Search results

I have 40 PDFs saved. FORTY. And I keep finding more. My professor said "you can never have too many sources" but at this point, I have too many to actually USE. I'm spending all my time reading and no time writing. 😵‍💫 The Innovatank guide says research should be "focused and purposeful" — you...

My professor wrote on my draft: "This is a list, not a synthesis." I don't even know what "synthesis" means in this context. I thought a literature review WAS summarizing sources. A writing guide explained the difference: Summary: "Smith (2020) found X. Jones (2021) found Y. Brown (2022) found...

I have 50 tabs open, sticky notes everywhere, and a notebook that looks like a conspiracy theorist's wall. My research paper is due in three weeks and I can't find ANYTHING. A classmate recommended Zotero for citations, but I still have all these NOTES and QUOTES that need organizing by theme...

My advisor wrote on my proposal: "You haven't engaged with the state of the art." I nodded like I understood. I did not. What even IS "state of the art"? After much confusion, I finally get it. Sharing for other lost souls. What "state of the art" IS: It's not just "recent research." It's the...

I spent weeks stuck on my research question. Too broad. Too narrow. Too boring. Impossible. Then my advisor introduced me to the FINER criteria . Game changer. 🏆 F - Feasible Can you actually do this? Do you have access to data/participants? Do you have the skills/time/resources? Is the scope...

After drowning in 50 pages of feedback, I started categorizing the comments. Patterns emerged. My advisor is seeing the same issues over and over. Sharing so others can avoid my pain. 🩹 1. "You describe, but don't analyze." I summarized sources. I didn't synthesize. My advisor wrote: "So what...

I got my research proposal back today. 50 pages of comments. Red ink. Everywhere. My advisor wrote: "See comments" in like 40 places. I sat in my car and sobbed for 20 minutes. 🚗💦 I don't even know where to start. Some comments are tiny—typos, commas. Some are huge—"this argument doesn't work"...