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I'm actually feeling calmer.
I think this undergrad is going to do a good job - she seems to be conscientous and research-minded. She had a lot of questions about the protocol, which shows that she's been paying attention. I've had two no-shows so far today and I'm not utterly climbing the walls, so I guess that means that deep down I trust her to get things done.
If there aren't any more no-shows, I'll be asking her to run four subjects. That will bring my total N up to 70, which I think is a respectable number. If there is another no-show or two, she'll run a couple more. I think I'm going to offer her a $50 bonus if she can run them all in the next two weeks. (Two a week. She should be able to do that, right?)
In other news, I've completely overhauled the Intro and Methods sections of my dissertation - that's about fifty pages, double-spaced. The Method needs some more work that can't be done here - I'll need to add a section discussing the number of subjects I screened vs. the number I contacted vs. the number who completed the study, and whether I can identify any differences between those groups. I'll need to go through stacks of patient schedules for that, and I don't have them here. But otherwise the Methods section is done. The Intro was already pretty good - it's been through a couple of revisions already - but now it's damned good. In particular, I wrote a great new section explaining just what my study is supposed to prove and what makes it an improvement on the published research.
You know, this is good research. As much as I hate my dissertation sometimes - and I do - it's a well-designed study that should add substantial new information to the literature in this area. I'm well set up to answer important questions. John thinks it will be eminently publishable even if I don't get the main effect I'm looking for, and I agree.
In the depths of the agony of two and a half years of fucked-up data collection, it's been easy to forget that it's a good study. Working on the writing helps me remember.
I think this undergrad is going to do a good job - she seems to be conscientous and research-minded. She had a lot of questions about the protocol, which shows that she's been paying attention. I've had two no-shows so far today and I'm not utterly climbing the walls, so I guess that means that deep down I trust her to get things done.
If there aren't any more no-shows, I'll be asking her to run four subjects. That will bring my total N up to 70, which I think is a respectable number. If there is another no-show or two, she'll run a couple more. I think I'm going to offer her a $50 bonus if she can run them all in the next two weeks. (Two a week. She should be able to do that, right?)
In other news, I've completely overhauled the Intro and Methods sections of my dissertation - that's about fifty pages, double-spaced. The Method needs some more work that can't be done here - I'll need to add a section discussing the number of subjects I screened vs. the number I contacted vs. the number who completed the study, and whether I can identify any differences between those groups. I'll need to go through stacks of patient schedules for that, and I don't have them here. But otherwise the Methods section is done. The Intro was already pretty good - it's been through a couple of revisions already - but now it's damned good. In particular, I wrote a great new section explaining just what my study is supposed to prove and what makes it an improvement on the published research.
You know, this is good research. As much as I hate my dissertation sometimes - and I do - it's a well-designed study that should add substantial new information to the literature in this area. I'm well set up to answer important questions. John thinks it will be eminently publishable even if I don't get the main effect I'm looking for, and I agree.
In the depths of the agony of two and a half years of fucked-up data collection, it's been easy to forget that it's a good study. Working on the writing helps me remember.
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