I am presenting my doctoral thesis research in progress at my department’s Seminar Series. I often attend the Department of Educational Research seminars from a distance, though this will be the first time I have presented at one.
While this has been a great opportunity to help me focus my writing and make some solid progress, the most interesting thing for me will be that this is the first time I will discuss my research holistically. Thus far, I have only spoken with other people about various elements of it; this will be a glimpse at the entire study.
I wonder what this experience is like for others? If you engaged in doctoral research, what was your experience like the first time you presented your study for feedback and comment?
Varied. My first writings to my supervisor came back with an email subject line saying “all good”, made me want to open the email 🙂
My first two conferences, really got me nothing beyond my own clarity in writing better, thinking better. feedback zilch.
Most conferences treat my subject as a voyeuristic oddity. My fourth one provided someone with an opportunity just to pass judgement on young people/peer counselling as suspect.
My third conference, a tiny little one, a seminar would be more accurate, this was more informal and positive, but the methodology (narrative) was a bit sideways to my own, but their interest and encouragement was great, what could be included in phd writing especially useful.
My presentation to workplace seminar: I think they wondered on what planet this could be called research.
A three minute thesis competition precipitated me into thinking conclusions, useful, seemed to change gear in my thinking, even though those conclusions are less important than the ones i have now.
Presentations on work in progress to own phd group always invaluable= Feel the support. These people experience the journey and speak with heart. This also helped with reframing of what felt like wicked problems that got me past periods of crisis.
Looking forward to my next one; again topic a bit sideways, but at least method might be understood.
Thanks fr your kind commnts, Ailsa. Appreciate hearing your story about your experiences. With that, I am looking forward to heaing you describe them in more detail in two weeks in Maastricht!
Jeffrey
BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for attending and your question, helpful to consider not only what I did, but why others were not selected as well!
See you in a few weeks as well.
Jeffrey
Hello, I was at your session on Weds in Lancaster. I have a few comments to make. Apologies if these are stupid questions or comments… i really liked your study and reseach question.
1. your talk on liminality reminded me of a podcast on Hegelian dialectic http://philosophybites.com/2010/04/robert-stern-on-hegel-on-dialectic.html especially the bit about despair of struggling through something…
2. your idea of threshold concepts seems fine for some study, but appears to me that doctoral study is not the typical ‘you need x to understand y and z’, but actually as a doctoral student you are creating the ‘idea’ of y or z, so a threshold to get you there is understandable, but not the same thing.
3. your methods of narrative analysis seems to open the door for ‘rhetorical’ responses, letting the participant tell you in their own words, using their own persuasive techniques (I’m half way through Aristotle’s Rhetoric!). How do you reconcile this with the threshold concepts, given that you are creating the definition in your original work; you are also articulating your own path there… is there an inconsistency you need to consider.
Apologies for this, I am realising more and more that I am a philosophical idealist. All there is is ideas, and all ideas are are articulations of imagination…
Keep up the good work!
Phil
PS – what I mean is that in creating original work, are we not articulating (using rhetoric) the SUB-liminal connections that are forming in our imagination.
Please, explain more about what you mean.
Jeffrey
Thank you for the questions, Phil, as well as attending my session on Wednesday. I appreciate your time and efforts in this! Let me take a try at your questions . . .
1. I am not as familiar with this as I wish; let me listen and try to make some sense of Hegel (something I have heard more people try than success, alas).
2. The research around threshold concepts started in undergraduate study, and then gradually moved up. It seems not to be as applicable in doctoral study, and some of the literature seems to find the concept as conceptual threshold, such as the concept of a research question, to be more along the lines. The large study I mentioned and gave a reference for by Wisker et al. does a nice job processing this.
3. I am not sure I am following what you are asking here. Narrative inquiry comes from the frame that we create our life’s meaning and thus ourselves through our stories, so a way to understand the person is to understand and try to make sense of the stories we tell. Conceptual thresholds, such as grasping what a research question is, is something that is often framed in a story. For example, “You know when I finally ‘got it’? Well, it clicked when I read . . .” — Not sure if this replies to what you were asking, though please ask away and we can try to muddle through!
What interests you about philosophy?
Jeffrey
How was your first at a distance presentation?
Hey, Christiana, thanks for the comment! Good point, let me clarify . . .
I present via distance nearly every day (part of my professional role with WebEx in my organization), though this is the first time I have presented my research (the entire bit, to date) and the first time a Lancaster research seminar has been presented from a distance (rather than just attended via distance). Thus, it was new for me and for them.
Goodness, that is what my mind told me I said, though re-reading the post it seems that was murky at best. Thanks for pointing it out!!
Jeffrey