Category Archives: dissertation

April 15, 2014
7:27 pm
by: watsonaj

Winding Down

Life has been hectic lately.  I was in the very fortunate position of traveling the country for job interviews and conferences while also putting the finishing touches on my dissertation.  While all of my data collection was completed on campus … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, dissertation, Grad School, Job Market

January 7, 2014
5:03 pm
by: watsonaj

The Undergraduate Research Experience

As an undergraduate, I was given a fantastic research experience.  Beginning my first semester of freshman year, I worked with Dr. Dan Jones to do work with x-ray crystallography.  Dr. Jones was an incredible mentor of a caliber that I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in dissertation, Grad School, inspiration, mentors, Students

November 8, 2013
2:14 pm
by: watsonaj

New Beginnings

This has been a semester with the promise of many new beginnings.  I’m fast approaching the end of my time at Virginia Tech, but I know that there are many good experiences ahead of me as I transition from a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, dissertation, Job Market, transitions

August 13, 2013
5:15 pm
by: watsonaj

Sesame Street Sums up my Dissertation

In honor of my rapidly approaching the 50% mark of dissertation data collection, I present to you, blogosphere, Sesame Street’s take on my area of research, self-regulation. In this video, Cookie Monster learns to “function like an executive” (Ha!  Executive … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in dissertation, Self-Regulation

July 2, 2013
5:35 pm
by: watsonaj

10%

Today, with yet another 4-year-old in and out of the lab, I have completed 10% of my dissertation data collection.  This is certainly not the first large-scale project for which I have collected data, and it certainly will not be … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in dissertation, Grad School, Productivity, reflection

June 12, 2013
4:07 pm
by: watsonaj

Back to Blacksburg

Well, I’m back in Blacksburg after an incredible global adventure.  Many more pictures and stories will follow, but for now I have two goals: (1) to express how incredibly enriching of an experience I had, and (2) to report back … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, dissertation, engagement, GPP13, Productivity, research, summer

September 13, 2012
4:21 am
by: watsonaj

Regression? A Token Economy? Or Academia?

I’ll be frank with you, dear blogosphere.  I am completely and utterly terrified of my dissertation.  It’s silly, I know.  There’s nothing here that I haven’t done (albeit on a smaller scale) before.  I have collected, analyzed, written, and presented … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in academic fear, dissertation, Productivity

June 29, 2012
3:21 pm
by: watsonaj

A mid-summer update

My apologies for the lack of updates.  Life has been a bit of a (good) whirlwind lately. I’m excited to report that I have an idea for a dissertation.  It will take me a while to decide upon the specifics … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Advice, data collection, dissertation, mentors, preschoolers, Productivity