Book Reviews
The Thesis Journey: Tales of Personal Triumph
Vilkinas, T
ISBN: 0-733972-78-0 2005 Pearson Education Australia
Madeleine McKechnie
Honours student, School of Management, Queensland University of Technology, QLD
The Thesis Journey is a book about students' and supervisors' experiences around their Higher Research Degrees (HRDs). It is essentially a collection of short essays on the HRD experience. Eleven of the chapters are written by HRD students and four are written by two supervisors. All are 'My experience of. . .' chapters except for the first (an aim and outline of the book) and the final. The final chapter is particularly relevant for theoretical and practical purposes, as it summarises and interprets the previous chapters in the book.
The chapters written by students focus on several themes:
- Motivation for undertaking a HRD
- Impediments and obstacles in the process (both personal and professional)
- Strategies for overcoming these
- Rewarding parts of the journey
As would be expected, there are differing, and some competing, perspectives within the book as to what makes a successful HRD and what personal characteristics one must have to achieve this. The chapters are all written from a process (rather than content) perspective, which is more appropriate given the aim. However, it does present the ideas as rather ethereal and without context. The opposite end of the spectrum is much less appealing and would involve a précis of the student's dissertation without the rigour of a content editorial process. The book focusing on students' lived experiences is certainly its scope, however, there is an institutional bias throughout the pieces, as they refer to similar experiences, such the parable used to explain epistemology and ontology and the style of supervision displayed by one of the authors. There is also a limited range of perspectives in terms of student diversity; most appear to be students who have come from a long-term Public Sector career and have recently left or are still employed whilst trying to juggle the demands of a HRD. This certainly shapes their contributions.
Motivation
The motivation for undertaking a HRD varies from self-actualising personal challenges to being instrumental in career progression. These are all personal accounts of how the contributor came into the process. Chapter 2 explores the difficulty in having a research area that is not popular with academics and the difficulty therein in starting a PhD. Chapter 6 has a particularly personal perspective on why the HRD process was undertaken. Chapter 10 uses self-deprecating humour refreshingly to explore the issues in HRD study later in life.
Impediments
The impediments are covered in depth, as would be expected (most of the contributors are in the later stages of PhDs). The difficulties associated with HRD are often personal issues that seem to invariably arise during crucial stages, and many of the contributors acknowledge emotional difficulties throughout the process, in particular, Chapters 5 and 6 describe the sense of being overwhelmed and inept (a process that certainly all HRD students encounter).
Content-related issues are also covered, such as the issues associated with using an unconventional methodology (Chapter 5). Chapter 7 reflects on the overall usefulness of the process and the sense of doubt that plagues HRD students.
Strategies for Overcoming
Some of the strategies suggested for overcoming the obstacles are quite tangible and pragmatic in nature (such as Chapter 3's tips to organise information and stop procrastinating). There is general useful advice (Chapters 8 and 9), which a reader might be inclined to consider as having reiterative value only; the usefulness is in the experience of such techniques and approaches. Other advice is much more personal in nature and can only be shared through lived experience. Chapter 7, for instance, offers concise pieces of advice anchored in personal experience (and flavoured with pleasant honesty).
Rewarding Parts
The more rewarding experiences are described less, but that is probably due to the writing-up stage that many of the contributors appear to be in. The stories are sometimes garnished with humour (Chapters 9 and 10 stand out). Chapter 12 describes the strength found in groups of individuals with similar circumstances. While the title promises triumphs, they are somewhat bittersweet. Certainly the HRD process is not easy and these tales reflect that. The rewards appear to be metaphorical and personal in nature; and these things are reassuring.
Chapters 13 and 14 are supervisors' perspectives of how they manage students through the HRD process. They appear to differ significantly, and the themes covered are also quite divergent. However, it is a good grounding for HRD students to know what supervisors feel is inside and outside the scope of their role.
The final chapter is an examination of the previous student contributions. Through content analysis, the editor has identified the themes under the categories of: motivation for undertaking HRDs, personal qualities needed, finding a supervisor and their characteristics, the journey, and the outcomes. This is the most academic chapter in nature, and perhaps the most important in terms of drawing together the experiences and making sense of the perspectives in a 'bigger picture'.
Relevance to Research and Practice
This book is practical in nature and primarily for an HRD student audience. While it is argued to be of use for supervisors, the utility of this work is arguable. Administrators of HRD programs are also a suggested audience. While the insights into the HRD process from a research, rather than administration, perspective might prove useful, my suspicion is that experienced HRD administrators would have heard many similar stories before. Nonetheless, it would be a useful resource for administrators new to the role and unfamiliar with the HRD journey.
With students being the primary audience, this is an effective piece. There are, of course, the inevitable navel gazing and recycled platitudes, particularly with respect to metaphors for the HRD experience. This is understandable given that most of the contributors appear to be near completion of their work. If anything, it is somewhat endearing to fellow HRD students who understand the difficulty of writing.
The aforementioned lack of context makes it difficult to easily ascertain whether the survival strategies are appropriate in many cases. And most of the generic ones (such as time spent writing, work-life balance) are well-circulated. But this is an interesting book; certainly for the ethnographic insights of these individuals.
The final chapter, which was the only HRD-research related chapter, would have been appropriate to place as an addendum to the introductory chapter, as there were times while reading this book that it lacked cohesion within and between pieces. This chapter, however, is very useful in integrating and summing up the perspectives.
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