I’ve been quiet on here for a bit and I want to explain why, because I think this is one of those doctoral experiences nobody warns you about.
My research was designed around a specific reading-to-dog program – Story Dogs. The largest reading-to-dog program in Australia. My data collection, my timeline, my ethics application, everything was built on working with them. And then, on Dec 5th 2023, they withdrew. It was one day after I had submitted my confirmation of candidature for review.
I’m not going to go into why, and honestly the reasons matter less than the feeling. I was in an absolute panic. A doctorate is already a long project with a lot riding on it, and suddenly the foundation was gone. I kept thinking: have I just wasted 12 months? Do I have to start again? Is this the end?
My supervisors were brilliant. Their suggestion was to immediately withdraw the confirmation of candidature (which luckyily had not been sent to reviewers yet) take some leave over Christmas and January so my deadlines would be extended and I’d have breathing room to regroup. Sensible, right?
Here’s the confession: I did take the leave… and then I spent a big chunk of it frantically working anyway. I combed through hundreds of google results and contacted other reading-to-dog programs (much smaller, more niche ones) explaining my project and asking if they’d be open to being involved. I reread my methodology and started restructuring my approach so it wasn’t dependent on one single program. I also rewrote my ethics to be across several states and settings.
Would I recommend “working on your leave”? Probably not, and I’m not proud of it. But I also know that doing something helped me stop spiralling. By the time I came back officially, I had a revised plan, revised research aims, revised methodology and I felt like the project was mine again. In fact, my project is now even stronger for it.
If this happens to you: breathe. Talk to your supervisors early. A research partner pulling out feels like the end, but it’s often a redirect. It was for me.
