"Qualifying papers are a great opportunity to test drive research topics, methods, and faculty."
"I know it when I see it." --Justice Potter Stewart in Jacobellis v. Ohio; professors on qualifying papers.
"Don't get it right, get it written."
We have to write 3 qualifying papers before we advance to candidacy. What does a qualifying paper look like? A paper that gets the approval of 2 professors. Since we are in the business of doing research, qualifying papers are how we learn to do it. Papers should be of publishable quality, but there are not necessarily uniform standards.
Yesterday's colloquium focused on writing qualifying papers. There were 3 professors and 3 advanced graduate students on the panel, answering questions and doling out helpful hints. Here is what they said, and I invite your additional suggestions.
Turn class papers into qualifying papers. This is not a requirement, but this is usually the most efficient way to do it. Think of it as expanding and polishing a class paper.
Shop around for readers. One panelist said that they went to 5 professors with a research idea, and it was the 6th professor that saw its potential.
Find a 2nd reader early. If we need suggestions on who to ask to be a 2nd reader, we can ask our 1st reader. We can also ask other grad students. Get the 2nd reader involved in the project early on; one professor had a student come to them with a finished paper, asking them to be a 2nd reader. This professor was not pleased, and said they would sign off if the student wrote a new paper. Moral of the story? Get 2 people on board from the beginning.
Play the field. Qualifying papers do not have to be about the same topic, and they do not have to be the stepping stone to the dissertation. One professor said that they have seen students with 3 qualifying papers that looked very different, and they have seen students with papers that paved the way towards dissertation. Also, papers do not have to use the same methods or readers. Cast a wide net, and use qualifying papers as the opportunity to develop professional relationships with many professors. Eventually, we will have to build a committee of 5 people, and we don't want to be scrambling around at the last minute to find committee members. This is the time to test drive research interests, faculty, and methods. Date around; we can have flings with qualifying papers, but we marry the dissertation.
Plan to write multiple drafts. We might go 2 rounds; we might go 10 rounds. Don't take feedback personally; this has nothing to do with us as a person. And remember, it is not necessarily in our best interest to get a quick sign-off; we learn and get better with each draft. Professors are helping us learn to do research, and don't we want to do it well?
Don't put it off until the summer. Whenever we don't have time to do something, we seem to think we'll do it over the summer. Don't add qualifying papers to this list. It won't get done. We will have other things to do, professors are not around, and we may not be around over the summer. More importantly, we have to learn how to juggle multiple responsibilities now.
Proofread. Submitting a draft full of grammar errors is like serving soup with a dirty spoon.
Start early and plan ahead. It puts us and the professors in a difficult position if we submit a draft and need their approval in order to get TA funding. If we plan ahead, things will fall into place when they need to.
Focus on ourselves. As difficult as it may seem, we need to focus on our own progress. Sure, other people may get a paper done before us, but it has no bearing on our lives. Understand that we make our own paths in graduate school: we are different, we work with different professors, we have different research interests, we work with different data, etc. Besides, we are not competing against each other. We are competing with some grad student at some other school.
Take opportunities as they come. Yes, we have to write 3 qualifying papers, but there are so many skills that we need to build the foundation to our careers. So, if we have the opportunity to learn statistics at ICPSR or qualitative methods at IQMR, we go do it.
Give the paper a longer life span. Present it at conferences and submit it for publication. What do we have to lose? It's a great way to build our CVs.
Show drafts work to other grad students. This is a great way to get feedback before we submit a draft to professors. Forming a working group keeps everyone accountable and on track.
Keep memos. Qualifying papers are meant to simulate the journal submission process: we get feedback from 2 readers and must make revisions to satisfy the two of them. One panelist said that they make and submit a memo with each new draft discussing how they have addressed each reader's comments. This lets the readers know how we have addressed their points, or we can use this memo to discuss why we have not.
Celebrate!!! We have few opportunities to celebrate in graduate school. Take time to celebrate each milestone.
"I know it when I see it." --Justice Potter Stewart in Jacobellis v. Ohio; professors on qualifying papers.
"Don't get it right, get it written."
We have to write 3 qualifying papers before we advance to candidacy. What does a qualifying paper look like? A paper that gets the approval of 2 professors. Since we are in the business of doing research, qualifying papers are how we learn to do it. Papers should be of publishable quality, but there are not necessarily uniform standards.
Yesterday's colloquium focused on writing qualifying papers. There were 3 professors and 3 advanced graduate students on the panel, answering questions and doling out helpful hints. Here is what they said, and I invite your additional suggestions.
Turn class papers into qualifying papers. This is not a requirement, but this is usually the most efficient way to do it. Think of it as expanding and polishing a class paper.
Shop around for readers. One panelist said that they went to 5 professors with a research idea, and it was the 6th professor that saw its potential.
Find a 2nd reader early. If we need suggestions on who to ask to be a 2nd reader, we can ask our 1st reader. We can also ask other grad students. Get the 2nd reader involved in the project early on; one professor had a student come to them with a finished paper, asking them to be a 2nd reader. This professor was not pleased, and said they would sign off if the student wrote a new paper. Moral of the story? Get 2 people on board from the beginning.
Play the field. Qualifying papers do not have to be about the same topic, and they do not have to be the stepping stone to the dissertation. One professor said that they have seen students with 3 qualifying papers that looked very different, and they have seen students with papers that paved the way towards dissertation. Also, papers do not have to use the same methods or readers. Cast a wide net, and use qualifying papers as the opportunity to develop professional relationships with many professors. Eventually, we will have to build a committee of 5 people, and we don't want to be scrambling around at the last minute to find committee members. This is the time to test drive research interests, faculty, and methods. Date around; we can have flings with qualifying papers, but we marry the dissertation.
Plan to write multiple drafts. We might go 2 rounds; we might go 10 rounds. Don't take feedback personally; this has nothing to do with us as a person. And remember, it is not necessarily in our best interest to get a quick sign-off; we learn and get better with each draft. Professors are helping us learn to do research, and don't we want to do it well?
Don't put it off until the summer. Whenever we don't have time to do something, we seem to think we'll do it over the summer. Don't add qualifying papers to this list. It won't get done. We will have other things to do, professors are not around, and we may not be around over the summer. More importantly, we have to learn how to juggle multiple responsibilities now.
Proofread. Submitting a draft full of grammar errors is like serving soup with a dirty spoon.
Start early and plan ahead. It puts us and the professors in a difficult position if we submit a draft and need their approval in order to get TA funding. If we plan ahead, things will fall into place when they need to.
Focus on ourselves. As difficult as it may seem, we need to focus on our own progress. Sure, other people may get a paper done before us, but it has no bearing on our lives. Understand that we make our own paths in graduate school: we are different, we work with different professors, we have different research interests, we work with different data, etc. Besides, we are not competing against each other. We are competing with some grad student at some other school.
Take opportunities as they come. Yes, we have to write 3 qualifying papers, but there are so many skills that we need to build the foundation to our careers. So, if we have the opportunity to learn statistics at ICPSR or qualitative methods at IQMR, we go do it.
Give the paper a longer life span. Present it at conferences and submit it for publication. What do we have to lose? It's a great way to build our CVs.
Show drafts work to other grad students. This is a great way to get feedback before we submit a draft to professors. Forming a working group keeps everyone accountable and on track.
Keep memos. Qualifying papers are meant to simulate the journal submission process: we get feedback from 2 readers and must make revisions to satisfy the two of them. One panelist said that they make and submit a memo with each new draft discussing how they have addressed each reader's comments. This lets the readers know how we have addressed their points, or we can use this memo to discuss why we have not.
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