Weeks 159–161: The conclusion chapter

I started my doctoral research in January 2017. Three years later, today, I finished writing the conclusion chapter of my thesis.

For the past three weeks, I have been immersed in revising the discussion chapter and writing the conclusion chapter, along with teaching and other research activities, which proved to be tough – both mentally and physically.

But, writing the sections on the contributions, limitations and suggestions, was more enjoyable than I had expected. It gave me the opportunity to step back from the technical arguments, and to include my observation about the benefits and difficulties I had faced when conducting the research.

My next steps will be to complete the editing of the methodology, literature reviews and introduction chapter, which is likely to take another month.

A dream come true

After three years of research, I’ve finally got the opportunity to assist my supervisor in running a module in the Health Science department, which I’d hoped for. The theme of the module is relevant to my research, and I am delighted to have been asked to contribute to it.

Researchers like myself, who conduct interdisciplinary studies, often find ourselves dealing with a diverse variety of academic disciplines. In my case, my field of study involves applied linguistics, cross-cultural studies, social care and health communication. It has made me think about how studies could potentially fill a scientific gap in those areas, and my future directions. But it also feels very rewarding that part of my research is now being applied to another area of study – learning for future health professionals.

In addition, I have learnt so much from my experience of working with my supervisor and the module organisers and exploring how they run sessions.

My achievements in weeks 159–161

• finished revising Chapter 6
• finished writing Chapter 7
• drafted my presentation for the health module

Goals for week 162

• to edit Chapter 4