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22. Skim Text 2B “Basic Objectives and Misconceptions of Postgraduate Research Work” and try to understand what it is about. Give a brief overview of its structure and contents.
Text 2B. Basic objectives and misconceptions of postgraduate research
A good starting point in understanding the difference between the objectives of postgraduate research work and the misconceptions is to consider the parable of the two workmen, laying bricks on a construction site. In the parable, in response to a question regarding their roles, one workman replies that he is “laying bricks”, while the other replies that he is “building a cathedral”.
In response to a question regarding their roles in a postgraduate research programme, many students will provide the analogous answer that relates to how they are laying bricks rather than how they are building the proverbial cathedral. The key point here is to recognise that, just as bricklaying has a higher sense of purpose than laying bricks, so too does postgraduate research have a higher sense of purpose than just undertaking a research project. Ironically, few research students recognise the higher sense of purpose that is being sought through their research until long after the programme has been completed.
In failing to recognise the higher sense of purpose for which a postgraduate research programme is intended, many research students needlessly expend weeks or months on activities that do not contribute to their learning process or to a positive outcome within the assessment process. Worse still, many students inadequately address (or fail to address) the key issues needed to demonstrate an understanding of the research process.
The first issue that needs to be examined is the “research cathedral” that is being constructed during a postgraduate research programme. In this text, the following motivational factor is put forward for postgraduate research:
(i) An individual should seek to undertake a Master’s or Doctoral research programme for the purposes of becoming a person who has a solid understanding of the mechanisms associated with the systematic and rigorous process of discovery and independent review.
(ii) On the other hand, in practice, the dynamism that many students invoke to undertake such programmes begins with a range of different motivators, including: (ii) “A higher degree will be good for my career and/or I will get paid more if I have a higher degree”. (iii) “I will be able to work in a project area which I fi nd particularly interesting.” (iv) “I will have the freedom to spend several years investigating an area that I fi nd of interest”.
(iii) Ironically, the typical motivating factors (ii) — (iv) that students have for undertaking a programme are not necessarily the ones which will enable them to either succeed in their desired outcomes or to “build the research cathedral”. Further, the motivators listed in (iii) and (iv), which appear to be most altruistic in intention, can often lead to serious problems during the course of a research programme.
In order to understand why this should be the case, one needs to consider some basic tenets that are, herein, adopted for postgraduate research. These are that:
— A postgraduate research programme is a means by which a student can learn how to undertake research in a systematic and unbiased manner.
— The research project and the research fi eld are the basis of a task which is set in order for the student to acquire research skills and to demonstrate these to independent assessors.
— A successful outcome in a research programme is one in which the research student has acquired the basic skills of research and has recognised how these can be more generically applied to other areas or, at a higher level, within the chosen field.
If one examines the tenets and looks at typical motivators (iii) and (iv), one can begin to see why these cause problems.
Firstly, students that are motivated by interest in a project or a field of research can sometimes have more passion for the field than for the rigours of research — hence, they focus on conducting an interesting project rather than acquiring research skills. Secondly, interest can introduce bias into the conduct of a research programme, and when supervisors or peer reviewers attempt to correct the bias, confl icts can arise. Thirdly, those who solely use interest as a motivator, generally discover that, once a postgraduate research programme commences, the basic elements are composed of many activities that are peripheral to the conduct of the project and may be of no interest. Typically, these include core activities that are central to learning the research process — for example: literature reviews, statistical analysis, experimental design, thesis writing.
Conflicts often arise when students ascribe primary importance to the project and secondary importance to the acquisition, demonstration and mastery of research skills.
Motivator (iv) is also of concern in terms of postgraduate research because it tends to encompass words such as freedom, which are then combined with words such as interest. The implication is that a student, in a postgraduate research programme, will be free to explore any areas provided that they are interesting. The reality, however, is that in learning about the systematic process of discovery, one needs to severely restrict the pathways that are explored so that each pathway is thoroughly and carefully investigated. In other words, the interpretation that research students have of terms such as freedom and interest may be somewhat different to the realities of the research process cess. Returning to the bricklaying analogy, one could say that the research cathedral, which is the ultimate objective of postgraduate research, is the ability to undertake research in a systematic manner. The research project is akin to the bricks that need to be laid to build the cathedral. Confl icts and confusion arise when students have a greater interest in laying bricks than they do in building the cathedral [Toncich, 2006: 32 — 35].
