Fin

This blog was started as a class project for my Writing for New Media class at the Savannah College of Art and Design. The school quarter is over next week and this will be my last blog post.

This has been a fun and challenging experience for me. I enjoyed maintaining a blog and writing about the oh so glamorous world of graduate school and thesis writing. At times I found it hard to find something exciting to write about. So I do apologize for boring you at times with my thesis writing adventures. Thesis writing is about as fun and adventurous as drinking sour milk.

I hope you readers found that reading about thesis writing was as exciting as drinking fresh milk. With that being said I want to thank all of you faithful readers (that means you mom) that continued to read my blog, even through the boring parts. And blog, I wanted to thank you for being there to vent to, when I really needed it.

I may start another blog someday. However this blog, on thesis writing, will not continue. I am happy to say that I am through taking graduate classes at SCAD and almost through with my Adventures of Thesis Writing.

It is all up to me

The school quarter is over next week. This is both good and bad news to me. On the one hand I am very glad to be done with my classes and grad school, on the other hand this means it is all to me from here on out.

The thesis class (though tedious) turned out to be very helpful to my thesis research and writing. I was very glad to have the help and support from my professor and my peers. We covered and finished a lot more than I had expected in the 10 short weeks. My Literature Chapter (chapter 2) is all but finished. My Research Methodology Chapter (chapter 3) is more than half way done, and chapter 4: Research Findings has been started. My abstract is also mostly done. All that is left to do is Chapter 1, an introduction and background to the thesis topic, and the conclusion chapter: Results and Analysis of Data. The first chapter will be easy, the last will be harder and have to wait till everything else is done.

After my thesis is complete and approved by my thesis committee I will have to defend my thesis. "Defending" sounds more challenging than it really is, all it really means is to prepare a presentation on what you have studied, how you studied it and what you have learned. The remaining work for my thesis and defense is now left all up to me. I must admit I am a bit nervous. From here on out I must set my own schedule and keep myself on task. I will keep in contact with my support network outside of class: my friends, family, peers, and of course my thesis committee.

It has been a rough road on this path of writing a thesis. No one ever said success would come easy. Getting a graduate degree has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I am bruised, tired, and worn out, but this road has almost come to an end.

Back in the swing of things

Finally the last box has been unpacked from our move and the dust is starting to settle. As you know it has been a challenge to move while keeping up with school work, thesis and writing a blog. Now that life is starting to get back to normal, its time to get back into the swing of things. Just like this little girl, I too wish to be happily swinging back into a normal routine.

In my new apartment I now have a separate office space (before the office was in the bedroom, bad feng shui). The desk is all set up now with extra storage space for research books etc. I love my new desk space. The feel of the room and the comfort of my new desk chair makes for a great work environment. And Roxanne (my 1 year old dalamation) can sleep on the couch behind me, just like she is now.

Now that my desk and computer are all set up in my new office, I feel like I can successfully finish the task at hand: THESIS. After all, that is what this is all about really. Thesis, here I come.

Dear Blog...

Dear Blog,

How have you been? I have missed you. It has been too long since I last wrote. This is my fault, I am sorry. Writing a thesis has kept me very busy. Plus, as you know, I just moved from Savannah, GA to Austin, TX. It was a busy week of packing boxes and moving furniture and then a very long two day drive, followed by unpacking everything. I know, I know, I shouldn't be making excuses. School work and thesis must still come first. And you Blog, I have also been slacking on you. I do apologize, please for give me. I promise to write again soon. Now I am back to my thesis writing and research.

Sincerely,

Me

P.S. Did I tell you we are already formatting and editing our thesis in class? Editing and formatting is the easy part! I'm almost done!

Thesis Abstract

I made it through the end of the thesis class, almost. This weeks assignment is to write our thesis abstract. At this point in my thesis writing project it is time to reflect on what I have written so far and write my abstract. Once you complete the majority of the thesis document, it is time to go back to the very beginning and write your introductory chapter and an abstract. It feels good to be at this point in my thesis. At times I felt I was never going to finish, now in this moment, the end feels reachable.

