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You can earn a doctorate after successfully completing a university degree (e.g. master's, Magister, Diplom, Staatsexamen). Special conditions apply, which are specified in the doctoral regulations, for applicants with a degree from a university of applied sciences, a first state examination for a teaching degree for primary schools, special-needs schools or secondary schools, or for those with a bachelor's degree.  

For all formal questions, the first point of contact is always the relevant dean's office or doctoral studies office of the related faculty. It is also recommended that you consult with the responsible academic advisor. The doctorate is awarded upon successful completion of the doctoral program.  

The prerequisite for enrollment is the certificate of acceptance as a doctoral candidate from the doctoral committee of the faculty.

Please note:  On the GRADE webpages, you will find a clear 3-step guide on how best to proceed in your search for a doctoral thesis. For a doctorate in a humanities or social-science field, contact the examination office for humanities, cultural and sport sciences ; for a doctorate in a field of the natural sciences, contact the doctoral studies office for the natural sciences ; and for a doctorate in a medical field, contact the doctoral studies office of the faculty of medicine . Further information on the doctoral procedure can be obtained from the doctoral committee of the respective faculty.

Supporting documents:  For doctoral studies, acceptance as a doctoral candidate must be submitted at the time of enrollment by the doctoral committee of the relevant faculty. 

Application

The application is a two-step process. Please register first as a doctoral student via the Goethe-Campus portal and submit the required documents to the relevant dean's office or doctoral studies office. Upon successful acceptance as a doctoral student, you will receive an acceptance letter. If you would also like to enroll as a doctoral student, please submit once again an electronic application for doctoral studies via the Goethe-Campus portal. You should then submit the documents required for enrollment. Enrollment as a student is not always mandatory.

Exception: Medical students in Faculty 16 first go through a separate application procedure and only then register electronically as doctoral students via the Goethe-Campus portal. You can find more information on the Faculty 16 website .

Note for prospective international students

Application and enrollment for international doctoral students.

You can enroll as a doctoral student if you already have an official "acceptance as a doctoral student" (Annahme als Doktorand*in). The Enrollment is not mandatory. Those candidates working in German must present a certified DSH-2 certificate (or equivalent) upon enrollment (see German language skills ).

Enrollment deadlines: Summer semester: April 30 Winter semester: October 31

Enrollment is a two-step process:

1. Submission and review of documents by the “Studium Lehre Internationales” department (if not yet done). 

Please send the originals of the following documents as a PDF by e-mail to: [email protected] :

• all transcripts with overview of subjects and grades entitling you to pursue a doctorate 
• translations of the transcripts by a sworn translator (this is not necessary if the originals are in English)
• notification of acceptance as a doctoral student
• proof of language skills (if required)

Please note : If your transcripts have already been reviewed by the "Studium Lehre Internationales" department for doctoral studies via the respective faculty, you do not need to resubmit your transcripts. In this case, please follow only the second step.

2. Enrollment via online form 

Enrollment takes place via the online form for enrollment in a doctoral studies program

You will require the following documents:

• signed application for enrollment
• copy of passport/identity card
• curriculum vitae (if applicable)

Please send these documents by e-mail after completing the online enrollment process: [email protected] Alternatively, you can send your documents by regular mail: Goethe-Universität Studium Lehre Internationales First-Level Support 60629 Frankfurt am Main

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German Language and Literature: Dissertations & Theses

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Dissertation search tools available at Yale

• Orbis (Yale dissertations only) Orbis holds records for all Yale dissertations for which microfilm copies exist, i.e. all dissertations completed in departments of the Graduate School since 1965, plus select dissertations completed in departments of the Graduate School between 1892 & 1965. Yale dissertations can be located in Orbis by: (1) Entering the author / title in a Simple Search (2) Using the terms “dissertation” or “thesis” and words known to be in the bibliographic record in a Keyword search. more... less... If you do not locate a Yale dissertation in Orbis, check the card catalog at Manuscripts and Archives. Except for some early dissertations that are not available, all Yale dissertations are held at Manuscripts and Archives.
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses This database makes nearly every dissertation ever filed in the United States available in PDF format. Not all dissertations are available, however, as authors with dissertations under contract with a press are sometimes encouraged not to make their dissertations freely available. In these cases you can at least read an abstract. Note that you can search by school, department, and adviser.

From European institutions

• DART-Europe The European portal for finding electronic theses and dissertations. DART-Europe is a partnership of research libraries and library consortia who are working together to improve global access to European research theses.
• Deutsche Nationalbibliothek German dissertations since 1998 are comprehensively collected by the National Library of Germany, so search its online catalog by clicking on the link above.
• Dissonline Searches electronic university publications held by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, including dissertations and "Habilitationen".
• Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS) EThOS offers free access, in a secure format, to the full text of electronically stored UK theses--a rich and vast body of knowledge.
• Index to Theses A Comprehensive Listing of Theses with Abstracts Accepted for Higher Degrees by Universities in Great Britain and Ireland since 1716. Abstracts are available from many theses since 1970 and for all since 1986.
• Österreichische Dissertationsdatenbank This database references over 55,000 dissertations and theses held at Austrian universities; select dissertations are available online.

From international institutions

• CRL Center for Research Libraries Foreign Doctoral Dissertations Holds 800,000 dissertations from universities outside the U.S. and Canada. However, only 20,000 of these are cataloged in the database. If you know the exact title of a dissertation and do not find it in the database, CRL recommends searching the CRL Catalog. If the title does not appear in the database or the catalog, contact CRL directly to inquire if it is held. CRL continues to acquire about 5,000 titles per year from major universities.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations (NDLTD) The NDLTD is an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). The NDLTD Catalog contains more than one million records of electronic theses and dissertations. For students and researchers, the Union Catalog makes individual collections of NDLTD member institutions and consortia appear as one seamless digital library of ETDs.
• The Universal Index of Doctoral Dissertations in Progress This site holds a database of voluntarily-registered, author-identified doctoral dissertations in progress around the world. Its goal is to avoid duplications in doctoral dissertations, create the ultimate meeting place for researchers, and allow for interaction between them. Bear in mind, though, that only dissertations which have been registered by their authors can be found in the database. Registration and access to the database are free.
• Theses Canada This is your central access point for Canadian theses. From here you will be able to: - search AMICUS, Canada's national online catalog, for bibliographic records of all theses in Library and Archives Canada's theses collection; - access & search the full text electronic versions of numerous Canadian theses and dissertations; - find out everything you need to know about Theses Canada, including how to find a thesis, information on copyright, etc.
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Researching | Research Data Management | Writing | Publishing | Good Scientific Practice

Researching

All academic work begins with extensive research work to find existing research results, suitable literature and relevant sources or research data. But how and where should one begin with this search? Who can help when you don't know where to look next? How can huge amounts of literature be "managed" such that one is able to find the relevant passages again at a later date? And how does one draw up a proper bibliography?

Besides providing information on their website, the LMU University Library offers personal advisory services and regular seminars and e-tutorials on literature searching and reference management .

The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian state library) also offers workshops on literature searching and reference management .

The Plattform Literaturverwaltung (reference management platform) provides a compilation of software reviews .

The Munich archives keep a blog with information on  Munich archives as well as upcoming events.

Archivportal-D offers an overview of all archives in Germany .

Once a year, the GraduateCenter LMU organizes a workshop for doctoral candidates on the subject of "Quellenrecherche im Archiv", including an excursion to archives.

Research Data Management

The data obtained within the scope of research projects can range from text, image, film and sound documents to survey, laboratory and measurement data, objects, material samples, test procedures, databases, visualisations and much more. For the different phases that these data go through ("research data life cycle"), certain rules regarding good scientific practice must be observed.

The platform Forschungsdatenmanagement Bayern (research data management Bavaria) provides an overview of the Research Data Life Cycle , Software Tools and Online Training Programs as well as guidelines for the handling of research data ( Policies ).

The Alliance of Science Organizations in Germany has published Grundsätze zum Umgang mit Forschungsdaten (principles for handling research data) (PDF) and a Handreichung zum Forschungsdatenmanagement (guidelines on research data management) (PDF).

The guide Auffinden – Zitieren – Dokumentieren (finding – quoting – documenting) contains information on handling quantitative research data in Social Sciences and Economics .

The LMU Open Science Center aims to foster open science practices at LMU Munich and provides a Toolbox on its website.

The LMU data protection officers provide information on data protection regulations and institutions.

Some LMU faculties have established ethics committees , that advise on the handling of research data:

• Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences : Ethikkommission der Fakultät für Psychologie und Pädagogik
• Faculty of Medicine : Ethikkommission der Medizinischen Fakultät der LMU München
• Faculty of Social Sciences : Ethikkommission der Sozialwissenschaftlichen Fakultät
• Faculty of Economics : Faculty of Economics ethics committee

Die LMU University Library offers the platform Open Data LMU for the publication of research data. 

