I have been collecting data for my dissertation for over a year now, and I still do not have enough participants. I have tried everything I can think of from sending the study out on every list serve I am on to Facebook to flyers. Do you have any suggestions as to how to recruit people for an online study? –Data Collection Rejection Dear Data Collection Rejection, The method of data collection for a dissertation is highly dependent upon the type of study being conducted and the population of interest. For instance, if your study’s population of interest is young adults, you may not need to look any further than your own university for participants.

I have a problem. A fellow grad student copies my work by changing both the focus of her study and her course material to match mine, and then gets praised by the Chair for her hard work? The other faculty in our area are aware of the problem, but won’t bring it up with the Chair. What can I do? –Copycat Colleague Dear Copycat Colleague, This can be a truly difficult situation, especially if this fellow student is a friend. Your plan of action will depend primarily on your goals for the situation.

I am working on adding to my Vita to make me more competitive for postdoc positions, and I was wondering if poster presentations would really be all that helpful. With the cost of conferences being so high in terms of registration, travel, lodging, etc., do the benefits of a poster really outweigh the costs? –Poster Presentation Hesitation Dear Poster Presentation Hesitation, My stalwart answer to this question is yes! There are numerous benefits to presenting posters at conferences that go beyond that of polishing your CV.

I’ve had mental health issues for about ten years at this point, depression, anxiety, eating disorder, other self-destructive stuff, etc. I was doing somewhat okay until last year, but thought I could get it under control and was really excited about starting school, and now everything is back with a vengeance. I can’t concentrate on anything, I can’t read, I am completely unmotivated, and I’m taking awful care of myself. My main concern is that I really want to do this and do it well, it’s the only thing I want to do with my life, but I cannot get my head to work. I’ve been seeing a psychiatrist and am looking for a therapist, but on top of it I had to switch meds and had a really bad reaction and basically wasn’t functioning for a while. If this continues for too long I’m going to have to drop out because I can’t live like this. What can I do? –Depression and Anxiety Dear Depression and Anxiety,

I am really struggling with a member on my dissertation committee. This person has been very difficult, combative with other members, unresponsive to e-mails, and extremely late with feedback (as an example, they did not send me any feedback until 11:00 pm the night before my 8:00 am proposal). I have talked it over with my chair, and we have decided that it would be in the best interest of my project (and my sanity) if I were to ask this person to step down from my committee. I don’t want to create any enemies or burn any bridges, but this person has got to go. Do you have any suggestions as to how to go about removing a faculty member from your committee in a civil way? –Hit the Road, Jack Dear Hit the Road, This type of situation must be handled delicately in order to maintain professional relationships with faculty members.

I recently applied to graduate school and got a lot of rejections from my top choice schools. I did get accepted into one program; however, this particular program is so new that it has not yet been accredited. Would I be better off in the long run to hold off and re-apply to accredited programs next year, or should I go ahead and accept the offer from the non-accredited program this year? –Acceptable Accreditation Dear Acceptable Accreditation,

My advisor has not been responding to my emails, and I do not want to be a bother. How should I balance between needing advice and not annoying my advisor? –Silent Treatment Dear Silent Treatment, Finding the perfect balance between asking for the attention you need on your projects and not annoying your advisor in the process is a fine line to walk. My primary advice is to be patient. If your e-mail was not sent more than one week ago, give your advisor the time they need to respond. Balancing a number of various responsibilities (e.g., running a lab, teaching classes, performing administrative duties) can be difficult for even the most seasoned advisor.