7/30/2022
Just out in the Annual Review of Sociology. Stanley Presser's (2022) tips on improving doctoral education. See original article for splendid quotes on failure and anecdotes on survey methodology. Presser has suggestions for courses, instructors, programs, and students.
Courses ought to:
“examine earlier state-of-the-art research whose conclusions are no longer accepted and analyze how and why the consensus changed…”
“compare extensively cited and rarely cited articles from similar years, topics, and journals.”
“[assign] readings at odds with the prevailing consensus.”
“cover only a few problems, but in ... real depth.”
“search for and focus on puzzles …[to] stimulate productive inquiry.”
“convey the view of standpoint theories …that all knowledge is socially situated.”
“[highlight] readings in the history, philosophy, and sociology of science …to convey the roles of failure and error.”
“introduce students to the autobiographical articles in the Annual Review volumes for the various social sciences and to the essay collections portraying how and why social scientists developed research problems.”
Instructors ought to:
“describe how they devised problems and why they pursued some and abandoned others.”
"discuss dissertations with their advisees no later than the end of their first year."
Programs ought to:
“provide more opportunities and support for collaborative work among students.”
"explore [dissertation ideas] in many courses."
"[make] successfully defended dissertation proposals …easily accessible to students."
"[structure] seminars so that students critique each other’s work [possibly leading] to the formation of dissertation support groups."
Students ought to:
“first read only the statement of the problem(s) or question(s) the study sets out. [Then, before reading further,] develop an ideal approach to meet the study’s objectives. [Finally,] read the rest of the study.”
“reproduce a table from a publication of their choice that analyzed archived data.”
Presser, S. (2022). The Role of Doubt in Conceiving Research: Reflections from a Career Shaped by a Dissertation. Annual Review of Sociology, 48.