Constructing ‘Do-Able’ Dissertations in Collaborative Research

Helene Sorgner

doi:10.23987/sts.109709

Abstract

Many young scientists are trained in research groups, yet little is known about how individual doctoral dissertations are carved out of collaborative research projects. This question is particularly pronounced in high-energy physics, where thousands of physicists share an experiment’s apparatus, data, and the authorship of publications. Based on qualitative interviews with researchers working at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, this paper analyses what makes a PhD dissertation ‘doable’ in this context. Describing the levels of work organisation, the challenges, and the actors involved in constructing ‘doable’ dissertations in collaborative research, I argue that doctoral dissertations are the emergent product of alignment work performed throughout the PhD. Individualisation is achieved by temporally, qualitatively and formally distinguishing dissertations from work on collective publications. I discuss how these processes shape the roles of students and advisors, and the content and value of dissertations in collaborative research.

Highlights

The observable increase in the number and size of research collaborations across the sciences (Milojević, 2014; Wuchty et al, 2007) seems to be in conflict with traditional academic career and reward systems focusing on individual achievements (Mangematin, 2001)
Science and Technology Studies (STS) has long had an interest in the socialisation of students as members of research communities, there is no dedicated study on the practices that shape doctoral dissertations in collaborative environments
PhD dissertations based on collaborative research need to satisfy seemingly opposing requirements

Summary

Introduction

The observable increase in the number and size of research collaborations across the sciences (Milojević, 2014; Wuchty et al, 2007) seems to be in conflict with traditional academic career and reward systems focusing on individual achievements (Mangematin, 2001). Based on an analysis of interviews with graduate students, post-docs, and PhD advisors in experimental high-energy physics, this paper describes the practices involved in constructing dissertations that contribute to collective research goals while being attributable to an individual student.

Results

Conclusion