When writing a piece of academic work, various competencies and skills are required. Besides academic writing – sometimes in a foreign language – these include using the correct forms for quotes, handling copyright and image rights correctly, formatting long texts, creating and incorporating diagrams and illustrations, and much more.

At the LMU University Library , you will find information on composing a piece of academic writing , including notes on further reading and on copyrights.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has published a guide on "Urheberrecht in der Wissenschaft" .

The GraduateCenter LMU regularly organizes workshops for doctoral candidates on the subject of "Academic Writing", "Akademisches Schreiben", "Projekt Promotion", "Schreibroutinen entwickeln" and "Urheberrecht und Bildrechte".

The LMU Writing Center in Faculty 13 has details for all writing support services and offers help in founding writing groups.

The LMU International Office offers courses for international doctoral candidates on the subject of "Scientific German".

Workshops which cover the IT skills required when writing a dissertation (not only word processing, but also spreadsheets, processing images, statistics, databases, etc.) are offered by:

• LMU IT division (for LMU employees only): IT courses
• Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) : IT courses
• LMU Statistical C onsulting Unit (StaBLab) : Advisory services and courses
• LMU Humanities IT group (ITG) : Courses
• Digital Humanities München (.dhmuc) : Events

Once your dissertation had been accepted and you have passed the oral examination, your final challenge on the road to obtaining a doctorate lies in dealing with the necessary work for publishing your dissertation. Depending on the doctoral degree regulations in question, various degrees of publication are possible – on paper, in digital form or as a hybrid. However, you should carefully weight up the advantages and disadvantages before making your choice. Does the acceptance of the publication depend upon it being printed in book form by a renowned publishing house? Or is it more important for the book to be readily available anywhere in the world, at any time? Is there any way the two publication routes (printed and digital) can be combined? How much do each of the options cost?

Should you wish to publish intermediate results during the course of your doctorate project, please check first in the respective doctoral degree regulations and talk to your supervisor or the examination board in charge to see whether and/or to what extent this is permitted.

The website of the LMU University Library includes information on publishing dissertations and general information on open access publishing .

See open-access.net for more information on the subject of open access .

LMU unit I.6 provides information on copyright and final dissertations .

The GraduateCenter LMU organizes workshops for doctoral candidates on the topics of "Publishing" and "Urheberrecht und Bildrechte".

The Munich Digital Humanities work group (dhmuc.) provides information and organizes events on the subject of Digital Humanities .

Good Scientific Practice

When planning and executing a doctoral project or publishing results, a wide range of questions may arise relating to good scientific practice and to ethical or legal issues.

In the  Regulation of LMU München for Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice  (PDF), LMU Munich provides information on the rules of good scientific practice. Contact persons are the Ombudsperson for Self-Regulation in Science .

The GraduateCenter LMU provides introducing interdisciplinary information on responsible conduct in research and science in its e-learning course "Scientific Integrity and Good Scientific Practice" .

Some LMU faculties have established ethics committees , that advise on ethical aspects of research projects:

The German Research Foundation (DFG) provides information on good scientific practice and on handling security-relevant research .

Other academic institutions have also published papers on the subject. These include:

• ALL European Academies (ALLEA) : The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (PDF)
• German Council of Science and Humanities (WR) : Recommendations on Academic Integrity (PDF)
• German Rectors' Conference (HRK) : Good scientific practice at German higher education institutions (PDF)
• World Conferences on Research Integrity : Singapore Statement on Research Integrity (PDF)
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• Submission of Doctoral Theses

Electronic Doctoral Theses

Submission Procedure: just a few steps

1. Enter metadata

Please log in on Refubium . For login information, see Login . Then you can start a new submission . Please select the collection Dissertationen FU . Describe your dissertation in detail in the online form. Mandatory fields are marked in bold. A clickable i provides more details about the fields.

2. Upload file(s)

We recommend that you upload your doctoral thesis or habilitation treatise as one pdf file; however, if that is not possible, there is no limit to the number of files you can upload. The files must be searchable ( optical character recognition ) in order to guarantee a full text search. In addition, the files must not contain password protection nor any document restrictions. Please avoid special characters and blanks in file names.

3. Accepting the publication agreement

By accepting the publication agreement , you allow a long term archiving of your document. Furthermore, you agree to the worldwide availability of your document.

4. Formal examination and e-mail confirmation

After you successfully uploaded your document, it is in our „workflow“ area. Your document is not yet published. The editorial team Dissertation Online will check the metadata and the pdf file and will then inform you about necessary corrections via e-mail (where applicable). For this we will contact you via the e-mail address of your login. As soon as all the requirements on metadata and the pdf file of your dissertation are met, we will ask you to have the required printed copies made and to submit them in our office (along with the imprimatur).

5. Acknowledgement of receipt and online availability

Upon receiving the printed copies and the imprimatur (personally or by post), the editorial team Dissertation Online checks the printed version and the online version for consistency. Provided that all requirements are fulfilled and all the necessary data are complete, we will issue your acknowledgement of receipt, and your thesis will be made available world wide.

Contact: [email protected]

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Theses and Dissertations

The following resources are general indexes to theses and dissertations on all topics, including those on Germanic Studies. Dissertations are important as they often express the most innovative work on a topic; include comprehensive citations and bibliographies of primary and secondary sources; and provide detailed literature reviews and theoretical discussions.

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global This index includes dissertations and masters theses from most North American graduate schools as well as many European universities. Full text is provided for most indexed dissertations from 1997 to the present, while most dissertations from 1980 on include abstracts written by the author. Orders for complete dissertations before 1997 may be placed online, but check UW's Library Catalog first to see if they are owned on campus. Free interlibrary loan may also be a possibility
• Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL) Covers from 1920 to present. Includes doctoral dissertations about English language, literature, and culture published anywhere in the world
• DART-Europe DART-Europe is a project by research libraries and library consortia to improve global access to European research theses
• Dissonline.de - Digitale Dissertationen im Internet Open access dissertations online, a service of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, integrated into their larger catalog (after entering search, limit to Hochschulschriften and even further to Online Ressourcen ). Instructions, in German, here
• Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS) OS offers free access to the full text of nearly 100,000 electronically stored UK theses; of the remaining 200,000 records dating back to at least 1800, many are available to be ordered for scanning through the EThOS digitisation-on-demand facility. A rich resource!
• Foreign Dissertations at the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) CRL holds more than 800,000 foreign dissertations and Habilitationsschriften from universities outside of the US and Canada. If you know the exact title of a dissertation and do not find it in the CRL Catalog, CRL has a program to purchase foreign doctoral dissertations for scholars' individual research needs; such requests should be initiated via Interlibrary Loan
• Helveticat The catalog of the Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek; search for dissertations by combining diss with a keyword
• Index to Theses in Great Britain and Ireland A comprehensive listing of theses with abstracts accepted for higher degrees by universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland since 1716. As of 2013, there were 589,028 theses in the collection, with 355,862 having abstracts
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) is an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). NDLTD supports electronic publishing and open access to scholarship in order to enhance the sharing of knowledge worldwide. Try the new Global ETD Search
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD) Index of more than 1.5 million electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), with preference given to records of graduate-level theses freely available online
• Österreichische Dissertationsdatenbank This database references over 99,000 dissertations and theses held at Austrian Universities; about two-thirds are abstracted in both German and English
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Access to Dissertations

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Includes more than 2 million entries.The single, central, authoritative resource for information about doctoral dissertations and master's theses.
• EBSCO Open Dissertations
• Interlibrary Loan the Library does not routinely purchase dissertations from other institutions. However, many are available through InterLibrary Services. Search in WorldCat for easiest ordering.
• Request a purchase for the library If you would like the Library to purchase a dissertation, contact the Librarian for the Department.

DissOnline : Open access dissertations online, a service of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek .

Austrian dissertation database : now combined with the Verbundsuchmaschine

Helveticat . The Swiss National Library has a copy of all dissertations written in the country. Add the word “diss” to your search terms in order to retrieve dissertations.

EthOs : British Library dissertations

Index to Theses : comprehensive listing of theses with abstracts in universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland since 1716.

Buy Your Own

As a last resort , you can purchase dissertations directly.

Dissertation Express : US, from ProQuest

• Verify using the tools listed above that the document is not otherwise available to you free before ordering.
• If Interlibrary Loan can't locate a copy to borrow.
• Use a credit card or fax payment.
• Orders are shipped directly to you.