According to this weeks course content:
"A thesis abstract is a synopsis of your thesis. The abstract explains to the reader the problem and your research questions. However, it also includes a summary of your methodology, the scope of the study, your results, and recommendations and/or conclusions. An abstract must be a fully self-contained, capsule description of your thesis. It should not be assumed that the reader of the abstract will read your complete thesis or look for an explanation of an unclear statement. The abstract must be able to stand alone."

It is this last sentence that has helped me to write my abstract this week. This thesis abstract must standalone as its own document that describes in 500 words or less what your entire thesis is about. This part was a little hard. To cut down the very large thesis document that I have been spending so much time with in the past couple of months to this 500 word abstract was not easy. Although on the other hand this was one of the easiest things to write for this thesis. At this point I can practically write this thesis in my sleep (not really) because I have been working on it so much and for so long.

I've learned that writing a thesis is just as stressful as I thought it would be. However, I have also learned that writing a thesis was not as challenging as I thought it would be. Now the end is in sight, I'm still not that close to the end, but its in sight.

Moving

Ever tried to move to a different state, find a job and finish writing a thesis at the same time? I don't suggest it.

This month I am moving from my apartment in downtown Savannah, GA to the north side of Austin, TX. I am very excited about moving, but I couldn't have picked a worse time to do it. As I have mentioned in a previous post I am almost done my last quarter of school. The last day of the quarter is August 28th. Our move is scheduled for August 16th - 18th. With all the packing and unpacking happening before and after those days. You might think that is what I should be doing now. However, now I am up in Concord, NH where my parents are packing and moving from to their new house. This month could not be busier.

I am feeling totally stressed out right now with everything going on. I have put some of my work on the back burner, which in grad school is a big No No. My thesis writing advice for this weeks blog includes a moving tip as well:

Moving tip #29:

Don't move and write a thesis at the same time.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever going to be done...

I am past the half way mark in my last quarter of grad school. You might think that it will all be down hill from here... but its not. I still feel like I have so much more to do and it will take so long to do it. Just like Wally here in the cartoon, I have been working on this project for a few months now and I don't yet see an end in sight. I just got my bill for this fall quarter at SCAD. Until I finish my thesis I have to pay the school $500 each quarter, thats $2000 a year. If that isn't an incentive to finish ASAP then I don't know what is. Incentive or not, this project is still going to be a long and hard process.

I will end today with a quote from my father. He has always worked hard and followed through. Some words of advice from dear old Dad: "Keep your head down, your helmet on and keep your feet moving."

Thanks Dad.

Research Methodology

Research Methodology DUN DUN DUN (dramatic scary music, a single scream in the background.) This was my reaction to the idea of writing a research methodology chapter for my thesis. My thinking was: what is a research methodology chapter and why does it deserve an entire chapter in my thesis? This is one chapter I have since the beginning, wanted to avoid. Unfortunately, I've done everything else I could to avoid writing this chapter. Now, the time has come. I can no longer avoid writing about my research methods.

As it has turned out, the research methodology chapter might be one of the easiest chapters to write. Put most simply, methodology explains the methods you used in your research. Examples of methods might include: case studies, surveys, interviews, data analysis, etc. The two basic questions a research methodology chapter should answer are:

1. How was the data collected or generated?

2. How was it analyzed?

According to this weeks course content:

Research methodology describes the manner in which data is collected for a research project. There are two primary types of research, qualitative research and quantitative research. Qualitative research utilizes techniques in order to gain a better understanding of human behavior by trying to understand the “why.” Quantitative research primarily focuses on the collection of measurable data (typically statistical data).

Another type of research used is a mixed-methodology, which combines both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

When stated so simply in this way, the methodology chapter seems to be a breeze. Is that really all a research methodology chapter does?

State how you you are collecting data and conducting your research and then explaining how you will analyze the findings. That seems simple enough... time to get started.

Stay tuned later in the week to see just how simple (or hard) this chapter actually was for me to write.

DUN DUN DUN (dramatic music) What will happen next?

