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Nothing is more
satisfying than standing on the starting block knowing that you have a
backbone to take you through the race -- not a wishbone.
[David Wilke: Montreal Olympics 1976]
Many information
technology dissertations are wishbones. Sometimes students have the
backbone to finish one. The main idea for a dissertation to be successful
is to draw a bridge between theories and practice (Easterby-Smith et al.,
1999). Although it often seems that everyone but you knows "the
(unwritten) rules," it is obvious that the majority of post-graduate
students could benefit from street smarts when it comes to writing a
dissertation. This article tries to smooth the transition from
post-graduate to professional.
The future of
academic information systems will be shaped by doctoral students. Doctoral
students need, therefore, to recognize that they -- not their supervisors
or colleagues -- are in charge of their study, (Grover, 2001). The goal of
this paper is to offer guidance to students on entering, surviving and
flourishing during post-graduate study and beyond. I teach in the
Information Systems and Technology department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal,
and so much of the advice is addressed to this group, but others might
find it useful. It is also rather South African-specific, but students
elsewhere may find a useful idea or two.
Keywords:
post-graduate, doctoral
dissertation, skills
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