Читать книгу Fulfilling the Potential of Your Doctoral Experience - Pam Denicolo - Страница 10

We have acknowledged that there is much wisdom to be found in other books produced as guides for doctoral students. However, many of them start from the premise that they are ‘survival guides’ for those struggling in an alien context, while some address only the problems that may force themselves on the unsuspecting, rather passive student. We wish to dispel several myths in this book, one of them being this notion that doctoral researchers will necessarily ‘suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ while engaged in their project, with relief coming only with its completion.

While, like Shakespeare’s Hamlet, we seek to ensure that you are armed ‘against a sea of troubles’, we nevertheless go further and more positively: we want to highlight for you the huge potential inherent in a doctoral programme, including the enjoyment to be had as it progresses as well as future benefits to be gained. Undertaking a doctorate or any project that spans several years will mean dealing with uncertainty and becoming comfortable with it; whilst, over time, the research itself will be subject to change, we want to reassure you that this is normal and that if things do not turn out as you originally planned, this may prove to be a benefit and not a disaster. We want to dispel any paralysing fear of change. Instead, we want you to choose ways to manage your doctorate proactively to take advantage of the wealth of opportunities available to delight you along the way and enhance your prospects beyond the doctorate. In other words, we want you to get the most out of the doctoral experience by, among other things:

 Preparing for study at the doctoral level and recognising the step change required from your previous studies

 Managing the project and the people involved effectively, including managing your own expectations and reactions

 Understanding the implicit assumptions of colleagues and teachers within the academy and adjusting to the ‘hidden curriculum’ of doctoral education

 Gaining insight into the diverse range of successful communication and dissemination strategies so as to choose what is most appropriate for you

 Developing strategic plans to maximise the potential impact of your research, paving the way to gaining further research funding or impressing potential employers

 Using assessment processes as a constructive learning experience

 Highlighting and demonstrating the value of your project

 Elaborating your skills and personal development so that you can make innovative contributions to your chosen profession

 Establishing a network of support and source of professional and intellectual stimulation to last you a lifetime

 Recognising the global and interdisciplinary nature of research and the tensions that may exist between you as a researcher, the context or department/institution you are situated in, and the international setting, so that you can respond to these in productive ways

Thus, this is not a handbook that will tell you what to do in situation X because we know that you will meet situations that we and you have not yet dreamt of and for which there is no ‘quick fix’. Instead, we present a range of options which you must tailor to your circumstances and to your growing confidence and competence. By empowering you with knowledge and greater understanding of the context, we hope that you will take control of the process and manage the key stages, knowing when and from whom to seek help, in a mature and professional way. In this way, we hope that you will experience less anxiety, despite the inevitable challenges that a research project entails, and constructively enjoy the whole process.

For those of you who are either re-joining higher education (HE) after a break or who are not familiar at all with the UK higher education procedures, we hope that our attempts to demystify the system will prove particularly helpful. For all readers, we hope to remove some of the arcane secrecy surrounding the doctoral journey.