Recognizing Good Ideas: An Essential Skill of a Doctoral Student Advisor

Abstract

Ideas are the driving force behind a doctoral thesis. It is the ideas inherent in a thesis that determine the impact that the thesis will have on research and practice. It is a doctoral student's role to generate these ideas about thesis topics, about scope, and about methodology, but it is the advisor's role to recognize the good ideas from the "not so good" ideas, and to help the student develop and complete a doctoral thesis. This paper explores the advisor's role in recognizing good thesis ideas. One of Gary Dickson's greatest skills is his ability to identify and encourage thesis ideas that are of high quality and high potential impact.