Submitting your dissertation

• Guidelines at JHU
• Graduate Board formatting details

Related Guide

• Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Print Catalogues

• Catalogues in the library collections will usually treat a particular subject, time period, or institution.
• You can locate printed catalogues of dissertations easily in the online catalog . 
• Or in WorldCat .
• For either database, do a Subject Keyword search on:  Dissertations Germany bibliography.
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Stuttgart Dissertations

All information on the publication process of your dissertation as part of your doctoral degree studies.

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Submission of the mandatory copies and the corresponding documents HERE

The publication of the dissertation is part of the doctoral degree studies. A prescribed number of mandatory copies has to be submitted to the University Library within one year after the oral examination (within two years for the humanities). The submission of the mandatory copies of the dissertation and their form are specified in the current Doctoral Degree Regulations of the University of Stuttgart.

Doctoral students who were accepted or admitted to doctoral degree studies before the new version of the Doctoral Degree Regulations (April 1, 2019) came into effect can still complete their doctoral degree studies according to the Doctoral Degree Regulations 2016 (DE) . However, please take note that interim regulations must be complied with (cf. sec. 21 of the Doctoral Degree Regulations 2019 ).

Publication Types

The number of mandatory copies to be submitted (see sec. 13, par. 2 of the Doctoral Degree Regulations 2019) and which further documents we require from you depends on the type of publication. Even if the doctoral degree studies are completed in accordance with older Doctoral Degree Regulations, doctoral students are free to publish the dissertation according to the terms of sec. 13 of the Doctoral Degree Regulations 2019.

Electronic Publication on the Publication Server of the University of Stuttgart (OPUS)

You publish the dissertation via the University Library, freely accessible online. Further information on Publishing with OPUS Further information on the procedure for Dissertations

We need from you:

• the electronic version For this purpose, please log in to OPUS and upload the file(s) including the description of your work via an online form.
• 6 printed copies
• the licensing terms (DE) filled out and signed by you

Please note the guidelines for the outer form below.

Publication in a Publishing House

A commercial publisher handles the production and distribution via bookstores.

• 6 copies of the publisher’s edition
• the publisher’s evidence of a print run of at least 150 copies or confirmation that the title will be available for at least four years in case of Print on Demand

Self-printing

You commission a printer or a print shop with the printing of your dissertation.

• 34 printed copies

Publication as Volume of an Institution Series

If your dissertation is released within a series published by an institution of the University of Stuttgart, the number of mandatory copies to be submitted and which further documents we need from you depend on the publication type of the series.

• If the series is published electronically, the regulations for the electronic publication apply.
• If the series is released in a publishing house, the regulations for publisher releases apply.
• If the series is published by the institute itself, the regulations for self-printing apply.

Publication as Special Print

You publish your dissertation in a journal. In the journal the work has to be marked as dissertation in a footnote. The journal title, the year (or volume), and the page number have to be absolutely clear from the copies to be submitted.

• 6 copies of the special print

Guidelines for the Outer Form of the Publication

The outer form of the respective publication type is regulated in the „ Leaflet for Doctoral Students Regarding the Outer Form of the Dissertations " (appendix to the Doctoral Degree Regulations, only available in German).

Please pay attention to the following:

• At least the mandatory copies to be submitted must contain a German and a usually English abstract
• In case of being published in a publishing house, the entire edition has to be marked as dissertation by imprinting the code number "D 93" (stands for "Dissertation of the University of Stuttgart"). "D 93" can only be omitted if the entire edition contains the indication in plain writing that it is a dissertation or if the dissertation title page is the only title page.
• The dissertation must be printed on both sides.
• The binding type must not be a spiral binding, but a durable binding, e.g. adhesive binding.
• Due to the long-term archiving, recycling paper must not be used. If possible, the dissertation should be printed on acid-free paper.
• Standard format of the printed copies is DIN A5. In special cases, e.g. works with larger drawings and tables, other formats may be used, preferably DIN A4. However, this must be approved by the doctoral committee depending on the faculty or institution.

Please inquire further specifications from the office of the dean responsible for you. In cases of doubt, only the responsible doctoral committee is authorized to make decisions, not the library or the main reporter (see sec. 7, par. 1 of the Doctoral Degree Regulations).

Submission to the University Library

Both the mandatory copies and the corresponding documents have to be submitted at:

University of Stuttgart Library Team Publication Services (T3) Holzgartenstr. 16 70174 Stuttgart

The „Dissertation Office“ is located on the ground floor (room 00.098). Please make an appointment for the submission with us beforehand:

• +49 711 685-83512

Alternatively, you can ask someone else to submit both your dissertation and the corresponding documents or send them to us via mail. In your package please include your contact details (address, telephone number, email address) and the address of your main reporter.

Further Procedure

As soon as we have received everything in correct and complete form, we send 4 copies of the dissertation to the main reporter (in accordance with sec. 13, par. 4 of the Doctoral Degree Regulations). The main reporter compares the copies to the manuscript and reports the correspondence by forwarding one copy to the respective office of the dean. Clearance is given by the dean or the chairperson of the doctoral committee. The office of the dean informs both the University Library and the examination office of the clearance. The examination office issues the certificate and we add the dissertation to the library holdings and release the electronic version, if applicable.

Completed Dissertations

An overview of dissertations completed in Stuttgart, sorted by faculty, can be found in the biannually published directory "Dissertationen und Habilitationsschriften der Universität Stuttgart" .

Further Information on Doctoral Degree Studies at the University of Stuttgart

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Current doctoral studies (a selection)

Asllani, Valona Abtönungspartikeln im Albanischen und Deutschen. Eine Studie mit Blick auf Deutsch als Fremdsprache.

Balaniuk, Olha (olha.balaniuk[at]gmail.com) Fremdsprachen unter Einsatz von AR/VR-Technologien lernen und lehren. Tendenzen in Deutschland.  Stipendium: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

Cheng, Jingru How Flipped Classroom impact Students’ motivations and performance in learning German as foreign language – An empirical research at a Chinese university.

Davletova, Daria Methoden des szenischen Lernens im DaF-Unterricht als Beitrag zur Nachhaltigkeit.

Deng, Yanyan Relativierung und Zugänglichkeit – Eine synchronische und diachronische Untersuchung der Relativsätze im Deutschen. Stipendium: China Scholarship Council (CSC)

Feng, Yifan Plurizentrische Kulturvermittlung und ihre Umsetzung im Unterricht Deutsch als Fremdsprache. Entwicklung und Erprobung eines didaktischen Konzeptes für chinesische Bachelorstudiengänge Germanistik.

Ghorbanzade Savar, Mohammad Die deutsche Sprache im Iran – Die Geschichte, Entwicklung und Stellung; Eine empirische Studie.

Huaynalaya, Alejandra Betriebliche und gesellschaftliche Integration der Pflegefachkräfte: eine empirische Untersuchung über den Erwerb interkultureller Kompetenzen in den Vorbereitungskursen in Mexiko und Kolumbien zur Gewinnung von Pflegefachkräften in Deutschland.

Kwak, Hyung Ju Deutsch als Fachsprache für Musiker am Beispiel koreanischer Musikstudierenden und Musiksprachschüler.

Matthies, Jochen Agensdemotion und Verfasserreferenz im Deutschen als fremder Wissenschaftssprache.  Stipendium: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

Nadiri, Hengameh Verbesserung der Grammatikkompetenz durch interlingualen Transfer bei Deutschlernenden (L2 oder L3) mit Persisch als Erstsprache.

Ponath, Astrid Gesten im DaF-Unterricht.

Prudent, Sabine Wanderer zwischen den Kulturen. Modell interkultureller Textanalysen entwickelt am Beispiel von deutschsprachigen Romanen nicht muttersprachlicher Autoren.

Sambou, Emmanuel Diankock Transitivität im Deutschen und im Jóola karon: eine typologische Untersuchung.

Ülker, Elif Entwicklung eines Leitfadens für die Erstellung diskriminierungskritischer Lehr-, Lern- und Begleitmaterialien im Bereich Deutsch als Fremd- und Zweitsprache

Completed dissertations (a selection)

Babayeva, Gunel Deutsch als Fremdsprache in Aserbaidschan. Thorsten Roelcke / Rasim Mirzayev (2021)

Böttinger, Anja Binnendifferenzierung im Alphabetisierungskurs im Bereich Deutsch als Zweitsprache. Thorsten Roelcke / Felicitas Tesch / Marianne Löschmann (2022)

Demirel, Ömer Faruk Die Geschichte der Germanistik in der Türkei (1915–1950). Thorsten Roelcke / Cemal Yildiz (2018)

Diouf, Mahamadou Die Laute und Silben des Deutschen und Wolof: Eine kontrastive Untersuchung. Thorsten Roelcke / Ousmane Gueye (2024)

Herrmann, Wolfram Sprachbewusstheit auf der Basis von Cognates. Analyse verwandter Lexik von Deutsch und Englisch zwecks Entwicklung einer App zum Spracherwerb. Thorsten Roelcke / Gisela Hoecherl-Alden (2024)

Lei, Lei Nonverbale Kommunikation in deutsch-chinesischen Geschäftsverhandlungen. Thorsten Roelcke / Liu Yue (2024).

