Restarting Stalled Research

Paul C. Rosenblatt has a doctorate in psychology from Northwestern University and is Professor Emeritus of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota. He has taught in university departments in family social science, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. His multidisciplinary background enables him to offer a substantial range of examples and illustrations in the book. He has advised 36 students through to the PhD and served on roughly 450 other doctoral committees. He has been a research consultant to university-based, government-based, medical-based, and industry-based research projects. Dr. Rosenblatt has mentored dozens of faculty members at his university and at universities around the world. He has fellow status in national professional organizations in psychology, anthropology, and the family field and has been and/or is on editorial boards of scholarly journals in psychology, sociology, anthropology, the family field, and the field of dying, death, and bereavement. He has published 13 books, including The Impact of Racism on African American Families: Literature as Social Science; Knowing and Not Knowing in Intimate Relationships (with E. Wielding); Shared Obliviousness in Family Systems; Two in a Bed: The Social System of Couple Bed Sharing; and African American Grief (with B. R. Wallace).

• IntroductionAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorChapter 1. Problems in Deciding What the Research Is AboutWhen the Problem Is ConceptualIf You Do Not Know What You Are Doing in Your ResearchWhen the Problem Is with the Model of How to Do ResearchWhen the Project Seems OutdatedChapter 2. Restarting Your WritingWriter’s BlockDealing with Editorial Rejection or a Revise-and-Resubmit Editorial DecisionDealing with Unreasonable Demands for Dissertation RevisionGeneral Guidelines and Resources for Moving Writing ForwardChapter 3. Social Relationship Issues Connected to Research Being StalledProblems with Research CollaboratorsDealing with a Research Assistant’s Dishonesty, Poor Functioning, or IncompetenceProblems with Advisers or Committee MembersIf You Have Lost Your AdviserWho Owns the Data?Dealing with Powerful, Possibly Dangerous GatekeepersProblems with People You Want to StudyStalled Because You Do Not Have a Research Peer GroupChapter 4. Self of ResearcherIf You Do Not Know What to Do Next on Your ResearchIf You Have Lost Your MotivationIf You Do Not Feel Good Enough about Yourself to Do the WorkGetting Out of the Mental Rut You Are in About Being StalledChapter 5. Stalled Because of a Shortage of ResourcesIf You Have No Research FundsResearch Assistant TroublesIf Your Records Are Not Good EnoughWhen the Problem Seems to Be with Quality or Amount of DataIssues with Data Resources: Stalled When Working with Someone Else’s DataStalled Because of the Time, Focus, and Energy Demands of the Rest of Your LifeChapter 6. When to QuitConsider Consulting with Someone FirstLiquidating a ProjectMaybe Research Is Not for YouAppendix. Advice for Research Consultants, Mentors, and Dissertation Advisers Helping Others With Stalled ProjectsReferencesIndex

"This book addresses common writing issues in a clear and matter-of-fact, but thoughtful and thorough manner. The author addresses issues often outside the control of the researcher—funding, ownership of data, collaborative relationships, student-chair and mentor relationships, and concerns about reputation after abandoning a research project. All need addressing and I applaud the author for doing so in a forthright manner."