To be alone with yourself is to be alone. To be in the company of others is to be alone together – Vera Nazarian
The Ph.D. journey can be so intense one may get completely sucked into the world of books and develop an individualistic culture. Any stage of the process- review of literature, proposal development, colloquium, proposal defense, data collection and analysis, thesis writing, viva voce, and final submission-has the potential to sink one into the deep end of reading. One vital lesson I learn is never to wade the deep waters of River Ph.D. alone. There is always help around the corner.
My very first assistance comes from my supervisors, classmates, and lecturers during the prerequisite courses. Initially, I hear strange things being discussed, and make a note to follow up. My classmates are gracious enough to honor an appointment with me and take me through what I don’t understand. I remember at the height of the research methodology class, my lecturer agrees to meet me and explain one or two things. On another occasion, a PG room colleague senses my frustration and suggests I visit one of the lecturers dealing with campaigns. Now, I have never met this lecturer, but one morning I present myself at his door, explain my predicament, and request a meeting. I am humbled when he suggests and honors the date. He is also the expert dealing with the qualitative data analysis software, NVIVO, and over the next several months, we will interact as I attend various workshops involving the software where he shares crucial knowledge.
Once upon a time I was a student at Makerere University but left after I realized it wasn’t the place for me. But I learned something very important during my short stint there. Ph.D. students at the University are required to form peer accountability groups where each member must participate in a mock/mini proposal defense and viva voce. By themselves. If, say, we are a group of 4-6 students (from the same cohort), the ‘candidate’ has to send the proposal to the rest of the team members a month to two weeks before the ‘defense.’ Every group member must scrutinize the document and prepare rich comments to aid in proposal refinement. The same is repeated when the student is ready for the viva voce. And so I think I can get a couple of people around campus to implement this. However, the few I approach do not buy into my idea. I probably am a lousy salesperson. But luck is on my side as one colleague decides to give it a shot: Fungayi from good old Zimbabwe. We start by exchanging chapters, meet, and share our thoughts as well as point out our weaknesses. I learn many things from Fungayi, one of which is to always use the most relevant information. See, I was still pegging my significance to millennium development goals when the conversation long shifted to sustainable development goals.
Since then, I am very particular about my references. You will recall Dr. Mark, a colleague awaiting graduation, who assists me in taking baby steps into the research path. In one such meeting, he mentions that he kept changing his references till the viva voce because new research was being churned out frequently, easily making his current submissions obsolete. I learn not to call my information sources ‘respondents’ as the term is a preserve of the quantitative approach. The word that I must eat, drink, and dream is ‘informants’ for the qualitative study. From Dr. Mark, I also learn to love my study the way he does his. He speaks with passion about how he took time to pen his thesis, a document he is proud of. “You should read my thesis, sister oh. It is very nice, oh. I am proud of my work, oh.” Now that is something. The human self will delight in praises from without, yet praises must arise from deep within us first. Reminds me of Chinua Achebe’s lizard that jumped from the Iroko tree to declare itself great. Indeed, if I don’t love me first, who will?
I have signed myself up as a volunteer for a three-day activity in a children’s camp away from campus. About 10 of us have presented ourselves for this exciting event. We are all strangers to one other but soon get into animated talk before the start of the three-hour journey. Trust me, the conversations revolve around academia. It is in this van that I encounter Dr. Salako who is also conducting a qualitative study (grounded theory). Dr. Salako has a lot to say, and in those three days, whenever I can, I sit around him for the man is oozing with qualitative study wisdom. I am almost defending my proposal and require help. He agrees to meet me at Subaidah one morning where we spend hours going through my mini document. Can you believe he has prepared possible questions that I might encounter at the defense proposal? Of course, most of my answers go south, but he graciously brings me back to the right path. Two very important things I learn from him include the different verbs that I ought to use for the qualitative study: understand, discover, describe, explore, develop, etc. These contrast with quantitative verbs such as compare, calculate, measure, assess, determine, etc. Of course, there are those that can serve a dual purpose. Another lesson I learn is resilience because he has not had it easy with his supervisor. It is a sad story that I will perhaps narrate here in the future since he has already published it.
Who can forget Dr. Sheikh Ali? He who set me on the path I now walk? The night before my proposal defense, Dr. Ali (who has since successfully defended his thesis) patiently takes me through what to expect in my defense proposal. Today has been his busiest day in recent times but he makes time for me. We meet at the Cultural Centre from 9 pm to 11 pm.
I doubt I would have reached this far if I had locked myself in my room or library. The help you need is ever a whisper away.
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