With ResearchGate removing their “Projects” pages and ability to update progress, I decided to add a new page to this website that allowed me to track the progress on my dissertation. As a living document, not only does tracking my progress allow for a level of transparency in my work, but it is also a way to help me keep accountable to my writing goals.

A dissertation is a body of work that takes a long time to complete. When I was writing my MA thesis, I tried to document that process through social media, but I found such platforms limited and, quite frankly, a little shallow and stale. Instead of documenting the process in a cohesive diary format, I became more concerned about likes and the attention. That’s not healthy and actually prevents good writing.

I could also use my blog to document the project, but I rather enjoy the free chaos that a blog allows. Through my blog I am able to write about other aspects of my life, whether it is as a researcher, writer, or for some brief self-promotion (the task I dread most). So with this in mind, I also decided to not use my blog.

What I’m hoping to document this time around is a track record of how a large body of work comes together. The page will be a kind of a meditative diary that allows me to see where my dissertation is headed and where I’ve been. Without a defined schedule in mind, it’ll help me track inevitable changes to the work based on what I discover in my analysis and learn in the field. It’s also my bit of rebellion against the notion that research has to be “fixed” before we start, something I really struggle with. I think research of this nature needs to be dynamic, receptive, and alive in order to be viable, otherwise it misses the point of documenting and analyzing real relationships, which in themselves are ever evolving.

With this, I’ll also be cleaning up the other side of the site, which includes the breakdown of my CV. I won’t be deleting anything, but rather organizing it all so that it is more readable.