This article investigates patterns of systematic metaphors used to characterize various aspects of the doctoral education period, based on analysis of dissertation acknowledgements (DAs) from ...doctoral dissertations across academic disciplines and written by researchers from four PhD programs offered by a Norwegian university. The primary research question addressed here asks which metaphors doctoral researchers in Norway use to describe their educational experience as a whole, as well as the assistance they received during their doctoral period. A discourse dynamics approach is applied to the data, allowing for the identification of metaphors employed about these topics followed by the categorization of the identified metaphors into broader categories. The resulting overview of the systematic metaphorical patterns in DAs provides empirical evidence concerning how doctoral researchers view their experiences, useful in mentoring situations as a starting point for addressing attitudes, beliefs and values about the various challenges and rewards involved in doctoral trajectories.
We examined doctoral students’ experiences of nondisclosure with their dissertation chairs. Using a hermeneutic phenomenology design, we analyzed two individual interviews of 10 doctoral students. We ...identified the following three themes: (a) the professional dynamics in the relationship, (b) the interpersonal and cultural dynamics in the relationship, and (c) prioritization of completing the dissertation. Implications for doctoral students and dissertation chairs are discussed.
The advice and resources you need to complete your thesis or dissertation! Written in a conversational style for both faculty and students, this how-to manual covers quantitative and qualitative ...research methods and provides comprehensive guidance for successfully completing a master′s thesis or doctoral dissertation. Drawing on 40 years of experience supervising dissertations, the authors provide examples from 100 completed projects to guide readers through: Choosing a topic and writing research hypotheses Selecting a chair or committee Ensuring a successful proposal and oral defense Adapting the finished product for publication Using the Internet and desktop publishing effectively.
The Matthew effect in science funding Bol, Thijs; de Vaan, Mathijs; van de Rijt, Arnout
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
05/2018, Volume:
115, Issue:
19
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
A classic thesis is that scientific achievement exhibits a “Matthew effect”: Scientists who have previously been successful are more likely to succeed again, producing increasing distinction. We ...investigate to what extent the Matthew effect drives the allocation of research funds. To this end, we assembled a dataset containing all review scores and funding decisions of grant proposals submitted by recent PhDs in a €2 billion granting program. Analyses of review scores reveal that early funding success introduces a growing rift, with winners just above the funding threshold accumulating more than twice as much research funding (€180,000) during the following eight years as nonwinners just below it. We find no evidence that winners’ improved funding chances in subsequent competitions are due to achievements enabled by the preceding grant, which suggests that early funding itself is an asset for acquiring later funding. Surprisingly, however, the emergent funding gap is partly created by applicants, who, after failing to win one grant, apply for another grant less often.
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