Long, Yao Exploring Academic Discourse Socialization through Oral Presentations. Chinese University Students‘ Learning Trajectories in Europe through a Sociolinguistic Lens. Thorsten Roelcke / Felicitas Tesch (2020)

Nanga-Me-Abengmoni, Léonel M-Learning in dem fernen Land Kamerun: Chancen, Grenzen, Möglichkeiten am Beispiel des DaF-Unterrichts. Online verfügbar unter: dx.doi.org/10.14279/depositonce-8624 . Thorsten Roelcke / Karl-Hubert Kiefer / Ousmane Gueye (2019)

Naqrash, Nadia Zweisprachiges Valenzlexikon Deutsch-Arabisch zu ausgewählten Verben der Literatur und Alltagssprache- eine kontrastive Studie zur Verbvalenz im Deutschen und im Arabischen Thorsten Roelcke / Khaireddin Abdulhadi (2020)

Ngô, Thį Châu Trinh Deutsch für die Reiseleiter in Vietnam. Bedarfserhebung für eine nicht im Land der Zielsprache berufstätige Lerngruppe. Thorsten Roelcke / Heike Rohmann (2019)

Pelikan, Kristina Enhacing and analysing project communication at the AMASA-project. Thorsten Roelcke  / Jakob Zinsstag (2017)

Pujiastuti, Suci Die Erstellung eines Korpus für den DaF-Unterricht anhand von Abschlussarbeiten von Studierenden der Deutschabteilung an der Staatlichen Universität von Medan, Nord-Sumatra, Indonesien. Thorsten Roelcke / Felicitas Tesch (2019)

Shakkouri, Waed Das Deutschlandjahr: Eine empirische Untersuchung der interkulturellen Herausforderungen der GJU Studierenden in Deutschland Thorsten Roelcke / Gordon Mitchell (2024)

Taheri, Fatemeh Deutsch als Predigtsprache des Islam. Eine semantische und pragmatische Studie. Thorsten Roelcke / Serdar Kurnaz (2022)

Teufele, Lisa Berufssprachliche Kompetenzen berufserfahrener Zugewanderter ohne formal anerkannten Berufsabschluss. Thorsten Roelcke / Christian Krekeler (2024)

Xue, Meici Höflichkeitsbewertungen chinesischer und deutscher Studierender. Eine empirische kultur- und sprachkontrastive Untersuchung Thorsten Roelcke / Qi Jiafu (2024)

Zeng, Jing Möglichkeiten und Herausforderungen des Einsatzes Sprachlernspielen im DaF-Unterricht an Universitäten in China. Thorsten Roelcke / Yuan Li (2019)

Dissertations (further peer review in selection).

Köppl, Susann „Selbst“ und „Selbstsein“ – ein philosophischer Bestimmungsversuch auf interdisziplinärem Grund. Technische Universität Berlin. Thomas Gil / Thorsten Roelcke (2017).

Mächler, Lissette Erwerb des wissenschaftlichen Schreibens in der Fremdsprache Deutsch. Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg. Hans-Werner Huneke / Thorsten Roelcke (2019).

Maxin, Jan Modellierung, Messbarkeit und Förderung von Erklärkompetenz im Kontext eines ausbildungsvorbereitenden Deutschunterrichts in der Sekundarstufe I: Entwicklung und empirische Erforschung eines Lernsettings an Haupt- und Realschulen. Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen. Christian Efing / Thorsten Roelcke (2021).

Rakhimova, Gulrukh Linguokulturologische Charakteristik von Texten mit usbekischer Thematik am Beispiel deutschsprachiger Reiseberichte des Zeitraums von 1710 bis 1991. Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg/Br. Hans-Werner Huneke / Thorsten Roelcke (2018).

Ruan, Qian Kontrastive Analyse zur [sic!] chinesischen und deutschen Berichtserstattung über [sic!] Katastrophe Am [sic!] Beispiel der Tianjin-Explosionen. Technische Universität Berlin. Monika Schwarz-Friesel / Thorsten Roelcke / Sabine Kösters (2019).

Zhu, Binbin A study of the experience of Chinese oversea students of how Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) affects their motivation to learn foreign languages and their learning emotions. Technische Universität Berlin. Monika Schwarz-Friesel / Thorsten Roelcke (2021).

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Doctoral and postdoctoral theses at the tu dresden.

Publishing doctoral and postdoctoral theses as well as details on required copies are subject to the doctoral/postdoctoral regulations of the faculties of the TU Dresden.

On the web pages of TU Dresden you will find an overview containing the relevant links to webpages and contacts in the Deans´ Offices responsible for doctoral matters within the faculty, and to the Doctoral Degree Regulations of the faculties.

There are different ways to publish a doctoral thesis. We recommend  electronic publication via the  Qucosa Document and Publication Server , where a PDF version is made freely available on the internet. However, you can also publish your thesis  in print or with a publisher . If you have decided on a way of publication, please inform yourself about the specific requirements of your faculty.

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Obtaining a doctoral degree in Germany

In Germany, doctoral degrees are conferred by universities or higher education institutions with equivalent status. This process is known as Promotion. Doctoral degrees are obtained through a specific process, during which an individual demonstrates his or her ability to carry out independent research. If the required examinations have been passed and all the formal prerequisites are met, the university or the faculty authorised by the university to award doctoral degrees confers the academic degree of Doktor supplemented by the appropriate field, e.g. Dr. rer. nat. or Dr. theol. Some universities also offer the academic degree of Ph.D.

The dissertation is an independent piece of research

The exclusively research-based nature of a doctoral degree distinguishes it from university and state examinations for which you prepare while studying or as a means of completing your studies. These examinations are vocational in character and are intended as preparation for an academically or scientifically oriented profession. In addition, the writing of a dissertation – and thus your own research – makes a substantial contribution to the state of knowledge in the relevant discipline.

If you wish to enrol on a doctoral programme and write your dissertation at a German higher education institution, you must have an academic degree, usually a master's degree, Staatsexamen , Diplom or Magister . It is sometimes possible to enrol with a bachelor's degree if you have successfully completed an appropriate qualification programme.

After the successful completion of doctoral training, doctoral candidates are awarded the degree of doctor by the university. This is described as being "promoviert" by the university. In everyday use the verb "promovieren" is often used to mean 'to obtain a doctorate', which is why this verb is mostly used intransitively in German in the Higher Education Compass.

Preparing for a doctoral degree

Al lot of questions  have to be considered when deciding whether to do a doctoral degree.

Doctoral phase

The doctoral phase includes the independent writing of a dissertation and an oral examination, which takes place after the successful assessment of the dissertation.

Completing your doctorate

The doctoral process is successfully completed when the dissertation has been accepted, the candidate has passed the oral examination and the dissertation has been published.

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PhD thesis defense in German: Rigorosum, Disputation, Kolloquium, or Verteidigung?

In order to finish a PhD and obtain the title of doctor, the candidate must present their thesis and do a defense, that is, roughly speaking, to discuss the thesis and answer questions from the jury.

In English, we call it thesis defense , and in French it is called soutenance .

I would like to know how to say that in German. It seems (but of course, I am not sure) that one could say it as

• Verteidigung
• Disputation

Could someone tell me if all these four words are synonyms and if they are really equivalent to thesis defense in English? If they mean the same, are some of them more formal than others? And is there another way to say it?

• translation
• english-to-german

• Note that this is not restricted to a PhD, but Bachelor and Master theses as well. –  infinitezero Commented Sep 23, 2020 at 17:10
• A Google search for "Promotionsordnung" gives you many hits. It seems that Disputation occurs most frequently, but also Kolloqium and (öffentliche) Verteidigung occur. It depends on the university. See also hochschulkompass.de/promotion/promotionsphase/… . –  Paul Frost Commented Sep 29, 2020 at 22:45

2 Answers 2

First beware that this is a typical case of academia varies more than you think it does . There is no general rule on how doctoral exams are done; instead, this is decided by the faculty. As a consequence, doctoral exams vary widely between universities and faculties. I know of two universities which have a joint graduate school for one field and even there doctoral exams differs extremely between the two universities.

This also applies to the terminology. So, the same term may mean something considerably different at a different faculty, in particular when it comes to official procedure. Therefore, in the following I can only write about how these terms are generally understood:

Verteidigung is arguably the most general term and the most frequently used term. Every¹ doctoral examination has at least one component in which the candidate has to face questions from the examiners and Verteidigung covers it. Official rules that are not specific to universities usually use this term when necessary. E.g., the date of the doctoral exam is usually referred to as Datum der Verteidigung.

