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Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology |
Guest Editorial: PhD Research - Building Research Culture and Careers |
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04:02 |
Andy Connor & Judith Symonds Connor, A. & Symonds, J. (2006, October), PhD Research - Building Research Culture and Careers. Bulletinof Applied Computing and Information Technology Vol. 4, Issue 2. ISSN 1176-4120. Retrieved from Students are often asked “What is Quality?” Academically, Quality can be defined in many ways: “conformance to requirements”, “degree of excellence”, or “of superior grade”. In software development, Quality can even be measured using simple metrics like the number of software defects per line of code. But does this really tell us what Quality is? No. Yet each and every one of us will recognize Quality, either by its presence or more tellingly so by it’s absence. Dropping all airs and graces, when Quality is defined pragmatically it is simply “customer satisfaction”. Now ask “What is a PhD?” It is a question that almost every PhD students asks, and one that many PhD graduates will struggle to answer. Despite three or four years of hard graft, with the completed thesis examined and bound, the definition seems tantalisingly close yet like the end of the rainbow the closer you seem to get, the further away it lies from where you are now. Just as with Quality, a PhD can be defined as “a degree granted to a learned individual who had achieved the approval of his peers and who had demonstrated a long and productive career in their field”, “a scholarly argument”, “an academic passport with international reciprocity”, “a badge of research excellence” or “a distinct contribution to the knowledge of the subject”. But again, does this really tell us what a PhD is? No. It is, perhaps, another area where a pragmatic definition is of use. For the student, the PhD can be many things. But primarily it is a stepping stone to greater things. For some, the PhD is an entry ticket to an academic career whilst for others it is a period of training, to provide a given skill set required for further industrial research. It is our role as supervisors not to direct and govern our PhD students, but to mentor and guide them to explore the possibilities and assist them to reach their ultimate aim. The job is done well when the student themselves can answer the question “What is a PhD?” by pointing to their thesis, confidently knowing that it is everything a PhD should be, even if they cannot define exactly what that is. For the University, the PhD is simply the lifeblood of a research culture. Academic staff might be the body, but PhD students are the beating heart and it is their creativity that keeps us on our toes. Without an influx of new PhD students in the system, our environment would become stale and unpalatable. In February this year, the School of Computer and Information Sciences at Auckland University of Technology held its first postgraduate conference and a number of the papers presented have been expanded for this special issue of the New Zealand Bulletin of Applied Computing. The aim of the conference was to begin to encourage our research students and staff to share their research experiences. Through the conference approach, presenters benefited from preparing and delivering their seminars; they received a range of responses from the audience, which in turn, we hope, unfolded into possible future developments in their research. The postgraduate conference also gave all researchers involved in postgraduate study an opportunity to come together and to support and contribute to a deeper and broader commitment to Computer and Information Sciences Scholarship in our school. As part of the conference, we were honoured to have Prof John Hosking from University of Auckland as a keynote speaker and we benefited from hearing about his experiences in Computer Science research, design and practice, especially about his own special type of research culture and his research career. Prof Hosking has developed an article based on his presentation for the special issue. The diversity (and quality!) of submissions was a pleasure to witness, proof that our heart is beating as strongly as ever. As our students grow, they will no doubt spread their wings and make their own mark on the world. The best presenters were given opportunity to prepare a research paper based on their presentation and they are represented in this issue of BACIT (refereed articles 1, 2, 3 and 4). Copyright © 2006 Andy Connor and Judith Symonds |
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Copyright © 2006 NACCQ. Krassie Petrova, Michael Verhaart, Andy Connor and Judith Symonds (Eds.). An Open Access Journal, DOAJ # 11764120 |
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