To obtain a doctorate a candidate needs to have undertaken a substantial programme of original research and in so doing produce a dissertation which makes a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge. It is often said that a doctorate will normally add only a grain of new knowledge to an already established mountain.
To achieve this it is essential that the researcher be fully conversant with the wide range of research methodologies available,
In his/her thesis, the candidate is required to show ability to conduct an original investigation, to test ideas (whether his/ her own or those of others) and to demonstrate a broad knowledge and understanding of his or her discipline and of appropriate cognate subjects. He or she should also demonstrate a knowledge of the research techniques appropriate to his/her discipline and cognate subjects and show that they have been successfully applied.
The dissertation should make a distinct contribution to knowledge and provide evidence of the candidate’s originality by the discovery of new facts or the exercise or critical power. The candidate is required to show appropriate ability in the organisation and presentation of his/her material in the dissertation, which should be satisfactory as regards clarity of expression and literary form. It should be suitable for publication, either as submitted or suitably abridged.
Viva voce, from the Latin for ‘the living voice’, is generally regarded as the most challenging test for the candidate. Furthermore, the candidate may need to defend his or her ideas and conclusions to a sceptical and critical examiner.
Candidates may also benchmark their work against other dissertations that have already been awarded a degree.
Evaluation Approach
This is especially true where a doctoral degree is seen as an apprenticeship in research. Thus the dissertation needs to be well written, well argued and illustrated with appropriate figures and tables in order to prove convincingly the case being presented.
‘Is the dissertation ready to go on to the university library shelf?
Evaluating a Doctorate Degree
The central issue in evaluating a doctoral dissertation is whether or not the work has added something of value to the body of knowledge. Expressed slightly differently, the doctoral candidate needs to make a theoretical contribution to the subject that will hold up under the detailed scrutiny of the internal and external examiners. Creative synthesis of evidence and theory.
In the context of business and management research the contribution should also be of practical relevance to business orgnisations.
The dissertation of a doctoral candidate should show evidence that he of she is familiar with all the literature and all the arguments relating to the issues being researched. The doctoral dissertation needs to focus on relevant material and synthesise the more important issues.
The candidate should know as much about the topic as anyone else, including the examiners. Thus the candidate’s reading needs to be fully up to date. In addition, the candidate must show a distinctly critical faculty in discussing the strengths and weakness of this body of literature.
A doctoral dissertation needs to express clearly a distinct point of view, which some scholars refer to as new insights or a new vision of the subject matter being studied or researched. The researcher should be able to demonstrate convincingly why this point of view should be regarded as important as well as being able to argue for its validity.
A doctoral dissertation in the business and management studies area should directly address the implications of the research for management. It needs to establish that the findings of the research are relevant to current management problems or opportunities.
Quality versus Quantity
Most of the thesis are above 200 pages. On the other hand, documents in excess of 500 pages are generally regarded as being too lengthy and probably verbose.
Details that Examiners Inspect Closely
Examiners look for a considerable amount of detail in each chapter of a dissertation.
Introduction
It is important that the introduction captures the imagination of the reader by showing why the subject is important and thus worthy of the award of a degree. Examiners will look for a comprehensive presentation of the background to the problem, which should include a clear and convincing argument that the subject of the research is topical, relevant and important. In business and management research this implies that the work will lead to the development of guidelines which will be of direct use in business and management situations. The introduction should include key definitions, a brief description of the research tasks, indicating the steps to be followed through the dissertation, and an outline of the main conclusions.
Literature Review
The literature review is of considerable importance and needs to be through and exhaustive. The references should be taken primarily from the leading academic journals and not from general textbooks. References to relevant textbooks or even to articles in the popular press are acceptable, but these should be kept to a minimum. References should be made to both theoretical and empirical issues pertaining to the research topic. All references cited should be complete and should comply with the convention accepted by the university concerned. The candidate should not simply regurgitate the ideas from the literature but is expected to evaluate and comment on them critically but constructively. There should not be too many direct quotes from referenced works. This is a central requirement, especially for a doctoral degree. This model could be presented as either a narrative or graphical presentation, or both.
Research Questions
The research questions need to be directly related to the conceptual model developed from the literature review referred to above. In a clear way and be easily operationalised . If too many issues are covered; in some circumstances one research question may be perfectly adequate. Research questions should be focused so they will have to lead to a theoretical conjecture or to hypotheses or empirical generalisations.
Methodology
The question of methodology is complex and there are many different views.
It is critical to spell out the philosophical approach being used to underpin the research. The two main philosophical stances used in academic research are positivism and phenolenology and within these there are a number of different research strategies.
This chapter should include a full description of the process used to gather both primary and secondary evidence, which will normally be both qualitative and quantitative in nature.
Evidence Collection and Analysis
The questions asked here frequently relate to sampling procedures and instrumentation. Where case studies have been used it is important to state why the particular orgnisations were chosen to be studied. Examiners will consider the rigour with which this has been done. They need to comply with accepted practice in the discipline being researched.
The results of the interpretation or the analysis need to be presented using traditional presentation techniques, such as tables, graphs, etc. Key to assessing the validity of the findings from the research. Any problems encountered in dealing with the above issues should be stated, together with an explanation as to how they were overcome.
Interpretation
Some specific interpretations of the results.
It is essential that the interpretation or the findings are consistent with the analysis. Model, to the evidence, to the analysis, and then to the findings. Examiners look to see if the findings constitute a clear contribution to the field of study. Thus the question,’ Are the findings useful?’, is frequently asked.
Failing to confirm a theory or hypothesis can be just as valuable as confirmation, and it could lead to the development of a new theory. Senior degrees may be awarded even where the candidate has not confirmed his or her hypothesis, provided a contribution has been made to the body of knowledge.
Summary and Conclusion of the Dissertation
The conclusions should finish with a statement of the positive aspects of the research work, even if the research did not support the original model or beliefs.
The Limitations of the Research
This is an important chapter and even a relatively weak dissertation can be substantially strengthened by an insightful account of the research at this stage.
Management Guidelines or Recommendations
In this final chapter of a dissertation the findings are restructured in terms of practical guidelines which can be used by managers in order to improve their performance in working situations.
Source
Doing Research in Business and Management - Dan Remenyi et al.
