I don't really have anyone else to talk to about this who gets it, so I'm posting here.
I've been working on my thesis proposal for months. Months. I thought I had it all figured out. My research questions were solid, my methodology made sense to me, and I had a reasonable timeline for my data collection. I met with my advisor today, all confident and ready to get the green light, and she just... tore it apart.
She said the scope was too broad, the literature review section was "undercooked," and the theoretical framework I chose was "a bit passé." She didn't yell or anything, but her words were so clinical. I walked out of her office and just sat in my car for 20 minutes, staring at the steering wheel.
I know she's probably trying to make it better, and I know I should be grateful for the feedback. But right now, I just feel like I'm not cut out for this. Like, how did I even get into grad school if I can't even write a decent plan? Has anyone else had their thesis/dissertation structure completely rejected by their committee? How do you find the motivation to go back to the drawing board and start over? I feel like I've wasted so much time.
I've been working on my thesis proposal for months. Months. I thought I had it all figured out. My research questions were solid, my methodology made sense to me, and I had a reasonable timeline for my data collection. I met with my advisor today, all confident and ready to get the green light, and she just... tore it apart.
She said the scope was too broad, the literature review section was "undercooked," and the theoretical framework I chose was "a bit passé." She didn't yell or anything, but her words were so clinical. I walked out of her office and just sat in my car for 20 minutes, staring at the steering wheel.
I know she's probably trying to make it better, and I know I should be grateful for the feedback. But right now, I just feel like I'm not cut out for this. Like, how did I even get into grad school if I can't even write a decent plan? Has anyone else had their thesis/dissertation structure completely rejected by their committee? How do you find the motivation to go back to the drawing board and start over? I feel like I've wasted so much time.
