WHAT CLIENTS ARE SAYING

On Dissertation Coaching Services…

I began working with Alison Miller in Feb. 2008. I was at the stage in my dissertation where I had defended my proposal, collected my data and done some preliminary statistical analysis and written up the beginning of my methods section. In short, enough work that I thought I did not have that much to do and should certainly be able to keep going on my own, but enough still that I felt completely overwhelmed and uncertain of how to begin to take the next step forward. I began to toy with the idea of a coach after a friend in another city had used one with successful results (a degree) and when I began to take an honest, hard look at how long I had been at the point of "only have to run the rest of my stats,write up the results and the discussion" going on a couple of years! Recognizing I was stuck and acknowledging to myself that I did really want to finish was the first step. The hardest part, for me, was overcoming the shame I placed on myself for needing extra help when my friends and colleagues did not need this help to finish their degree. One of the many wonderful aspects of working with Alison is that she helped me to address this block to completing my dissertation project as much as she helped with the block caused by my lack of stat knowledge needed to move forward. As a result of working with Alison I defended my dissertation and received my degree in August 2008 (and in all fairness it probably would have been May except for outside committee circumstances), but not only do I have the degree, I have more knowledge and awareness of personal, self-inflicted "road blocks," organization, scheduling and creating a daily structure that make me more successful in all areas of my life. She gave me many "tools" throughout the process of completing my dissertation which definitely have made me a better person and mother today than I was before working with her! She is incredibly supportive, timely, persistent, practical, non judgmental and knowledgeable about what it takes to complete a dissertation, and, for me, more importantly, what can get in the way of completing any large project and how to effectively deal with those impediments, large and small. I have no shame now in sharing with anyone I used a dissertation coach, and in fact, am quite pleased to publicly share how rewarding the experience was (obviously). - Catherine Mariani Partamian, Ph.D., Clinical Psychology

"My coach at Life Essentials helped demystify the dissertation experience for me. My coach has helped shift my perspective from viewing it as an overwhelming and anxiety-provoking process, to seeing it as a series of manageable tasks with a visible end (and reward) in sight! Working with my coach has also helped me develop valuable time/task management skills that will be of great help to me in my future professional and personal life." - Marta Rusten, psychologist, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"The skills and weekly support that I received from my coach helped me to complete my dissertation close to schedule while still maintaining balance in my life. The time and task management skills I learned from her are valuable and transferable to my postdoctoral work. She has a great sense of humor and she provides excellent perspective, both of which made some of the toughest moments of the process more manageable." - Janine M. Jurkowski, MPH, PhD, Post Doctoral Research Associate, University of Illinois at Chicago.

“My experience with Alison was exactly what I needed to reach my goals.  I met Alison in late May 2005, and went from feeling hopeless to handing in a final dissertation draft by December, and I had my degree in hand by March, 2006.  I basically worked with Alison for 8 months.  I had been ABD for a year, and hadn't made much headway on my dissertation, and was in a true funk.  I had projects piling up, teaching demands and a few part-time work schedules to juggle in addition to my Ph.D. program and upcoming nuptials.  I felt that everything was too daunting to finish, and I did not know where to begin.  I was also losing faith in my ability as an academic researcher, and was in a pretty dark place-largely due to the pileup of work I had accumulated. Alison basically gave me two things: organizational structure and moral support.  She helped me organize and prioritize my projects into smaller, more manageable due dates, and made me feel as though it was possible to reach my goals, and validated my feelings. Her style is straight to the point, firm but kind-exactly what I needed.  She is not the type of "life coach" one usually hears about-she has her Ph.D. and works with intelligent professionals who are looking to keep sane as they reach their goals. She helped me come up with a schedule for my projects, and then checked up with me throughout the week, via email and by phone, to keep me accountable as well as to give me someone to talk to throughout the process.  It was nice to have someone who understood what I was feeling/going through help me through the process.  Thanks to Alison's help, I finished my dissertation (running all subjects, all data analysis, write-up, and defense) and graduated in March 2006. I was also able to successfully find employment and successfully plan a large wedding.  I am now a married, employed woman with a Ph.D., who has much more confidence and faith in her abilities than I did before I worked with Alison”. Priya Shimpi, Linguist, Chicago, IL

On Statistical Analysis Services…

I wholeheartedly recommend Chang-ming to anyone who seeks statistical assistance. Having first tried working with two other statisticians who did not deliver on what they promised, I know what to look for (and what to avoid), and Chang-ming provided professional, informative, & productive statistics with rapid turnaround. He also took the time to carefully explain the selection of statistics for my study and how they should be interpreted. At the completion of our work together, I felt I had learned more about statistics than I did in the actual statistics classes I took in graduate school. I would embark on another quantitative study only with Chang-ming as my guide. "Jennifer Smith, U Penn"

Chang-ming Hsieh has been a tremendous help. Not only is he extremely knowledgeable but he explains everything step by step. I feel much more confident about my project having worked with him on the analysis and findings. - Julie Marsden, doctoral student.

Dr. Hsieh is thorough, efficient and presents results in a way that is easy to comprehend.  He has a knack for making complicated analyses understandable.  He has addressed my many questions with clear, quick responses and seems genuinely concerned that I grasp the details of the methods and analyses.  He has been a pleasure to work with, S.D., Doctoral Student

Dr. Chang-ming Hsieh has provided statistical and editing expertise for my doctoral dissertation report. Chang-ming's statistical editing approach included time to allow comprehension of the best  statistical approach to respond to my research questions. He patiently explained the regression analysis option used with SPSS. Chang-ming was respectful, responsive, and thorough to assure that the dissertation analysis and interpretation was reflective of the research questions for my study. It has been a pleasure to work with Dr. Ming due to his concern for a successful outcome. Thank you Chang-ming, Sheila Astuccio, doctoral candidate.