How not to suck at research productivity

If you want to be a writer you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot
-- Stephen King
Graduate school is about mastering a topic and then being able to make a contribution to this
topic by adding original thought, and then put it into clear writing. So you must become an
expert. Yes, I am talking to you, a future expert. Being an expert means that you must have
read every relevant journal article and book chapter on the topic. Knowing other related
topics also helps. The conservative estimate is that for every paper you write, you must have
read 75 papers or book chapters. Read, read, and read some more. And do not forget to take
organized notes, so you do not forget what you read.
In classes, you get a survey of information. Rarely does any class, even the most advanced, get
truly deep into any topic. If you treat graduate school as a collection of classes, then you will
never be a master of the material. And you will not be worthy of receiving a masters degree
and certainly not a doctorate degree. In this lab and in graduate school in general you must
drill deeply. You need to have a survey knolwedge of all areas and truly deep knowledge and
mastery in a few areas. Both breadth and depth of knowledge are required to be a good school
psychologist. You receive breadth of knowledge from classes and clinical work. You receive
depth of knowledge through writing and your work in this lab.
The more mastery you have of a topic, then more likely you are to make a creative
contribution. Remember that iconoclastic painters such as Picasso, Pollock, Matisse, Monet,
and Van Gogh did not develop their distinctive styles on their own. They were all classically
trained artists who developed mastery of multiple techniques, color patterns, and
brushing/knife styles. Once they developed mastery of a host of techniques and styles, only
then were able to develop their own unique creative style.
The biggest trap in all of academics is that you know all of the information, have excellent
writing skills, have wonderful methodology, sparkling conclusions, but the article you have
produced is little more than professionally prepared bullshit. The vast majority of published
papers fall into this category. Just because a paper is published, does not mean it is valuable.
You can slice bologna with a scalpel and BS with laser, but it is still bologna and BS. You can
only say something valuable if you are an expert. Most bologna and BS papers are written by
very smart people who engaged in laziness, poor scholarship, and pedestrian thinking. "Rise
above by digging deep" -- Shaun T.
How do you become a prolific scholar, knowledgeable school psychologist, and excellent lab
member? Follow these steps:

1.

Budget your time so that 1-3 hours per day are carved out of your schedule to develop
your expertise.

2.

Talk it out. Argue, debate, and discuss ideas with other experts (e.g., fellow labbies).

3.

Read a lot every day (yes, that is every day). You need to read 100 pages per day.
Probably 50-75 of those pages will be assigned readings in class. The remainder of the
pages are papers designed to build expertise.

4.

You need to write 500 original words per day. Most of us write a total of 2,500 words
per day if you include assignments, e-mails, reports, logs, business, and other activities.
But make sure that you write 500 words per day of original scholarly thought. Usually
these 500 words are for a manuscript, presentation proposal, grant proposal, thesis,
REB proposals, or something like this. Write a lot every day. Quantity produces quality.
If you only write a few things youre doomed. -- Ray Bradbury

Common problems
1.

I do not have time. This is one of the few things that you will say that is guaranteed to

upset me. You always have time for the most important thing. Your time frees up when you
do not eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom. When you say that you do not have time, you are
telling me that other things are more important. And often, other things are more important.
But you need to prioritize carefully. If you do not have time to become an expert, then you do
not have time to be a member of this lab or in graduate school.
2.

I dont know how to start.

a.

Start with an outline. Write out each heading

b.

Remember the 5/5/5 default. That is, write five sections (an intro, three supporting

sections, and a conclusion), each section is made up of five paragraphs (an intro, three
supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion), and each paragraph is made up of five sentences (a
topic sentence, three supporting sentences, and a closing sentence).
c.

Write all of the topic sentences.

d.

Write all of the closing sentences.

e.

Fill in the supporting sentences

f.

Writers block is simply another word for laziness Elmore Leonard

3.

I write too slowly. Never ever ever(!) edit while you write. There are many different

and good styles and approaches, but this never works! Write drunk. Edit sober. -- Ernest
Hemmingway.
a.

Spend 33% of your time getting it all out on paper and 67% of the time editing. But get

the first draft out. Write with abandon and get it all out on paperthen edit. Dont worry
about running out of ideas. The well will refill for the next dayif you have mastered the
topic, I promise this will happen.
b.

How I do it: I dictate for two hours per day using speech recognition software (Dragon

Naturally Speaking 11.5). That is about 1,600 to 2,000 words. Then I spend about three hours
editing what I just wrote. Remember that I can only write that many words because I have
read so much that the ideas come quickly.
4.

Writing and the judgment of my writing scares me. Join the club. And then get

over it. Your writing will only get better with editing and supervised revision. Remember it is
your writing, it is not you. It is rarely personal. Steves rule: if your paper has tons of
corrections on it from me, then that is a good thing. That means that your paper is so good,
that it is worth my time and effort to make it better. The worst is when you have a lot of
corrections on the first 2-3 pages and then no more corrections. Your writing did not get
bettereither I got bored with your writing or your paper is not worth my time of doing a
revision.
Writing is never easy and often painful. But we will get through the process together. It looks
like you can write a minimalist piece without much bleeding. And you can. But not a good
one. David Foster Wallace.
Become a master, then create something every day. Do this and you will not suck at writing
and research productivity.