In Search of Inspiration for a Doctoral Dissertation

I revisited my old writings from years ago when I was searching for a topic for my doctoral dissertation.

Over a weekend, I took a break from my classes and went to Washington DC for some family business. While there, I was also on the lookout for a suitable topic for my doctoral dissertation. But I found it difficult to settle on one idea, as there were too many options in my mind and none of them seemed clear enough to settle on.

After my last post, I traveled to Washington DC and returned to Lawton over three days. I flew into the Reagan National Airport on a Wednesday morning, and started back for Lawton that same evening, driving a rented truck.

I say this because I found an excellent time to reflect on my doctoral journey, especially on the aeroplane on my way to DC.  I took with me a recent Reader's Digest and found time to go through the articles. I told myself to listen, to look out, to pay attention, and to keep my mind open so that I could get the inspiration for my doctoral dissertation. I wrote down the main ideas that came to me along the way.

The first series of thoughts came to me out of the Reader's Digest. They are as follows, not in any particular order of importance:-

On page 8 of the Reader's Digest (Dec 2015/ Jan 2016 edition) there is a letter written by Judy of Utah where she explains why she studies Memory. The reasons include her experiences with her parents. Memories linger for a long time in our minds; however, we can choose what to do with those memories.  In my mind, I was inspired to look for a subject in my memory rather than go out there looking for something new to study, no matter how appealing it might appear to me. I must find a subject that means a whole lot to me.  By searching through my memory bank I might find one. On page 9 I wrote, "A subject I'll study not just now but always." On the inside of the back cover, I wrote, "A subject/topic I have been interested in for a long time."

The other inspiration coming out of the Reader's Digest was in the form of a question: Do I want to be remembered?  The context of this inspiration is a story on page 112 about Forever Memory.  Simon Parkin wrote these words, "What if our recollections could live on long after we were gone?"  In the article, the fundamental question is whether or not we would like to be remembered when we are dead and long buried. Surprisingly, my response was neither yes nor no; I turned the question to my doctoral subject: What is it I want to leave behind as my heritage and gift to the world? What knowledge, what thought?

In a matter of one week since my first blog post, I have come up with a SWOT analysis of sorts.  My strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Of these I looked first at my strengths, things I know I am good at... things I have accomplished in my life and things that brighten my heart when I think of them. They include my work in community counselling and community capacity enhancement; training and development, and my love for academics.  These are the practical things I have done as a person of faith as my contribution to the world.

As these relate to health care and to current issues in health care, I wrote down the following points: Leadership studies; Finance, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation; Management training, Team dynamic, transformational leadership, relational leadership, patient satisfaction, and measurement.

I am spending quality time in a deep soul search for the topic that I will cover for my doctoral dissertation. I am looking for something I have always loved to know and do; I am looking for a subject I am willing to keep on studying always, and one on which I can write many articles starting very soon. As of today, I have not yet identified the topic for my doctoral dissertation.