23. Identify the topic of each paragraph of Text 2B.
24. Answer the following questions.
a) What are the objectives of postgraduate research work compared to?
b) What is the purpose of doing postgraduate research
c) How is the “research cathedral” constructed?
d) What are the typical motivating factors for undertaking postgraduate research programme characterized by?
e) Will all the motivating factors mentioned in the text enable postgraduates to succeed in research outcomes?
f) What is a postgraduate research programme characteristic of?
g) Why can the motivating factors cause problems?
h) Is a postgraduate student free to explore any areas provided by the research programme?
i) Why is it important to do research in a systematic manner?
Section 5. SPEAKING
25. Igor Petrov tells us about his postgraduate course. Complete the text with the words or phrases from the box.
a) complete b) opportunity c) in order to d) related e) enable f) access g) degrees h) take i) postgraduate j) data k) supervisor l) attend m) major n) entrance o) theme p) conducting q) course r) facilities
The hierarchy of advanced postgraduate (1) __________ in Russia traditionally includes doctor’s degrees of two levels: the Candidate of Sciences (kandidat nauk), which is equivalent to a PhD degree according to the International Standard Classifi cation of Education, and the Doctor of Sciences (doktor nauk).
I am taking a PhD degree (2) __________ at the Technological University. My admission to the entrance examinations was determined on the basis of the research statement presented by me and the results of the preliminary discussions of my thesis theme with my research (3) __________. I had to take competitive (4) __________ examinations in the subject of my specialisation, that is in Civil Engineering, English, and philosophy (5) __________ be accepted to this course. I passed them successfully. So now I am a first-year full-time (6) __________ student of the Department of Civil Engineering. The PhD degree course will require at least three years of study.
The postgraduate programme I am taking combines individual depth of experience and competence in my chosen (7) __________ with a strong background in the basic and engineering sciences. This course will (8) __________ me to carry out independent research and educational work and develop my professional independence, creativity, leadership as well as the capacity for continuing professional and intellectual growth.
In the first year of my postgraduate studies I (9) _________ the courses in preparation for three qualifying (Candidate) examinations in my specialty field, history and philosophy of science, and English. I am sure that the knowledge of English will help me in my research. I also (10) __________ some lectures and seminars in information technologies, mathematical simulation, psychology, and some other subjects. I also have the (11) __________ to hear talks by industrial researchers. The university has excellent library (12) __________ with strong collections in civil engineering, mathematics, and science. PhD students are provided with (13) __________ to the university computer facilities and office space.
My research deals with new methods of construction. The (14) __________ of the thesis is “Ecologically Friendly Construction and Design”. I was interested in this problem when a Master’s degree student. So by now I had collected some valuable (15) __________ for my thesis. I work in close contact with my scientific supervisor Professor Smirnov. If I have any problems (16) __________ to my research, I always consult him.
At present I am engaged in collecting some more data and (17) __________ experiments. Some results of my research have already been published in two papers in scientific journals. I hope my research will be a success. I think I will manage to complete my doctoral thesis on time and (18) __________ a PhD degree in Civil Engineering.
26. Using the information given in the above text, fi ll in the missing answers of the dialogue. Then practise it.
A.: What postdegree course are you taking now?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: Why did you decide to take it?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: What is your field of specialisation?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: What did you have to do to be admitted to the entrance examinations?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: What entrance examinations did you take?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: What courses do you take to prepare for the qualifying (Candidate) examinations? B.: _______________________________.
A.: What classes and lectures do you attend?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: What are the library facilities at your university?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: What is the theme of your PhD thesis?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: Is your current research connected with your Master’s thesis?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: Have you begun working at your PhD thesis yet?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: Have you conducted any experiments?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: Who is your research supervisor?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: How often do you consult your research supervisor?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: Have you published any papers?
B.: _______________________________.
A.: Will you manage to complete your doctoral thesis on time?
B.: _______________________________.