While Disputation is just a Latin word for Verteidigung, it is used much more rarely and usually refers to a specific format of the exam, where the defendant faces questions from the examiners in public, possibly in a strict format. It can also be used in a more general sense, synonymously to Verteidigung, but at least in my experience that is rather rare.

A Rigorosum is a specific kind of doctoral exam that is characterised by featuring questions on the entire field of the candidate. It is usually not public. Many faculties do not perform this kind of exam.

A Kolloquium is a general term for a public talk, usually with questions from the audience. In the context of a doctoral exam, the candidate gives a talk on their thesis, which is usually public but may be restricted to members of the university or similar in special cases.

For example, my own doctoral exam consisted of a Kolloquium, where I talked about my thesis on dynamical systems, and was followed by a Rigorosum, where I was asked questions on my thesis but also on particle physics and solid-state physics. The entire thing was referred to as Verteidigung.

In conclusion , I strongly recommend Verteidigung unless you want to specify the mode of exam.

Finally note that the above primarily reflects the situation in Germany and the usage of these terms is somewhat different in Austria. For example, Rigorosum has a broader scope .

¹ At least as far as I know. As I said academia varies more than I think it does.

• 2 Excellent answer. I would have considered Verteidigung and Disputation synonyms, with the latter perhaps becoming less common. I can be wrong, though. –  Carsten S Commented Sep 23, 2020 at 10:07
• @CarstenS: Disputation can be used synonymously with Verteidigung, but at least in my experience that’s very rare and reason enough not to use the term when you want to avoid confusion (also see my edit). –  Wrzlprmft ♦ Commented Sep 23, 2020 at 11:16
• 1 @Olafant: Please see my edit. –  Wrzlprmft ♦ Commented Sep 23, 2020 at 11:16
• Thank you very much for such a complete answer! Rigorosum was not clear to me probably because the PhD programs that I am used to do not have this evaluation step and the questions from the jury are, in general, only about the thesis. –  Hilder Vitor Lima Pereira Commented Sep 23, 2020 at 11:53
• Actually, "Vortrag"/"Abschlussvortrag" and "[mündliche] Prüfung" are two more terms in use, sometimes in combination. –  O. R. Mapper Commented Sep 23, 2020 at 17:38

I have heard this being refered to as Verteidigung, Disputation and Rigorosum. These are all in use. Which one is used depends on university and faculty tradition I'd say, but they're all understood.

I haven't heard Kolloquium being directly used for this kind of event, Kolloquium is a broader term that refers to all kinds of meetings and discussion events with an academic topic. A disputation can be seen as a special kind of Kolloquium.

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Defense of the Thesis

Disputation / Defense Image Credit: Marion Kuka

If the dissertation is recommended for acceptance, the doctoral candidate will be requested to make an appointment with the doctoral committee members. The doctoral candidate organises the defense in consultation with the chairperson of the doctoral committee.

Information on the different formats of the disputation (pure presence, hybrid, pure video format) and the requirements to be fulfilled in each case can be obtained from the doctoral office. Disputations generally take place in public, but the doctoral candidate also has the option to exclude the public so that only the doctoral candidate and the doctoral committee may attend the disputation.

Please first clarify possible appointments with the two reviewers because the two reviewers must participate at the disputation in any case. Individual members of the doctoral committee can be exchanged if no date can be found with the appointed members. Please note that the date should also be coordinated with the alternate members, as the disputation will only be valid if the doctoral committee (consisting of four university lecturers and one postdoctoral academic employee) is complete. The alternate members should also keep the date free, so that they can stand in at short notice if one of the main members should spontaneously drop out. It is advisable for each doctoral candidate to contact each member of the doctoral committee in order to enquire whether they would be interested in a copy or an PDF of the thesis.

As soon as the date, time and format of the disputation are fixed, please send an e-mail to the doctoral office to book a suitable room.

The doctoral office sends out the official invitation for defense to the doctoral candidate and to all doctoral committee members approx. 14 days before the date of the disputation and also announces the disputation on the FU's website (so far as the disputation takes place open to the public). The doctoral candidate confirms the date bindingly to all doctoral committee members in advance.

The doctoral committee meets 15 minutes before the defense to jointly evaluate the dissertation and sets the written grade. The defense begins with a lecture of approx. 30 minutes, in which the doctoral candidate presents and discusses the results of his/her thesis in the context of the field as a whole. The doctoral candidate then defends the dissertation by responding to the doctoral committee members' criticism and questions. The discussion must take at least 30 minutes but no longer than 60 minutes. The use of additionally prepared slides during the defense (following the presentation) is not permitted. Only slides that have already been used in the presentation may be used. The recording of the disputation is expressly prohibited.

When determining the grade to be awarded, the outcome of the discussion is in principal more important than priority against the presentation. But the dissertation is also taken primarily in principal into account for determining the overall grade.

You can find an overview of current defenses here .

Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) can be found here.

Read on for the next topic ' Publication of the Thesis '.

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Prerequisites

• evidence of a special aptitude for academic work, normally attested by the quality of a doctoral degree,
• evidence of relevant scholarly work after the completion of the doctorate,
• evidence of sufficient teaching experience at a university or an institution of equal standing,
• habilitation thesis in the form of a mongraph or cumulatively published research results.

Documents to be submitted to the Dean's office

• the application for admission to a post-doctoral qualification in writing to the dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences with the exact title of the post-doctoral thesis and the subject area for which the candidate wishes to receive the teaching qualification,
•  a curriculum vitae with information on the candidate's academic career,
• a certified copy of the doctoral certificate or evidence of a foreign academic qualification equivalent to a doctoral degree as well as all certificates of academic examinations,
• a list of all scientific publications and papers that have been accepted for publication,
• a list of courses taught so far,
• at least four copies of the habilitation thesis or the papers submitted as a habilitation, 
• outlines of three topics for the academic lecture
• statement of the candidate regarding any previous attempts of habilitation and affirmation that no habilitation is pending at another German university

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Dissertation writing in post graduate medical education

Department of Anaesthesiology, Dr. B R Ambedkar Medical College, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Mridul M Panditrao

1 Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR), Bathinda, Punjab, India

2 Department of Anaesthesiology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India

Sukhminder Jit Singh Bajwa

3 Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital, Patiala, Punjab, India

Nishant Sahay

4 Department of Anaesthesiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, Bihar, India

Thrivikrama Padur Tantry

5 Department of Anaesthesiology, A J Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Kuntikana, Mangalore, Karnataka, India

Associated Data

A dissertation is a practical exercise that educates students about basics of research methodology, promotes scientific writing and encourages critical thinking. The National Medical Commission (India) regulations make assessment of a dissertation by a minimum of three examiners mandatory. The candidate can appear for the final examination only after acceptance of the dissertation. An important role in a dissertation is that of the guide who has to guide his protégés through the process. This manuscript aims to assist students and guides on the basics of conduct of a dissertation and writing the dissertation. For students who will ultimately become researchers, a dissertation serves as an early exercise. Even for people who may never do research after their degree, a dissertation will help them discern the merits of new treatment options available in literature for the benefit of their patients.

INTRODUCTION

The zenith of clinical residency is the completion of the Master's Dissertation, a document formulating the result of research conducted by the student under the guidance of a guide and presenting and publishing the research work. Writing a proper dissertation is most important to present the research findings in an acceptable format. It is also reviewed by the examiners to determine a part of the criteria for the candidate to pass the Masters’ Degree Examination.

The predominant role in a dissertation is that of the guide who has to mentor his protégés through the process by educating them on research methodology, by: (i) identifying a pertinent and topical research question, (ii) formulating the “type” of study and the study design, (iii) selecting the sample population, (iv) collecting and collating the research data accurately, (v) analysing the data, (vi) concluding the research by distilling the outcome, and last but not the least (vii) make the findings known by publication in an acceptable, peer-reviewed journal.[ 1 ] The co-guide could be a co-investigator from another department related to the study topic, and she/he will play an equivalent role in guiding the student.

Research is a creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge.[ 2 ] This work, known as a study may be broadly classified into two groups in a clinical setting:

• Trials: Here the researcher intervenes to either prevent a disease or to treat it.
• Observational studies: Wherein the investigator makes no active intervention and merely observes the patients or subjects allocated the treatment based on clinical decisions.[ 3 ]

The research which is described in a dissertation needs to be presented under the following headings: Introduction, Aim of the Study, Description of devices if any or pharmacology of drugs, Review of Literature, Material and Methods, Observations and Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Limitations of the study, Bibliography, Proforma, Master chart. Some necessary certificates from the guide and the institute are a requirement in certain universities. The students often add an acknowledgement page before the details of their dissertation proper. It is their expression of gratitude to all of those who they feel have been directly or indirectly helpful in conduct of the study, data analysis, and finally construction of the dissertation.

