Report R3.4 Experiences of Doctoral Research at University of Kentucky, USA Seminar Leader: Partha S. Mohapatra, Morgan State University, USA partha.mohapatra[at]morgan.edu Doctoral scholars often look up to those who have completed their doctoral studies for guidance and direction. The seminar focused on the experiences of the seminar leader, alumnus of XIMB, who has just completed his doctoral studies successfully. An overview of the doctoral process at the Decision Sciences and Information Systems department of the University of Kentucky was presented first. The process has two stages. The initial stage consists of two years of course work, followed by a comprehensive examination. Students can opt for courses even from other departments in the university. There are three categories of doctoral level courses, i.e., (a) research methods, (b) statistics, and (c) seminar courses. The seminar courses involve self-study and presentation to the class. Typically the instructor provides a set of readings (say six to eight journal articles on a particular topic) to a group of students. The students are expected to make a presentation to the whole class on the topic. There is also a component known as "dissertation study," in which past dissertations are analyzed. Occasionally, data from these studies are re-analyzed to see if different conclusions could be drawn. The seminar leader opined that the course work was an important stage in the doctoral process. He cited specific examples of courses, such as the one titled Measurements, which were of considerable value to him. There are many considerations that go in to the selection of a doctoral advisor. It is important that the guide's research interests match that of the doctoral student. One way to assess a potential guide is to attend a course conducted by him/her. His/her ability to share quality time and give constructive feedback would need careful attention. While choosing advisory committee members, one needs to look for specialists in areas connected with the research topic. Many guides prefer that their interactions with the researcher be scheduled and planned meticulously. During the initial stages of the dissertation, while undertaking literature review, one could delineate thoughts into one-page notes and later expand those into chapters. Researchers need to focus on their writing skills. The need to adhere to established styles such as APA Style was stressed upon. The usefulness of softwares, such as EndNote, that could aid the writing process was indicated. The usefulness of the university's Writing Center was acknowledged. The dissertation proposal is submitted to the advisory committee for approval. The proposal is submitted one month before the final presentation is made. Presentation of the proposal at a conference would also generate valuable and timely feedback. The researcher is expected to adhere to the proposal and not make major changes after its approval by the committee. Once the data collection and analysis are done, the advisor would give the green signal to proceed to the thesis defense stage. The seminar leader made an observation that doctoral students need to help and support each other during this process. Unwillingness to share knowledge or resorting to unhealthy competition are not in consonance with the culture of research. There was some discussion on defining one's research topic in terms of "domains" and "concepts." The researcher employs a set of concepts in order to study a topic related to some domain. The process should enrich the domain and further refine the concepts as well. Reported by C. D. Kuruvilla, with inputs from J. D. Vakkayil and A. G. Menon (30 July 2005). Copyleft Xavier Institute of Management, Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar 751013, India Research World (ISSN 0974-2379) http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/Home |