A.:
27. Speak on your postgraduate course. Use the above text and dialogue as a model.
Study some useful expressions:
To do research in (into) – проводить исследование в области
To read for thesis – читать литературу для диссертации
To attend lectures in – посещать лекции по
To carry on research in – продолжать исследование (в)
To be engaged in the study of – заниматься изучением
To deal with the problem of – заниматься проблемой
To be devoted to – быть посвященным.преданным (чему-то)
To be particularly interested in – проявлять особый интерес к
To make a thorough (complete, detailed, accurate) study of – проводить основательное (полное, подробное, точное) исследование…
To advance (propose, put forward, suggest, develop) an idea of (hypothesis, approach, theory) – выдвигать (предлагать, развививать) идею (гипотезу, подход, теорию)
To collect and arrange/process data (facts, observations) – собирать и упорядочивать/ обрабатывать данные (факты, наблюдения)
To check the results – проверять результаты
To do theoretical work – проводить теоретическую работу
To come to the conclusion – приходить к заключению
To be through with the experimental (theoretical) part of work – закончить экспериментальную (теоретическую) часть работы
To succeed in obtaining reliable results (data) – успешно получить надежные (достоверные) результаты
To overcome difficulties – преодолевать трудности
To read a paper – выступать с научным докладом
To win general recognition – получить (завоевать) общее признание
To be encouraged with the investigation – быть вдохновленным этим исследованием
To contribute (to make a contribution) to – вносить вклад в
To consider (an issue) of – считать, полагать, рассматривать проблему
To work jointly with – работать совместно с
To consult one’s scientific adviser/supervisor – консультироваться у научного руководителя
To work under – работать под руководством
To be well-known (distinguished, prominent, outstanding, famous) – быть изветсным (выдающимся, знаменитым)
To guide – направлять
To monitor progress – следить за ходом исследования
To provide feedback – обеспечить обратную связь
To give (deliver) lectures – читать лекции
To provide a summary/ synopsis/annotation of – снабжать что-либо аннотацией
To have/get good references (on) – иметь/получать хорошие отзывы
28. Find synonyms in the list (A-B) below, and arrange them in pairs.
A. Device, research,technology, branch, obtain, important, collaborator, team, scientific adviser, to enable, thesis, journal, to prove a thesis, to collect, data, to encounter, to be enagaged in, to be through with, scientific papers, rapidly;
B. Quickly, publications, instrument, technique, to finish, to be busy with, field, to get, significance, to come across, information, to gather, coworker, group, supervisor, to defend a dissertation, scientific magazine, dissertation, to allow, investigation.
Find antonyms in the list (C-D) below, and arrange them in pairs
C. Theory, to obtain, rapidly, experimentator, to finish, to increase, new, experienced, unknown, wide, passive, to enable, high, complicated.
D. Simple, low, practice, to give, to disable, active, slowly, theoretician, narrow, famous, to start, to decrease, old, inexperienced.
29. Think about your career in science and put down your notes in the chart below using the words and collocations from the previous task.
| Your career in science | Your notes |
| 1. What you enjoy most about working in your scientific field. | |
| 2. What you would like to do ( and not like to do) | |
| 3. Which of your past and presenr experiences are most relevant to your future in science. |
30. What is your idea of a good supervisor? What do you prefer: to have a supervisor who is the name in his/her field, has plenty of ideas, which he/she is eager to share with you, or a a supervisor who knows not much about your subject, but let you make the research independently? You may use the expressions below how to speculate on the subject.
1. An appropriate supervisor.
2. A holistic and innovative approach.
3. Crucialsupport of the supervisor.
4. Experienced in the field of your research interests.
5. High level of staff expertise, reputation and influence.
6. Pertinent comments.
7. Procedures and regulations of writing and defendinf your thesis.
8. The responsibilities are shared between student and supervisor.
9. To appreciate the time and effort.
10. To be especially beneficial.
11. To boost one’s confidence.
12. To continuously monitor progress.
13. To design and carry out work on your thesis.
14. To give plenty of encouragement.
15. To guide and advise you throughout your period of study.
16. To provide structured feedback.
17. To provide training in research.
18. To remain aware of the student’s situation and the needs.
31. Usually your supervisor is a famous scholar and an expert in your some field; he/she may have discovered an interesting phenomenon or law. Try to find out about his/her scientific interests, dissertation and research. This will help you establish better working environment. Be ready to describe expertise, research and academic career of your supervisor.
32. Your supervisor has just learned about the popularity of using blogs (or weblogs) as research tools. This is the first time he/she has heard of this new communication tool, and he/she wants to learn more.He/she asks you to conduct Internet research to see what has been written on this subject. Using the electronic database or the web, find an article that discusses the use of blogs in the workplace for research purposes. Summarize the primary ideas, conclusions, and reccomendations presented in the article to report on them to your boss. Be sure to identify the author, article name, journal, and date of publication in your summary.
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