced works. Why is this important? Well, briefly, you need trustworthiness, accuracy, and in-depth analysis conducted by formal and reputable research endeavors. No longer are opinion and single-sided facts acceptable. Moment of honesty and this is true, if you dig too deep, they may completely disprove your claims outright and legitimately. But that’s okay! Even though, and unbelievably, work that challenges your position, in fact, makes your position more credible.

Here's the rub

The point of preparing and presenting a dissertation isn’t to prove how well you can write. It’s not to necessarily prove how well you can research. And as far as I know for most, it’s not the determining factor on if you should get the dream job you may be searching for (unless we are speaking directly to researching, working in education, etc.). Across the board, the point of a dissertation I’ve found is three-fold:

1) To assess whether you possess the ability to research on a level of a scholar. This means can you set aside your preconceived notions and accept criticism and refuting facts? And then can you defend your position in the face of that adversity?

2) Are you able to add new knowledge to the field in a way that has never been demonstrated before? Can you find that small element in an ever-widening, ever-growing body of learning and educational subject matter?

3) And lastly, will it influence the larger, growing body of knowledge of a subject? In this context, influence does not mean to overpower or change something completely. It means to move the needle just enough to open the doors to new pathways of learning and knowledge attainment.

My last girlfriend used to get so upset with me when we argued. To make my points I consistently (and very probably annoyingly) used analogies and figurative language to try and win those arguments. It wasn’t to demonstrate my intelligence or to try and make her feel less smart. I find that discovering a way to relate to people through examples is a very convincing and persuasive way to convey personal positions. So, if you haven’t noticed yet, that’s what I am attempting to do here. That said, life isn’t built with, lived in, or maintained on in elementary research. Life is an unknown number of complex and dynamic events and relationships that have been formed long before us. While history doesn’t change, society does. Society and people evolve and it’s important for us to leave our preconceived perceptions of how things are given to us behind us. I saw that life was like my dissertation; there was a lot of similarity. We go at it with an arrogance of making it ours and holding on to it with clinched fists. Instead, we may need to consider loosening that grip to allow new knowledge to enter through different modes and processes.

Many of us walk through life not realizing that wealth of knowledge we possess inside of us. However, some of us do, and we tend to overcompensate by trying to control things by our own will, determination, and domination when sometimes what we should contemplate on is falling back and realizing the path isn’t and doesn’t require forceful actions built on the way we want to do things. Sometimes, even in a world of “being a man (or woman),” “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps,” or “controlling or seizing a moment,” we may need to be open to learning to accept the guidance of others to arrive at other destinations. I hope this doesn’t scare you, but remember, you need the work of refuting scholars to strengthen your position or, again, change your course. I’ve learned that this is one path to becoming whole.

Now, let’s reimagine the possibility of the new knowledge we are opening ourselves up to. We have broken down the walls of “I want to study this to discover that.” I hope I have opened the doors to new illumination and to new insights. I promise you that the doors you open are not the ones that release scary monsters some would have you believe. I can’t guarantee it will be the answers you are seeking if you are looking for validation or some form of corroboration. That’s not how it works. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. And that’s the point. What this kind of reawakening, this kind of rebirth will bring you is worth the experience. It’s too important not to open your eyes. Drafting my dissertation opened my eyes wider than just having a deeper understanding of religious tolerance, it opened my eyes to REBIRTHS of knowledge on new transformative levels.

Conceptual Frames to Remember (Now I’m just showing off. Conceptual frames or conceptual frameworks were also introduced to me by my chair during the dissertation process. It’s another important part of dissertation writing. Don’t worry. I ‘ve got a piece on that in another section):

Remember, like the dissertation, we think we can control life, but we can’t and let’s not try to. Perhaps it’s our duty to watch, analyze, learn, and report.

Remember, as we grow in our research breadth, we will discover new tools to unearth and innovative ideas and belief systems (some that match our thinking and some that challenge them).

Remember, consider the path to adding to the ever-growing body of knowledge, but don’t forget about the expansion of our growing minds.

Points to remember (in case you’re not up to reading this entire post):

Don’t get stuck in your own old ways of doing things. Be prepared to change and adapt. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself or of your rebirth of beliefs.

Learn to accept both the support and the arguments of others. You do not have to marry their ideas; there is no telling what rebirth may come from them.

Don’t be afraid to raise your level of thinking and allow it to experience knowledge reborn. It will serve you well.

Stay mindful…

Rebirths