Framing the research question (RQ)

It is the duty of the teacher to suggest suitable research topics to the residents, based on resources available, feasibility and ease of conduct at the centre. Using the FINER criteria, the acronym for feasibility, topical interest, novelty, ethicality and relevance would be an excellent way to create a correct RQ.[ 4 ]

The PICOT method which describes the patient, intervention, comparison, outcome and time, would help us narrow down to a specific and well-formulated RQ.[ 5 , 6 ] A good RQ leads to the derivation of a research hypothesis, which is an assumption or prediction of the outcome that will be tested by the research. The research topic could be chosen from among the routine clinical work regarding clinical management, use of drugs e.g., vasopressors to prevent hypotension or equipment such as high flow nasal oxygen to avoid ventilation.

Review of literature

To gather this information may be a difficult task for a fresh trainee however, a good review of the available literature is a tool to identify and narrow down a good RQ and generate a hypothesis. Literature sources could be primary (clinical trials, case reports), secondary (reviews, meta-analyses) or tertiary (e.g., reference books, compilations). Methods of searching literature could be manual (journals) or electronic (online databases), by looking up references or listed citations in existing articles. Electronic database searches are made through the various search engines available online e.g., scholar.google.com, National Library of Medicine (NLM) website, clinical key app and many more. Advanced searches options may help narrow down the search results to those that are relevant for the student. This could be based on synthesising keywords from the RQ, or by searching for phrases, Boolean operators, or utilising filters.

After choosing the topic, an apt and accurate title has to be chosen. This should be guided by the use of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terminology from the NLM, which is used for indexing, cataloguing, and searching of biomedical and health-related information.[ 7 ] The dissertation requires a detailed title which may include the objective of the study, key words and even the PICOT components. One may add the study design in the title e.g. “a randomised cross over study” or “an observational analytical study” etc.

Aim and the objectives

The Aims and the Objectives of the research study have to be listed clearly, before initiating the study.[ 8 ] “Gaps” or deficiencies in existing knowledge should be clearly cited. The Aim by definition is a statement of the expected outcome, while the Objectives (which might be further classed into primary and secondary based on importance) should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic or relevant, time-bound and challenging; in short, “SMART!” To simplify, the aim is a statement of intent, in terms of what we hope to achieve at the end of the project. Objectives are specific, positive statements of measurable outcomes, and are a list of steps that will be taken to achieve the outcome.[ 9 ] Aim of a dissertation, for example, could be to know which of two nerve block techniques is better. To realise this aim, comparing the duration of postoperative analgesia after administration of the block by any measurable criteria, could be an objective, such as the time to use of first rescue analgesic drug. Similarly, total postoperative analgesic drug consumption may form a secondary outcome variable as it is also measurable. These will generate data that may be used for analysis to realise the main aim of the study.

Inclusion and exclusions

The important aspect to consider after detailing when and how the objectives will be measured is documenting the eligibility criteria for inclusion of participants. The exclusion criteria must be from among the included population/patients only. e.g., If only American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I and II are included, then ASA III and IV cannot be considered as exclusion criteria, since they were never a part of the study. The protocol must also delineate the setting of the study, locations where data would be collected, and specify duration of conduct of the dissertation. A written informed consent after explaining the aim, objectives and methodology of the study is legally mandatory before embarking upon any human study. The study should explicitly clarify whether it is a retrospective or a prospective study, where the study is conducted and the duration of the study.

Sample size: The sample subjects in the study should be representative of the population upon whom the inference has to be drawn. Sampling is the process of selecting a group of representative people from a larger population and subjecting them for the research.[ 10 ] The sample size represents a number, beyond which the addition of population is unlikely to change the conclusion of the study. The sample size is calculated taking into consideration the primary outcome criteria, confidence interval (CI), power of the study, and the effect size the researcher wishes to observe in the primary objective of the study. Hence a typical sample size statement can be - “Assuming a duration of analgesia of 150 min and standard deviation (SD) of 15 min in first group, keeping power at 80% and CIs at 95% (alpha error at 0.05), a sample of 26 patients would be required to detect a minimum difference (effect size) of 30% in the duration of analgesia between the two groups. Information regarding the different sampling methods and sample size calculations may be found in the Supplementary file 1 .

Any one research question may be answered using a number of research designs.[ 11 ] Research designs are often described as either observational or experimental. The various research designs may be depicted graphically as shown in Figure 1 .

Graphical description of available research designs

The observational studies lack “the three cornerstones of experimentation” – controls, randomisation, and replication. In an experimental study on the other hand, in order to assess the effect of treatment intervention on a participant, it is important to compare it with subjects similar to each other but who have not been given the studied treatment. This group, also called the control group, may help distinguish the effect of the chosen intervention on outcomes from effects caused by other factors, such as the natural history of disease, placebo effects, or observer or patient expectations.

All the proposed dissertations must be submitted to the scientific committee for any suggestion regarding the correct methodology to be followed, before seeking ethical committee approval.

Ethical considerations

Ethical concerns are an important part of the research project, right from selection of the topic to the dissertation writing. It must be remembered, that the purpose of a dissertation given to a post-graduate student is to guide him/her through the process by educating them on the very basics of research methodology. It is therefore not imperative that the protégés undertake a complicated or risky project. If research involves human or animal subjects, drugs or procedures, research ethics guidelines as well as drug control approvals have to be obtained before tabling the proposal to the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC). The roles, responsibilities and composition of the Ethics Committee has been specified by the Directorate General of Health Services, Government of India. Documented approval of the Ethics committee is mandatory before any subject can be enroled for any dissertation in India. Even retrospective studies require approval from the IEC. Details of this document is available at: https://cdsco.gov.in/opencms/resources/UploadCDSCOWeb/2018/UploadEthicsRegistration/Applmhrcrr.pdf .

The candidate and the guide are called to present their proposal before the committee. The ethical implications, risks and management, subjects’ rights and responsibilities, informed consent, monetary aspects, the research and analysis methods are all discussed. The patient safety is a topmost priority and any doubts of the ethical committee members should be explained in medically layman's terms. The dissertation topics should be listed as “Academic clinical trials” and must involve only those drugs which are already approved by the Drugs Controller General of India. More commonly, the Committee suggests rectifications, and then the researchers have to resubmit the modified proposal after incorporating the suggestions, at the next sitting of the committee or seek online approval, as required. At the conclusion of the research project, the ethics committee has to be updated with the findings and conclusions, as well as when it is submitted for publication. Any deviation from the approved timeline, as well as the research parameters has to be brought to the attention of the IEC immediately, and re-approval sought.

Clinical trial registration

Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI) is a free online searchable system for prospective registration of all clinical studies conducted in India. It is owned and managed by the National Institute of Medical Statistics, a division of Indian Council of Medical Research, Government of India. Registration of clinical trials will ensure transparency, accountability and accessibility of trials and their results to all potential beneficiaries.

After the dissertation proposal is passed by the scientific committee and IEC, it may be submitted for approval of trial registration to the CTRI. The student has to create a login at the CTRI website, and submit all the required data with the help of the guides. After submission, CTRI may ask for corrections, clarifications or changes. Subject enrolment and the actual trial should begin only after the CTRI approval.

Randomisation

In an experimental study design, the method of randomisation gives every subject an equal chance to get selected in any group by preventing bias. Primarily, three basic types employed in post-graduate medical dissertations are simple randomisation, block randomisation and stratified randomisation. Simple randomisation is based upon a single sequence of random assignments such as flipping a coin, rolling of dice (above 3 or below 3), shuffling of cards (odd or even) to allocate into two groups. Some students use a random number table found in books or use computer-generated random numbers. There are many random number generators, randomisation programs as well as randomisation services available online too. ( https://www-users.york.ac.uk/~mb55/guide/randsery.htm ).

There are many applications which generate random number sequences and a research student may use such computer-generated random numbers [ Figure 2 ]. Simple randomisation has higher chances of unequal distribution into the two groups, especially when sample sizes are low (<100) and thus block randomisation may be preferred. Details of how to do randomisation along with methods of allocation concealment may be found in Supplementary file 2 .

Figure depicting how to do block randomisation using online resources. (a) generation of a random list (b) transfer of the list to an MS excel file

Allocation concealment

If it is important in a study to generate a random sequence of intervention, it is also important for this sequence to be concealed from all stake-holders to prevent any scope of bias.[ 12 ] Allocation concealment refers to the technique used to implement a random sequence for allocation of intervention, and not to generate it.[ 13 ] In an Indian post-graduate dissertation, the sequentially numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes (SNOSE) technique is commonly used [ Supplementary file 2 ].

