Dear all,
This is a crucial topic that Luke cleverly framed in the negative; indeed,
it is often helpful to think about what a thing is not.
Karel already gave an incisive answer on the most common issues one finds
in a flawed PhD thesis; so I would like to add a single important point:
*Poor writing*
I have had to read hundreds of PhD (design) theses for a research project,
and I can safely say that the most common flaw I come across (by far) is
poor writing. Needless to say, if the writing fails, everything else falls
with it. So what is the point of preparing a flawless research design with
an impeccably precise research question and a well-suited combination of
research methods to answer it if the candidate fails to communicate the
research results and why they matter?
Like tragedy, poor writing comes in many guises. For instance,
over-reliance on jargon, which is more often than not born from a defensive
instinct to obscure one’s reasoning, to cover one’s tracks and hide any
self-perceived flaws. The problem is writers who hide the weaknesses in
their writing forget they are also hiding the merits. What results is a
mushy piece of prose that is so muddled the reader can’t even disagree with
it.
There is also the annoying postmodern tick to deconstruct the language as
one is writing; like a toddler destroying a set of assembled legos, the
deconstructor of language carelessly disintegrates word after word, meaning
after meaning, until all is left a Nietzschean abyss of meaninglessness.
Needless to say, this is torture for the reader who (just like the parent
of the over-excited child who must clean up the mess of formless legos)
most now do the work of finding meaning in a pile of shapeless paragraphs.
I could go on, but (unlike too many PhD candidates and their supervisors) I
do pity my readers.
Ken Friedman has shared a treasure trove of excellent writing guides on
this list before, which I wholeheartedly recommend to any PhD candidate
that may be following this thread; to them, I say be wary of annoying your
jury panel with unreadable guff, a pissed off jury is probably number one
on the list of the things you don’t want on your defence.
All the best,
--
*João Batalheiro Ferreira*
Assistant Professor | Undergraduate Course Coordinator – Design
(00351) 967 089 437
*IADE - Faculdade de Design, Tecnologia e Comunicação - Universidade
Europeia*
iade.europeia.pt
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