 |
 |
I think opportunities should exist for all doctoral students in LIS, irregardless of what stage they are at in their programs. I mean, what other opportunities exist for doctoral students who have not been allowed to pass "Go" ? When I was a doctoral student in my first semester I asked to submit a poster to ALISE when it was being held in Boston circa 2005 and while my advisor mentioned that it was highly unusual for any first year doctoral students to participate in the poster sessions, I submitted it anyways. It was accepted and I was delighted , however the subsequent issues I faced was getting the dept secretary to process my student funding/Metroliner tickets to attend which at the last minute simply "did not happen" and being a student dependent on a monthly stipend check only, I could not afford the travel to Boston to present the poster. All LIS doctoral students need this engagement not just those who are in the last stages of the process. There simply isn't enough for LIS doctoral students to begin with. Most doctoral workshops at conferences are for advanced students only, and there needs to be much more opportunities for all doctoral students. Dr. Miksa, are your students coming from a practitioner background by any chance? Just my 2 cents worth, Karen Weaver Karen Weaver, MLS, Electronic Resources Statistician, Duquesne University, Gumberg Library, Pittsburgh PA email: [log in to unmask] / Gmail: [log in to unmask] On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 4:11 PM, Miksa, Shawne <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > When did the ALISE doc student poster competition become exclusively > about presenting dissertation research? > > As a doc student I presented posters 3 years in a row and not one was my > dissertation research. The description states that the competition "offers > doctoral students an opportunity to share information about their research > projects" --there is nothing that says it has to be dissertation > research. The eligibility guidelines state that only students who have > "completed or are near completion of their doctoral dissertation research" > can submit an abstract. > > The spirit of the whole event was to allow students to interact with > professors from across the board, get feedback about their ideas, ideas > about research, research questions, different methodologies, etc. It also > allowed students to network and find potential future employers. This is in > line with "Professor Sutcliffe's dedication to the education of information > professions" (http://alisedocsig.wordpress.com/ ) > > My first experience with the presenting was tremendously helpful. I > presented a poster based on some theoretical work resulting from Elfreda > Chatman's theory development class. The next year it was a poster on some > content analysis methodology and coding scheme resulting from a faculty-led > research project. Not only did the experience force me to learn how to > present my ideas, but I received great deal of feedback from a variety of > profs with different backgrounds and expertise. I got ideas on what to > read, how to ask a better research question, how to present data, etc. I > don't see the same opportunities happening under this > "eligibility" nonsense. It should be open to all doc students. > > I just found out one of my students was turned down because she didn't have > her data absolutely or completely analyzed. Bulldada. She will be meeting > with interested schools at ALISE, but she can't present any of the research > she has done over the past few years. Some of this research, by the way, has > already been presented on a reviewed panel at a significant annual > conference. Something is wrong with this picture. > > Don't tell me it about the number of entries either because I've seen > to from 10-20 posters to over 100 and still be manageable. I believe at one > point they did two sessions--one for dissertation research and another for > just research. > > What gives? > > ************************************************************** > Shawne D. Miksa, Ph.D. > Associate Professor > Department of Library and Information Sciences > College of Information > University of North Texas > email: [log in to unmask] > http://courses.unt.edu/smiksa/index.htm > office 940-565-3560 fax 940-565-3101 > ************************************************************** >