To minimise the chances of differential treatment allocation or assessments of outcomes, it is important to blind as many individuals as possible in the trial. Blinding is not an all-or-none phenomenon. Thus, it is very desirable to explicitly state in the dissertation, which individuals were blinded, how they achieved blinding and whether they tested the success of blinding.

Commonly used terms for blinding are

• Single blinding: Masks the participants from knowing which intervention has been given.
• Double blinding: Blinds both the participants as well as researchers to the treatment allocation.
• Triple blinding: By withholding allocation information from the subjects, researchers, as well as data analysts. The specific roles of researchers involved in randomisation, allocation concealment and blinding should be stated clearly in the dissertation.

Data which can be measured as numbers are called quantitative data [ Table 1 ]. Studies which emphasise objective measurements to generate numerical data and then apply statistical and mathematical analysis constitute quantitative research. Qualitative research on the other hand focuses on understanding people's beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behaviours and thus these generate non-numerical data called qualitative data, also known as categorical data, descriptive data or frequency counts. Importance of differentiating data into qualitative and quantitative lies in the fact that statistical analysis as well as the graphical representation may be very different.

Data collection types

In order to obtain data from the outcome variable for the purpose of analysis, we need to design a study which would give us the most valid information. A valid data or measurement tool, is the degree to which the tool measures what it claims to measure. For example, appearance of end tidal carbon dioxide waveform is a more valid measurement to assess correct endotracheal tube placement than auscultation of breath sounds on chest inflation.

The compilation of all data in a ‘Master Chart’ is a necessary step for planning, facilitating and appropriate preparation and processing of the data for analysis. It is a complete set of raw research data arranged in a systematic manner forming a well-structured and formatted, computable data matrix/database of the research to facilitate data analysis. The master chart is prepared as a Microsoft Excel sheet with the appropriate number of columns depicting the variable parameters for each individual subjects/respondents enlisted in the rows.

Statistical analysis

The detailed statistical methodology applied to analyse the data must be stated in the text under the subheading of statistical analysis in the Methods section. The statistician should be involved in the study during the initial planning stage itself. Following four steps have to be addressed while planning, performing and text writing of the statistical analysis part in this section.

Step 1. How many study groups are present? Whether analysis is for an unpaired or paired situation? Whether the recorded data contains repeated measurements? Unpaired or paired situations decide again on the choice of a test. The latter describes before and after situations for collected data (e.g. Heart rate data ‘before’ and ‘after’ spinal anaesthesia for a single group). Further, data should be checked to find out whether they are from repeated measurements (e.g., Mean blood pressure at 0, 1 st , 2 nd , 5 th , 10 th minutes and so on) for a group. Different types of data are commonly encountered in a dissertation [ Supplementary file 3A ].

Step 2. Does the data follow a normal distribution?[ 14 ]

Each study group as well as every parameter has to be checked for distribution analysis. This step will confirm whether the data of a particular group is normally distributed (parametric data) or does not follow the normal distribution (non-parametric data); subsequent statistical test selection mainly depends on the results of the distribution analysis. For example, one may choose the Student's’ test instead of the ‘Mann-Whitney U’ for non-parametric data, which may be incorrect. Each study group as well as every parameter has to be checked for distribution analysis [ Supplementary File 3B ].

Step 3. Calculation of measures of central tendency and measures of variability.

Measures of central tendency mainly include mean, median and mode whereas measures of variability include range, interquartile range (IQR), SD or variance not standard error of mean. Depending on Step 2 findings, one needs to make the appropriate choice. Mean and SD/variance are more often for normally distributed and median with IQR are the best measure for not normal (skewed) distribution. Proportions are used to describe the data whenever the sample size is ≥100. For a small sample size, especially when it is approximately 25-30, describe the data as 5/25 instead of 20%. Software used for statistical analysis automatically calculates the listed step 3 measures and thus makes the job easy.

Step 4. Which statistical test do I choose for necessary analysis?

Choosing a particular test [ Figure 3 ] is based on orderly placed questions which are addressed in the dissertation.[ 15 ]

Chosing a statistical test, (a). to find a difference between the groups of unpaired situations, (b). to find a difference between the groups of paired situations, (c). to find any association between the variables, (d). to find any agreement between the assessment techniques. ANOVA: Analysis of Variance. Reproduced with permission from Editor of Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, and the author, Dr Barun Nayak[ 15 ]

• Is there a difference between the groups of unpaired situations?
• Is there a difference between the groups of paired situations?
• Is there any association between the variables?
• Is there any agreement between the assessment techniques?

Perform necessary analysis using user-friendly software such as GraphPad Prism, Minitab or MedCalc,etc. Once the analysis is complete, appropriate writing in the text form is equally essential. Specific test names used to examine each part of the results have to be described. Simple listing of series of tests should not be done. A typical write-up can be seen in the subsequent sections of the supplementary files [Supplementary files 3C – E ]. One needs to state the level of significance and software details also.

Role of a statistician in dissertation and data analysis

Involving a statistician before planning a study design, prior to data collection, after data have been collected, and while data are analysed is desirable when conducting a dissertation. On the contrary, it is also true that self-learning of statistical analysis reduces the need for statisticians’ help and will improve the quality of research. A statistician is best compared to a mechanic of a car which we drive; he knows each element of the car, but it is we who have to drive it. Sometimes the statisticians may not be available for a student in an institute. Self-learning software tools, user-friendly statistical software for basic statistical analysis thus gain importance for students as well as guides. The statistician will design processes for data collection, gather numerical data, collect, analyse, and interpret data, identify the trends and relationships in data, perform statistical analysis and its interpretation, and finally assist in final conclusion writing.

Results are an important component of the dissertation and should follow clearly from the study objectives. Results (sometimes described as observations that are made by the researcher) should be presented after correct analysis of data, in an appropriate combination of text, charts, tables, graphs or diagrams. Decision has to be taken on each outcome; which outcome has to be presented in what format, at the beginning of writing itself. These should be statistically interpreted, but statistics should not surpass the dissertation results. The observations should always be described accurately and with factual or realistic values in results section, but should not be interpreted in the results section.

While writing, classification and reporting of the Results has to be done under five section paragraphs- population data, data distribution analysis, results of the primary outcome, results of secondary outcomes, any additional observations made such as a rare adverse event or a side effect (intended or unintended) or of any additional analysis that may have been done, such as subgroup analysis.

At each level, one may either encounter qualitative (n/N and %) or quantitative data (mean [SD], median [IQR] and so on.

In the first paragraph of Results while describing the population data, one has to write about included and excluded patients. One needs to cite the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) flow chart to the text, at this stage. Subsequently, highlighting of age, sex, height, body mass index (BMI) and other study characteristics referring to the first table of ‘patients data’ should be considered. It is not desirable to detail all values and their comparison P values in the text again in population data as long as they are presented in a cited table. An example of this pattern can be seen in Supplementary file 3D .

In the second paragraph, one needs to explain how the data is distributed. It should be noted that, this is not a comparison between the study groups but represents data distribution for the individual study groups (Group A or Group B, separately)[ Supplementary file 3E ].

In the subsequent paragraph of Results , focused writing on results of the primary outcomes is very important. It should be attempted to mention most of the data outputs related to the primary outcomes as the study is concluded based on the results of this outcome analysis. The measures of central tendency and dispersion (Mean or median and SD or IQR etc., respectively), alongside the CIs, sample number and P values need to be mentioned. It should be noted that the CIs can be for the mean as well as for the mean difference and should not be interchanged. An example of this pattern can be seen in Supplementary file 3F .

A large number of the dissertations are guided for single primary outcome analysis, and also the results of multiple secondary outcomes are needed to be written. The primary outcome should be presented in detail, and secondary outcomes can be presented in tables or graphs only. This will help in avoiding a possible evaluator's fatigue. An example of this pattern can be seen in Supplementary file 3G .

In the last paragraph of the Results, mention any additional observations, such as a rare adverse event or side effect or describe the unexpected results. The results of any additional analysis (subgroup analysis) then need to be described too. An example of this pattern can be seen in Supplementary file 3H .

The most common error observed in the Results text is duplication of the data and analytical outputs. While using the text for summarising the results, at each level, it should not be forgotten to cite the table or graph but the information presented in a table should not be repeated in the text. Further, results should not be given to a greater degree of accuracy than that of the measurement. For example, mean (SD) age need to be presented as 34.5 (11.3) years instead of 34.5634 (11.349). The latter does not carry any additional information and is unnecessary. The actual P values need to be mentioned. The P value should not be simply stated as ‘ P < 0.05’; P value should be written with the actual numbers, such as ‘ P = 0.021’. The symbol ‘<’ should be used only when actual P value is <0.001 or <0.0001. One should try avoiding % calculations for a small sample especially when n < 100. The sample size calculation is a part of the methodology and should not be mentioned in the Results section.

