paigemiller
commented
5 years ago Like you said, dissertations are going to vary a lot for everyone. But I think we could include some guidelines about writing the prospectus and dissertation (since we do include a section on writing the manuscript). I think that having any information (at all) to go off of when writing the prospectus would make it a lot less daunting. I don't think the graduate handbook really says anything about them. Maybe we can discuss this as a group at a lab meeting, and assign someone to discuss with John (and past grad students in the lab) about what he expects and how others have managed this task.
What is the new information you would like included? Please describe and add specific references and links you would want included if known. Describe the missing information. Specifically, note what should be learned through this new info.
I know this doesn't have to do with the computation methods practiced in the Drake lab. But 1) I wanted to write this down somewhere so I don't forget to mention it to the larger group, 2) not sure if it would go in the same place as "reviewing a manuscript" part of the wiki. It also may end up being completely irrelevant to the goal of the wiki, that's okay as well.
As I am planning what I think I want my dissertation to look like, I realize that I have no clue what I should be addressing. I know that dissertations vary per lab/program/person, but it would be nice to have something that includes suggestions from people in the Drake lab/John. For example, questions you should ask yourself in preparation (i.e. What excites me about this field? What are some important questions that still need to be answered in this field?). Also, some ball park on how many chapters people usually have, how many papers are expected to come out of the dissertation, etc. Not sure if there is a proper way that grad students usually type out their dissertation plan in preparation for a prospectus defense or meeting with advisor on solidifying ideas and directions, but if there is, what is that layout like?
Does this information fall under an existing section of the work? Which one? List an existing section (add an 'x' to the [ ]):
The scope of the wiki is that it must be specific to the Drake Lab. Please provide reasoning that this isn't too generalizable to include. A clear reason why this is Drake Lab specific.
John may have specific expectations for the grad students in his lab compared to another PI. Drake lab has also had a fair amount of graduate students successfully do through this, so it would be helpful to hear from the Drake Lab.
If it is fairly general, are you okay with a quick overview and then links to other resources? Yes or no. Provide resource link if possible.
Additional context Add any other info here.