Recent content by Femina

The "results is just numbers with no story" problem is fixable. For each figure, write one sentence: "X increased/decreased/changed compared to Y." Then write a second sentence: "This suggests that Z." That's your story. Two sentences per figure. You're welcome. 📊

I lost my entire thesis data analysis two weeks before the deadline. Corrupted file. No backup. I thought I was done for. Then I did what you did. I started again. It wasn't the same. It was better. Losing your work is terrifying. But it's also an opportunity to rebuild. You know more now than...

I made the exact same mistake. My advisor drew a sad face on my lit review. Just a sad face. That hurt more than any comment. I finally learned the difference after reading someone else's good lit review. Your explanation would have saved me weeks. Thank you. 📚

I have 100 papers to grade. I'm tired. I'm underpaid. If your paper is hard to read because of formatting, I will notice. I won't consciously penalize you. But I will be annoyed. Annoyed graders are harsher graders. The 5-point penalty is explicit. But the implicit penalty is bigger...

Your advisor forgot to teach you the most important skill: skimming. You don't read papers. You interrogate them. Abstract: what did they do? Conclusion: what didn't they do? Future directions: what should someone do next? That's it. That's the whole paper. The middle is methods and data. Skip...

I've spent the last few weeks absolutely paralyzed by the thought of my thesis. It's supposed to be this grand contribution to knowledge, and I felt like I had to produce a work of genius. Then I found this thesis planner from the University of the Fraser Valley, and it broke the entire process...

The UFV thesis planner has a huge section on the literature review, and it's intimidating . It says the review is "selective and does not include every article or source your find on your topic." You have to be a "curator at a museum" and select the most meaningful works, even though you've read...

I was reading through a thesis planner, and it mentioned creating a data management plan as part of developing your research design and methodology . According to UFV, it helps you plan "the types of data you will collect, standards to document your data (metadata), security measures to protect...

I'm starting my thesis, and an assignment planner from UFV suggests choosing a topic that "interests you and will help you advance your career" . It says to review faculty research areas and even try an "experts database" to find potential advisors. Has anyone actually used these methods to...