Saturday, April 06, 2013

I think this post was mistitled

Yikes: Check out this professor's guide called "How not to write a PhD Thesis".

I would have to say it should be called "How not to be a thesis advisor"

Check out this gem:

I make my postgraduates pay for such statements. If they offer a generalisation such as “scholars of the online environment argue that democracy follows participation”, I demand that they find at least 30 separate references to verify their claim. 


I guess this professor subscribes to the "two wrongs make a right" theory of mentoring.

The other thought I had from reading the list was that I'm glad I work in economics and not literary theory!




4 comments:

Gerardo said...

Step 1: Don't go to University of Brighton

Step 2: If you do, don't pick an advisor who looks like she has access to arsenic

JD Cross said...

I find this post - particularly the focus on the quote - a bit odd in that it immediately follows a post of your own with this quote:

"Last year showed a definite V shape in job growth as did 2011 to a lesser extent."

V shape? Huh? If you fit a "V" to the 2012 monthly data (say, using y = |x|) you'd have a horrible r^2 value (which is to say: it's not V shaped). And 2011 shows a "V" shape to a "lesser extent"??? Doesn't get much more imprecise than this. I, too, would ask for about 30 separate references to verify such a claim...and I'd still say its bogus (because with one reference - one's own eyes - it clearly is bogus).

I'm not sure macro is much better than literary theory.

-JD Cross

Angus said...

Damn JD and here I thought my "jobs report friday" post would make a great PhD dissertation in economics. Thank you so much for setting me straight.

It's a widely reported "stylized fact" in this recovery that we've seen stronger numbers in the winter and early spring that fade out in the later spring and summer instead of maintaining or increasing.

Not sure how y = |x| would ever pick up a V shaped time trend, but I'm confident your next critique will spell it out for me.

Frances Bacon said...

I really think that if you planning to study for grad school degree, it would be good to have an adviser that you yourself choose. That way, he/she can help you with you master thesis or phd dissertation writing task because you know what he/she is capable of.