Intro: Setting the ground rules.

Welcome to my first step on this path... glad you're walking alongside for a while.

In "The Matrix," Morpheus tells Neo, "There's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path." That's the crossroads upon which I find myself now. It's been a long journey of sorts. Some of this journey has made it to my Gonzo 2.0. In this journey, I have dealt with depression, writer's block, seeking counseling (and no, I'm not the least bit ashamed to admit that therapy helped me get my mojo back), and getting myself back on track...

This new stage of the journey officially began on June 9, 2009. That's the day when I finally took my Preliminary Exam and defended my dissertation proposal. That was the day when I became ABD (All But Dissertation), or a Ph.D. Candidate. A fairly big deal, but not my ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to defend and deposit my dissertation this academic year.

As I said, I'm about to begin a big part of the journey, the part where the Dissertation, my Dissy, really begins. I'll start collecting my data in a few days. In the meantime, I'll have to put all my multi-tasking skills to the ultimate test. I'll be rewriting my chapters, conducting interviews, transcribing tapes, analyzing my data, and writing a first set of interpretations, all while I'm teaching, applying for jobs and making arrangements for my life with my beautiful fiancée. Now, I won't be as pretentious to think I'm the only one who's ever done this or to think that "nobody knows the trouble I've seen, nobody knows my sorrow."

Actually, it is the fact that I KNOW that others are experiencing these troubles and sorrows, that others are facing the frustrations of working on something whose families may just look at in awe and bewilderment, that others also have to sit endless hours listening to conversations over and over, etc. what has led me to start this blog. This is an outlet to share my feelings with others who are working on their master's theses or doctoral dissertations, who are dealing with data, with committees, etc. I'll share some insights I've learned and am learning. It's a space to share knowledge about conducting research.

However, there are some ground rules which this blog will abide by:

1. I will not discuss the inner workings of my research. I will talk about general issues regarding data collection, but I will not speak about my data! I am bound by IRB and my own code of ethics as a scholar and researcher to do whatever it takes to protect my participants. They have willingly allowed me to talk to them and I will honor that trust.
2. Here's what you need to know about my dissertation: It relates to literacy practices and English education. I'll be happy to share my points of view about literacy, teaching, teacher education, and English education. I'll share what I am discovering myself through my readings and rewrites of my literature review. Again, what I'm learning from the data has a place and time, the Dissy itself.
3. I will share references, readings, articles, etc. that may be useful to other junior researchers out there. Please feel free to throw references my way. I'm always on the lookout.
4. This is very personal in nature. I will write here about stuff that won't make it to my dissertation (self-plagiarism would be lethal!), but that is part and parcel of it. I will share insights about the process and about what I am facing. Anything else about my dissertation, please wait for the publications ensuing from it!

Think of this as  Gonzo 2.0's little brother. This is more professional, more scholarly-tied. From the title itself (raulsdissy), you can tell there's a different tone from Gonzo 2.0 (elpatronsthoughts). This is just part of my efforts to document my journey as I transition from student to scholar. However, some of the family traits are not lost... you'll notice when you read!

I'll see you around, hoping our paths will cross again!

Raúl A.