Thesis Proposal In!

I turned in my thesis proposal to the graduate committee today by the deadline. 12 copies, in Dr. Tillinghast's box, by 5 pm as ordered. Yaaay! It feels so good to have that of my back for a bit. It feels like have been working on it forever.

The experiment I suggested was to study the New York Times and see if its suicide reports were affected at all by media guidelines released by the CDC in 2001. I know, kinda a morbid topic, but it fit both their and my criteria: it involves mass media (them) and it has something to do with neuroscience (me).

At first I researched bias against the mentally ill in the media. I found out that bias was way too broad a topic, and I'd never be able to summarize and get out a literature review. In passing though I had discovered the field of suicide contagion, the idea that suicide is "catching." In this theory publicity surrounding a suicide, if done badly, can lead to other suicides that would not have occurred without the coverage. There's some fascinating evidence that such contagion exists.

So now I wait. They will read them all and get back to us on or around the 21st. I have a feeling I'll get conditionally approved, the most common response. That means they approve the concept, but want me to fix some details before I begin. I can live with that. Education and research are a collaborative effort after all.