Doctoral colloquium

The Doctoral Colloquium took place today. This is a session where all of the doctoral students at the Institute are encouraged (though not required) to come to present their dissertation proposals or findings, and to get feedback from faculty and other students. About half of our 50 or so doctoral students appeared to face three of the 4 full professors.

The doctoral program is large (too large, I think) because our Institute is the only place in Germany where a person can get a PhD in Library and Information Science. This is an advantage but also a problem since the majority are not resident in Berlin.

The problems the students have with their dissertations are typical of doctoral students everywhere. They have an idea about what they want to write about, but lack the methodoligical training to let them do the dissertation in way that turns it into a contribution to knowledge. Time and again we three professors asked methodological questions and stressed the need to use one or another social science approaches. Somehow the news came fresh to each student who presented.

Training students in methodology is hard even for programs with everyone in residence. We need to find some way of doing it despite the commute. Perhaps that is my next challenge.