Dear Colleagues,
The current issue of the Academy of Management
Learning and Education journal has a very useful
article by Paul J Gordon on advising PhD candidates.
The article is "addressed to fellow dissertation advisors,
the aim of this work is to assist advisors in coaching
their advisees so to avoid some classic dissertation
hang-ups or, if encountered, to suggest some coping
(remedial) possibilities" (Gordon 2003: 181).
While this is written from the experience of a management
scholar, many of the key issues in the article apply to
doctoral candidates in design.
Many general topics involve advising doctoral candidates
in all fields -- candidate interest in the topic as a key factor
in completion, uncertainty, misconceptions in getting
started, coping with unstructured situations.
A couple of topics are particularly interesting in relation
to design. The section titled "crafting rather than simply
defining" addresses the issue of shaping or crafting the
problem or problem definition rather than simply defining
it.
Another topic of importance to design research is
"understanding the use of grounding." Gordon (2003: 185)
notes that "traditionally and currently to some faculty
advisors, the proper response for the candidate is to
search the literature to come up with theoretical
grounding on which to build the case for proceeding.
However, lacking extant theory, there is an alternative.
Building the base and the case for study need not rest
solely on extant theories already published." Gordon
goes on to discuss the value of "inductively deriving
_ grounded theory _ (theory grounded in data analysis),"
making good use of key ideas from Glaser and
Strauss.
If you are an experienced adviser, you'll find this a
useful resource. If you are new to advising -- or a
doctoral candidate -- I recommend it highly. Candidates
will find the chart on page 184 particulsrly helpful.
Best regards,
Ken Friedman
References
Gordon, Paul J. 2003. "Advising to Avoid or to
Cope with Dissertation Hang-Ups." Academy of Management
Learning and Education , Vol. 2, No. 2, June, 181-187.
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