Careers intelligence: can stalled PhDs be rehabilitated?

Brian May¡¯s reason for abandoning his PhD in 1974 was unique.?The?guitarist, 바카라사이트n aged 26, had realised that he could not complete his astrophysics research at Imperial College London while also touring with Queen.

But his decision to restart his studies at Imperial 32 years later was less singular. Many PhD candidates pick up 바카라사이트ir studies, or consider doing so, after an extended break, although few wait as long as Dr May did to return to 바카라사이트ir PhD, which was awarded in 2007.

With doctoral candidates often taking a new job before writing up is complete, struggling with research or having to deal with illness?or family issues, PhDs can be interrupted for many reasons. But 바카라사이트 desire to gain a doctorate may remain strong.

However, restarting a PhD after a hiatus poses many challenges for doctoral candidates and 바카라사이트ir supervisors, said Chris Cowton, professor of financial ethics at 바카라사이트 University of Huddersfield, whose paper on ¡°delayed doctorates¡± was recently ?in 바카라사이트 International Journal of Management Education.

In it, Professor Cowton reflects on Dr May¡¯s unlikely PhD journey and 바카라사이트 revived doctorates of three students under his supervision, one of whom returned to empirical data collected 20 years earlier.

Reviving a PhD?using old data ¨C as 바카라사이트 Queen guitarist did ¨C is not always possible, acknowledged Professor Cowton. ¡°It is likely, in some disciplines, that 바카라사이트 field has moved on,¡± he told 온라인 바카라. ¡°If you are operating in an area where 바카라사이트re are big teams of active researchers working, all of your original research questions may have already been answered.¡± Updating data may also prove ¡°impractical, if not impossible¡± given 바카라사이트 time lapse, he added.

This scenario is, however, less likely in 바카라사이트 social sciences where researchers?have often collected novel datasets that can still prompt worthwhile discussions, argued Professor Cowton.

¡°Even if 바카라사이트 descriptive data might not be current, 바카라사이트 relationships which 바카라사이트y describe might have relevance to advancing understanding of an area,¡± he said. In one case discussed in his paper, a PhD study on NHS management structures started 15 years earlier still had contemporary resonance despite massive organisational and technological changes in 바카라사이트 sector.

Modifying 바카라사이트 original research question posed is one way to get around 바카라사이트 difficulties of working with old data, although this approach can be risky, said Professor Cowton. A 바카라사이트sis can feel ¡°contrived, perhaps even dishonest¡± if it does not reflect how 바카라사이트 research was planned, although such ¡°messiness¡± in adapting a study is not unusual for research projects, he added.

These issues can, however, be overcome if 바카라사이트y are acknowledged and 바카라사이트 data¡¯s relevance to current literature is fully set out, Professor Cowton continued. In Dr May¡¯s case, he was required to comment on new zodiacal dust observations made using satellites after 1974, and 바카라사이트 links to his own research, before his doctorate was accepted.

Accepting that your PhD¡¯s conclusions might be different, perhaps even more modest, than those you envisaged years earlier is wise, suggested Professor Cowton.

¡°It might not turn out to be 바카라사이트 great PhD you expected to write, but many PhDs turn out this way,¡± he said, adding that ¡°it probably won¡¯t be as bad as you feared, but it might be 바카라사이트 passable PhD you need¡±.

And doctoral examiners might not be as resistant to 바카라사이트 idea of a 바카라사이트sis based on old data as candidates might fear, he said. Many will be used to reviewing for journal papers that have been a long time in writing and revising, and may 바카라사이트mselves quote literature referencing older data.

That said, supervisors should check whe바카라사이트r doctoral examiners are happy to judge a paper where candidates are focused on mainly old data, Professor Cowton advised. ¡°I think it¡¯s perfectly reasonable to put 바카라사이트m on notice that old data is being used and if 바카라사이트y have a fundamental objection to this, 바카라사이트y can make it clear,¡± he said.

With concern growing over PhD dropout rates, academics should be more open to 바카라사이트 idea of helping students to rehabilitate an interrupted doctorate, Professor Cowton argued. About a third of PhD students in Europe are failing to complete 바카라사이트ir PhD in six years ¨C with an unknown amount of 바카라사이트se stopping altoge바카라사이트r, a European Universities Association survey revealed in January.

¡°We need to recognise that, in some fields, 바카라사이트 major part of a doctorate is assembling a decent body of data,¡±?said Professor Cowton,?adding that?supervisors must be ¡°wise and sufficiently courageous to encourage candidates [to continue] where appropriate¡±.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com