Writing Research Questions

This weeks assignment: writing research questions. According to this weeks course content for my thesis writing class, "Having clear and solid research questions will guide your research from beginning to end. A good research question is just as important as a good topic. Without a solid question, you could be left floundering, unable to find an answer because the question was much too broad. Alternatively, the answer could be found and reported on within just a few pages, indicating it is far too narrow for a thesis question."

Research questions are very important to the thesis writing process. Some of the questions I have come up with for my research are as follows:

Research Questions

1. How are non-art nonprofit organizations using social media?

2. What makes a social media campaign successful?

3. How can researching non-art nonprofit organizations use of social media improve an art organization’s understanding of a successful social media campaign?

4. How do you create a social media communications campaign for a nonprofit organization?

5. How has social media affected how nonprofit organizations are marketing and communicating with their supporters?

6. How can art organizations use social media effectively to reach their patrons?

7. What use of social media has been most successful for other non-art nonprofits? Why?

Social Media for Social Good

As you readers all know I am writing my thesis on how nonprofits are using social media. This week, for an assignment in the class Writing for New Media, I had to write an interactive text. The humane Society has a big presence on social media networks an have run very successful campaigns using social media.I chose to write my interactive test on the Humane Society's use of social media. For my thesis I am conducting a case study on the Humane Society's use of social media. This interactive text assignment has helped me get a head start on researching how the Humane Society is using social media.

And Now for your reading pleasure, a blurb from the interactive text assignment for my blog, The Adventures of Thesis Writing.


Social Media For Social Good
July 19, 2010

One of the most successful social media marketing campaigns to date is run by the Humane Society of America. The Humane Societies main goal as an organization is Celebrating Animals, Confronting Cruelty. Their mission, as nation's largest and most effective animal protection organization is to “work to reduce suffering and to create meaningful social change for animals by advocating for sensible public policies, investigating cruelty and working to enforce existing laws, educating the public about animal issues, joining with corporations on behalf of animal-friendly policies, and conducting hands-on programs that make ours a more humane world.” Two of the biggest campaigns the Humane Society supports are End Animal Cruelty and Fighting, and Adopt a Shelter Pet.

The main webpage of the Humane Society is filled with links to their causes, videos, issues, news, animals, and more information about the organization. There is also a link to their very popular Humane Society Facebook page. The Humane Society has 305,843online followers that are a “fan” of the Humane Society Facebook page. Something is posted on the Humane Society Facebook page five days a week (every business day) sometimes twice a day. Also on their Facebook page is a list of the Humane Society’s Favorite pages, included under the Humane Society’s favorite are The Shelter Pet Project, the Humane Society International, The Animal Rescue Site, and The Humane Domain.

Another link on the Humane Society’s main webpage is the blog titled: A Humane Nation written by Wayne Parcelle the President and CEO of The Humane Society. Parcelle writes about everything having to do with the causes the Humane Society supports from “Through the Eyes of Our Animal Rescue Team” to “Editorializing for Animal Protection, Agricultural Progress.” The Humane Society also has a Twitter account, where they tweet about upcoming events, their blog A Humane Nation and their magazine All Animals.

YouTube has also been a very successful social media tool for the Humane Society. In 2007 NFL quarter back Michael Vick was accused of fighting pit bull terriers for sport. The Humane Society’s director of emerging media, Carie Lewis, used all forms of social media to comment on the story of Vick and the abused dogs. The Humane Society and animal lovers alike began posting videos denouncing dog fighting. As a result of the wide support on YouTube, the Humane Society began the “Knock Out Animal Fighting YouTube Contest.” The winning video was viewed over 115,000 times. The Humane Society encouraged activists and supporters of the cause to advocate for anti-dogfighting legislation at the state level. For the Humane Society the ultimate success of this YouTube contest was the level of support and advocacy for their efforts.

For the Humane Society of America social media marketing offers free advertising to their supporters and target markets. More so than that, social media offers a platform for two-way communication with their audiences. Today’s nonprofits are realizing that to connect with the young activists of tomorrow they have to be more fluent with social media today. Social media has completely redefined the idea of grass-roots campaign, reaching greater numbers for less money. The major success of social media campaigns for nonprofits is connecting with supporters on a deeper level. Social media allows nonprofits to communicate directly with activists. For the Humane Society, connecting with their supporters on this deeper level has created stories of great collaborations and successful social media marketing campaigns.

