The Musings of a Post-Submission-Pre-Viva PhD Student

Assalamualaikum (Peace be upon you) all,

It's been some time since my last post. Such is life that a number of things have changed, yet some remain the same. I'm still a PhD student, it seems (and for some time now, it seems like an eternity).

Since my last post, I've submitted my thesis for examination, and to date, I am still waiting for the examination. I currently dislike the 'V' word. Nowadays, I nearly dread every time I get asked 'When is your viva?'. It's next to my dislike to the 'W' word, as in 'When is your wedding?'. I feel an 'X' word is forthcoming (Good luck with coming up with a word beginning with 'X', you people-with-all-sorts-of-questions).

I've been partly productive and partly less so ever since I submitted my thesis. I have been less productive, as I feel somewhat lost without the schedule that I had pedantically worked with for the last 3-4 years. During the more productive periods, I've given myself a pat for writing up 1-2 papers, and attending a seminar or two. More recently, I've been preparing for my viva, asking myself what my research is all about, how original it is etc., which led me to think about my PhD topic in general and why I've lost some drive or motivation on my PhD.

How does one determine the success of a research? More specifically, how does one determine the success of a research on poverty? Just before my thesis submission, the only person who truly understood my research was my supervisor. However, in the past year or so, I've presented the gist of my research or part of it in a conference and seminar. When I look back at those conference/seminar, I realize the reception of the audience on my topic/presentation were similar: There were near silence, with very little posed in the Q&A session. I don't know if it's because I'm usually the last or second last speaker for the day (which is interesting in itself hmm) or there is something 'wrong' with my topic.

And that essentially, or at least partially, explains why I am somewhat less than enthusiastic about my research at the moment. So how does one determine the success of a research on poverty? I'm not looking for the audience to stand up, clapping like mad and cheering my name (though in a parallel universe, that would be quite a sight). I'm also not wanting to win a Nobel Prize (though the million dollar prize would come in handy). Perhaps the real success of any research is:

1. Whether somewhere along the line, someone will use my research/thesis to build upon something more substantial.
2. Whether in practice, my proposed approach could work along the lines of a pilot project or attached to a project of some kind.

In all honesty, I don't know.

I do realize this post is heavily pensive, if not partly depressing. For that, I apologize but I cannot help to wonder if the 3-4 years accounts to nothing, especially when it comes to my viva. And that in itself is a different topic altogether.

Please wish or pray that I get through my viva. I do not ask for much really; just for the fact that I get through and that somewhere along the lines, someone even if it is just one person finds my research valuable, or at least one person in need or in poverty benefits from it, in any shape or form.

Thank you.

Peace,
Umar