Thanks for the question Luke.
Thanks for your insightful list, Karel.
Could we say that in the field of design one of the major fatal flaws is failing to distinguish between *designing* (making a design proposal for a specific situation incorporating some research methods) and *doing research* (generating reusable transferable design knowledge with theoretical discussion)?
Best wishes.
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G. Mauricio Mejía, MDes, PhD
Associate Professor of Design
The Design School, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts
Arizona State University
See my research in the Transformation Lab <https://web.asu.edu/transformationlab/>
> On Jul 22, 2021, at 5:46 PM, Karel van der Waarde <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Dear Luke, dear all,
>
> Thank you for this question. Below my list of ‘fatal flaws’.
>
> a. Problems with the research question: poor question.
> In my view, a PhD thesis must have a research question. Preferably clearly formulated and preferably with a motivation. A reason to fail is that the research question is unclear, or when the question changes throughout the thesis without a motivation. It’s hard to evaluate research if the question is muddled.
>
> b. Problems with the context: no awareness of surroundings.
> A thesis needs to fit into a field of study. I expect some links it to literature, practice, history. It’s impossible to be complete, so a thesis needs to contain a motivation for boundaries and limits: why are certain areas not included? It’s good to focus, but that focus needs to be motivated. It needs to be clear in which area a thesis is positioned. [Including many pages of contextual information that is not related to the research question makes it a poor thesis, but that is not a reason to fail.] Missing relevant areas and ignoring relations with other fields is a reason to fail.
>
> c. Problems with the research approach: looking at the wrong things.
> The activities that are undertaken to answer the research question must be suitable and relevant. The approach needs to have the potential to answer the research question. If the approach is inappropriate, it is a reason to fail.
> Unethical, asking the wrong people, using the wrong method, recording the wrong data, emphasis on personal experience, and a lack of motivations for decisions are a few indicators here.
>
> d. Problems with the analysis: poor relation between data and results.
> The raw data that come from the actitivies need to be described: what exactly was found? And how was the data organised to make sense? Are the data convincing enough, and is it possible to accept the analysis of the data? Basically: what is the evidence for the argument? Confidence level reached? Would the collection of more data change the results?
>
> e. Problems with the conclusions: poor relation between the results and the research question.
> Somehow, the results of the activities must answer the research question. If this relation is poor, it is difficult to pass a thesis. Generalizations, over-simplification, ignoring influences, unaware of limitations, inaccuracies, lack of modesty, poor reasoning, etc are all indicators.
>
> Of course, none of these points is absolute. They all depend on definitions and descriptions. And it is usually a combination of several of the abovementioned flaws that leads to an absolute fail. A ‘resubmission after major edits’ is the most likely outcome to remedy one or two of these flaws.
>
> Kind regards,
> Karel.
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> <mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
>
>>>
>
>
>> On 23 Jul 2021, at 00:31, Luke Feast <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Greetings,
>>
>> Typically, the literature on doctoral research education lists the features describing what a PhD is. I would like to try to think differently about the PhD and consider what it is not.
>>
>> What I have in mind here is thinking about what are the fatal flaws in PhDs. By “fatal flaws” I mean something like the features (present or absent) that entitle examiners to conclude that the doctoral thesis or viva voce does not meet the standard required for the award of the doctoral qualification.
>>
>> A couple of general examples might be that the doctoral thesis does not make an original contribution to the knowledge of the field or that the research process did not meet the standards of ethical conduct of research.
>>
>> What do you think are some fatal flaws in PhDs? In general, and/or in design in particular.
>>
>>
>> Best,
>> Luke
>>
>>
>> Luke Feast, Ph.D. | Senior Lecturer | Learning & Teaching Advisor | Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies | Auckland University of Technology | New Zealand | https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://academics.aut.ac.nz/luke.feast/__;!!IKRxdwAv5BmarQ!JFTMj-n78-1uKrA_zhqrSHXDMpIkFJmBl34gDUIJrB4x3Sy1u9RZlugk07qGYcYv9yE$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://academics.aut.ac.nz/luke.feast/__;!!IKRxdwAv5BmarQ!JFTMj-n78-1uKrA_zhqrSHXDMpIkFJmBl34gDUIJrB4x3Sy1u9RZlugk07qGYcYv9yE$>
>>
>>
>>
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