Literature Review

This week in class we are writing our literature review chapter. Now some of you readers might be asking what exactly is a literature review. That was my first question after reading this weeks assignment.

Wikipedia (my trusty old friend) defines a literature review as: a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge and or methodological approaches on a particular topic. Literature reviews are secondary sources, and as such, do not report any new or original experimental work.

The ex-chair of the arts administration at SCAD (a master at thesis and dissertation writing) defines a literature review in her own way: "the term literature in literature review refers to any collection of material on a topic. The “review” part of a literature review describes, synthesizes, and perhaps, re-interprets the materials on the topic. The literature review should do more than simply summarize the information in a source—it should compare and contrast, reorganize, and reconsider the information from a variety of sources."

Still confused? I still was a little confused. I found that by just starting to write about the sources I had read got me to thinking about how the sources connected. This in the most simplest way is what a literature review is. Finding the connections in the interpretations of the literature read on the subject.

By completing the assignment for this week I learned several things.

1. What a literature review is
2. How to write a literature
3. I learned that the easiest way for me to start a writing assignment I am unsure about the best way to begin is to just dive right into it.

For further reading on what a literature review is check out these university's web pages on the subject:

http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/ReviewofLiterature.html

http://www.library.ncat.edu/ref/guides/literaturereview03.htm

http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review

Motivation

Motivation is a tricky thing. You cant see it, you cant feel it, but you know its there. You also know when it isn't there.

During the thesis writing and researching process keeping up your motivation and moral is so important. But how do you stay motivated to work and succeed when you just don't care?

Here are some tips from me. I'm no expert, believe me, but these tips may help.

1. Think small. Its hard to look at the big picture and not get overwhelmed. If you focus on small tasks, and break up the assignment it makes it easier to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

2. Take breaks. If your feeling like your trapped on an island, aka, your mound of thesis research books, the best thing to do it build a boat and sail away (temporarily).

3. Set daily goals. Write a reasonable "To Do" list at the beginning of the day. Focus on just finishing the list, and don't worry about any other tasks for that day.

4. Get in the zone. Hide all your other distractions, and set up a place to work where the only focus is your work. Do what works best for you: music in the background, clearing the clutter off the desk except for your work, shut the door and grad a drink and snack so there are no excuses to get up.

5. No excuses. Its hard to get motivated, but its even harder if you continue to make excuses for why the work is not getting done.

Remember: Procrastination is like masturbation, its fun at first but in the end your only screwing yourself.

It comes down to you. In the end it is only you who can write your thesis. No one will be there to hold you hand and correct your work. So stop making excuses and GET MOTIVATED!

Annotated Bibliography

For this weeks assignment in my thesis writing class is to create an annotated bibliography. My first question: What is an annotated bibliography? So I did some research (my favorite thing to do.) To gain a better understanding of what was needed to annotate my bibliography sources I checked out these websites:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annotated_bibliography

Wiki is my fave for a quick reference on anything.

www.ehow.com/how_6319305_write-annotated-bibliography-template.html

I also looked at eHow.com for a step by step guide to writing my annotations.

It turns out writing an annotated bibliography is easier than I thought. And instead on annotating the entire list of sources, the assignment only required three sources to be annotated.

Now for your reading pleasures, here are some samples from my annotated sources:

Andreasen, Alan R., and Philip Kotler. Strategic marketing for nonprofit organizations. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008.

This book offers an easy how-to guide to marketing tactics and strategies for nonprofit art organizations. The authors focus on developing target markets, positioning, branding and offers examples of how art organizations can develop and launch new offerings and advertise the new products with communication methods and public relations. The book concludes with suggestions for evaluation and monitoring the success of a strategic marketing plan or campaign. This book is written to both educate students and to help nonprofit business managers to plan personalized marketing campaigns. One chapter in this book is dedicated to managing on-line new media marketing campaigns.

Bernstein, Joanne Scheff. Arts marketing insights: the dynamics of building and retaining performing arts audiences. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007.

