Self-initiated Ph.D. Research: Learning from and Writing with a Peer from a Different Major

During the final year of my Ph.D., I was working on an independent research paper related to my doctoral dissertation research, which was primarily based on a previous course paper. To analyze the data, I used a standard analytical approach related to my primary research field. During the drafting stage, I noticed that the visualization of my results would be more compelling to the prospective readers and would likewise be helpful to the policy analysts. Because it was an overreaching trend in my subject, it may increase the possibility of being published in a reputable journal.

Unfortunately, I did not have the needed skills related to data and result visualizations. Students with the same major with whom I constantly communicated were also unaware of this technique. So, I started reading related analytical procedures from open resources, particularly reviewing free online courses and viewing video tutorials. The learning progress was slow because I was highly engaged in writing my dissertation chapters. At some point, I stopped working on that paper and moved the folder from “ongoing research” to folder no. 5 of my “planned research” portfolio on my computer. Doing so, I felt bad that it will never reopen like the previous four studies in the same portfolio.

In the meantime, a new doctoral student with a different major arrived as my new office mate working on the same approaches that I was struggling to learn over the last couple of months. One day, we went for a coffee to a nearby coffee shop and I requested his help in understanding the visualization technique of my last abandoned study. He was thoughtful and agreed warmly with my proposal and offered the essentials of how to proceed with the assessment.

Without delay, I resumed my abandoned research paper. Because he was my office mate, I constantly sought support when required. A couple of weeks later, expectedly, I performed the required analysis by myself. Still, there are some new advanced approaches that may improve the result visualization; however, I was so busy with polishing my dissertation that I cannot continue working on my independent study. I, therefore, offered him co-authorship because I thought it would be more convenient to have insights to…