The forward in Arts Marketing Insights has been written by the author of the pervious book Strategic Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations, Philip Kotler. This book focuses on performing art organizations and therefore focuses on attracting audiences, single ticket sales vs. subscription sales, and how to target specific markets. The author gives an explanation of how the audiences for performing art organizations are changing because of changing audiences, and new types of entertainment options. The author educates students, professors, and professionals alike on how art organizations must learn how to attract patrons and be relevant to the changing lifestyles, needs, and interests of their current and potential audiences.

Hoops

Graduate school has not necessarily been very hard. For me it has felt more like a game, a game of jumping through hoops. The school says jump, and I must ask, "how high?" Another hoop was presented to me today in the form of an e-mail from my adviser. I have to find another thesis committee member. JUMP. This is because my department chair has left SCAD for another position. Therefore it is my new responsibility to replace my department chair for some one else. JUMP. I made it though that hoop last week when I asked my professor of the on-line thesis writing class to be my new thesis committee chair. To have this new chair approved, I must re-apply with the three signatures of my new committee. JUMP. My committee is now spread across the country in three different states, Georgia, Illinois, and New York. JUMP. I must now fill out the application (again) and fax it to three different states for three different signatures. JUMP. Although the course work is not that hard, SCAD sure does make it difficult to get anything done quickly.

To clarify any confusion of the thesis committee requirements my adviser sent me this e-mail:


Thesis committee requirements:

The committee should consist of three members—a chair and two additional members. At least two of the thesis committee members, including the chair, should be SCAD faculty.

The chair must be a SCAD faculty member and should hold a terminal degree (MFA, PhD or other), should be familiar with the student and his or her work, and be a professor in the student’s major program of study. The chair will submit the final grade for the thesis after consulting with the other two members.

Under the guidance and support of the chair students should select the other two committee members. They do not carry titles, but be known simply as thesis committee members. The chair will make the determination regarding the appropriateness of the other two members serving on the committee. One of the two must be a SCAD faculty member, preferably full time. Any outside committee members should not be related to the student in any way and should possess the necessary experience or credentials for serving on a thesis committee.

All three committee members, under the guidance of the chair, will work to assure that the student work is appropriate visually and verbally. The committee should be aware of resources available to students working on the written component of the thesis.

Make sure to get all of your thesis committee members signatures on the thesis application, - your functioning department chair after the start of summer quarter is Denise Smith, who you can contact at hdsmith@scad.edu.


- All committee members' signatures must be on the same thesis application form, and it can be hand delivered, faxed, shipped or emailed to me.


Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Very Best,
Siv


I plan to e-mail her back with two questions.
1. WTF?
2. How high?

JUMP.

The Book

For my Thesis Writing class here at SCAD we were assigned a how-to guide book on writing theses and dissertations. The book for this class, written by R. Murray Thomas and Dale L. Brubaker, is titled Theses and Dissertations: A Guide to Planning, Research, and Writing. Let me tell you, this book is just as exciting as the title sounds. Granted, I knew writing a thesis would not be a particularly exciting process, however, I did hope to find some help and motivation from my required literature. This book reads just like a thesis or dissertation might.

For example: the first two chapters in the book (this weeks assignment) explains in detail (a) the nature and functions of theses and dissertations (b) academic disciplines and the theories behind them (c) how to select committee members and find outside support (d) finding a citing "professional" literature and (e) how to create checklists and plan ahead for the research and writing of your thesis.

I also read ahead into the third chapter. The content of this chapter explains (a) functions of literature reviews (b) efficient ways of searching through literature and (c) errors of judgment.

Need I go on?

Luckily for me, I am taking this class, Writing for New Media. The professor of this class, Beth Concepcion, is also on my thesis committee. This class, and writing this blog will (hopefully) help me stay sane through this process. I also hope Writing for New Media will help me with my research and writing about my thesis topic:

How social media can be used as a tool for advertising and communication for non-profit art organizations.

First ever blog

Hello to my classmates, and professor Concepcion. This is my first ever blog writing experience. I am excited to be writing a blog for this class and I think it will help keep me sane while writing my thesis this summer. Thanks for reading.