The use of tables will help present actual data values especially when in large numbers. The data and their relationships can be easily understood by an appropriate table and one should avoid overwriting of results in the text format. All values of sample size, central tendency, dispersions, CIs and P value are to be presented in appropriate columns and rows. Preparing a dummy table for all outcomes on a rough paper before proceeding to Microsoft Excel may be contemplated. Appropriate title heading (e.g., Table 1 . Study Characteristics), Column Headings (e.g., Parameter studied, P values) should be presented. A footnote should be added whenever necessary. For outputs, where statistically significant P values are recorded, the same should be highlighted using an asterisk (*) symbol and the same *symbol should be cited in the footnote describing its value (e.g., * P < 0.001) which is self-explanatory for statistically significance. One should not use abbreviations such as ‘NS’ or ‘Sig’ for describing (non-) significance. Abbreviations should be described for all presented tables. A typical example of a table can be seen in Figure 4 .

Example of presenting a table

Graphical images

Similar to tables, the graphs and diagrams give a bird's-eye view of the entire data and therefore may easily be understood. bar diagrams (simple, multiple or component), pie charts, line diagrams, pictograms and spot maps suit qualitative data more whereas the histograms, frequency polygons, cumulative frequency, polygon scatter diagram, box and whisker plots and correlation diagrams are used to depict quantitative data. Too much presentation of graphs and images, selection of inappropriate or interchanging of graphs, unnecessary representation of three-dimensional graph for one-dimensional graphs, disproportionate sizes of length and width and incorrect scale and labelling of an axis should be avoided. All graphs should contain legends, abbreviation descriptions and a footnote. Appropriate labelling of the x - and the y -axis is also essential. Priori decided scale for axis data should be considered. The ‘error bar’ represents SDs or IQRs in the graphs and should be used irrespective of whether they are bar charts or line graphs. Not showing error bars in a graphical image is a gross mistake. An error bar can be shown on only one side of the line graph to keep it simple. A typical example of a graphical image can be seen in Figure 5 . The number of subjects (sample) is to be mentioned for each time point on the x -axis. An asterisk (*) needs to be put for data comparisons having statistically significant P value in the graph itself and they are self-explanatory with a ‘stand-alone’ graph.

Example of an incorrect (a) and correct (b) image

Once the results have been adequately analysed and described, the next step is to draw conclusions from the data and study. The main goal is to defend the work by staging a constructive debate with the literature.[ 16 ] Generally, the length of the ‘ Discussion ’ section should not exceed the sum of other sections (introduction, material and methods, and results).[ 17 ] Here the interpretation, importance/implications, relevance, limitations of the results are elaborated and should end in recommendations.

It is advisable to start by mentioning the RQ precisely, summarising the main findings without repeating the entire data or results again. The emphasis should be on how the results correlate with the RQ and the implications of these results, with the relevant review of literature (ROL). Do the results coincide with and add anything to the prevalent knowledge? If not, why not? It should justify the differences with plausible explanation. Ultimately it should be made clear, if the study has been successful in making some contribution to the existing evidence. The new results should not be introduced and any exaggerated deductions which cannot be corroborated by the outcomes should not be made.

The discussion should terminate with limitations of the study,[ 17 ] mentioned magnanimously. Indicating limitations of the study reflects objectivity of the authors. It should not enlist any errors, but should acknowledge the constraints and choices in designing, planning methodology or unanticipated challenges that may have cropped up during the actual conduct of the study. However, after listing the limitations, the validity of results pertaining to the RQ may be emphasised again.

This section should convey the precise and concise message as the take home message. The work carried out should be summarised and the answer found to the RQ should be succinctly highlighted. One should not start dwelling on the specific results but mention the overall gain or insights from the observations, especially, whether it fills the gap in the existing knowledge if any. The impact, it may have on the existing knowledge and practices needs to be reiterated.

What to do when we get a negative result?

Sometimes, despite the best research framework, the results obtained are inconclusive or may even challenge a few accepted assumptions.[ 18 ] These are frequently, but inappropriately, termed as negative results and the data as negative data. Students must believe that if the study design is robust and valid, if the confounders have been carefully neutralised and the outcome parameters measure what they are intended to, then no result is a negative result. In fact, such results force us to critically re-evaluate our current understanding of concepts and knowledge thereby helping in better decision making. Studies showing lack of prolongation of the apnoea desaturation safety periods at lower oxygen flows strengthened belief in the difficult airway guidelines which recommend nasal insufflations with at least 15 L/min oxygen.[ 19 , 20 , 21 ]

Publishing the dissertation work

There are many reporting guidelines based upon the design of research. These are a checklist, flow diagram, or structured text to guide authors in reporting a specific type of research, developed using explicit methodology. The CONSORT[ 22 ] and Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) initiatives,[ 23 ] both included in the Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of Health Research (EQUATOR) international network, have elaborated appropriate suggestions to improve the transparency, clarity and completeness of scientific literature [ Figure 6 ].

Equator publishing tree

All authors are advised to follow the CONSORT/STROBE checklist attached as Supplementary file 4 , when writing and reporting their dissertation.

For most dissertations in Anaesthesiology, the CONSORT, STROBE, Standards for Reporting Diagnostic accuracy studies (STARD) or REporting recommendations for tumour MARKer prognostic studies (REMARK) guidelines would suffice.

Abstract and Summary

These two are the essential sections of a dissertation.

It should be at the beginning of the manuscript, after the title page and acknowledgments, but before the table of contents. The preparation varies as per the University guidelines, but generally ranges between 150 to 300 words. Although it comes at the very beginning of the thesis, it is the last part one writes. It must not be a ‘copy-paste job’ from the main manuscript, but well thought out miniaturisation, giving the overview of the entire text. As a rule, there should be no citation of references here.

Logically, it would have four components starting with aims, methods, results, and conclusion. One should begin the abstract with the research question/objectives precisely, avoiding excessive background information. Adjectives like, evaluate, investigate, test, compare raise the curiosity quotient of the reader. This is followed by a brief methodology highlighting only the core steps used. There is no need of mentioning the challenges, corrections, or modifications, if any. Finally, important results, which may be restricted to fulfilment (or not), of the primary objective should be mentioned. Abstracts end with the main conclusion stating whether a specific answer to the RQ was found/not found. Then recommendations as a policy statement or utility may be made taking care that it is implementable.

Keywords may be included in the abstract, as per the recommendations of the concerned university. The keywords are primarily useful as markers for future searches. Lastly, the random reader using any search engine may use these, and the identifiability is increased.

The summary most often, is either the last part of the Discussion or commonly, associated with the conclusions (Summary and Conclusions). Repetition of introduction, whole methodology, and all the results should be avoided. Summary, if individually written, should not be more than 150 to 300 words. It highlights the research question, methods used to investigate it, the outcomes/fallouts of these, and then the conclusion part may start.

References/bibliography

Writing References serves mainly two purposes. It is the tacit acknowledgement of the fact that someone else's written words or their ideas or their intellectual property (IP) are used, in part or in toto , to avoid any blame of plagiarism. It is to emphasise the circumspective and thorough literature search that has been carried out in preparation of the work.

Vancouver style for referencing is commonly used in biomedical dissertation writing. A reference list contains details of the works cited in the text of the document. (e.g. book, journal article, pamphlet, government reports, conference material, internet site). These details must include sufficient details so that others may locate and access those references.[ 24 ]

How much older the references can be cited, depends upon the university protocol. Conventionally accepted rule is anywhere between 5-10 years. About 85% of references should be dispersed in this time range. Remaining 15%, which may include older ones if they deal with theories, historical aspects, and any other factual content. Rather than citing an entire book, it is prudent to concentrate on the chapter or subsection of the text. There are subjective variations between universities on this matter. But, by and large, these are quoted as and when deemed necessary and with correct citation.

Bibliography is a separate list from the reference list and should be arranged alphabetically by writing name of the ‘author or title’ (where no author name is given) in the Vancouver style.

There are different aspects of writing the references.[ 24 ]

Citing the reference in the form of a number in the text. The work of other authors referred in the manuscript should be given a unique number and quoted. This is done in the order of their appearance in the text in chronological order by using Arabic numerals. The multiple publications of same author shall be written individually. If a reference article has more than six authors, all six names should be written, followed by “ et al .” to be used in lieu of other author names. It is desirable to write the names of the journals in abbreviations as per the NLM catalogue. Examples of writing references from the various sources may be found in the Supplementary file 5 .

Both the guide and the student have to work closely while searching the topic initially and also while finalising the submission of the dissertation. But the role of the guide in perusing the document in detail, and guiding the candidate through the required corrections by periodic updates and discussions cannot be over-emphasised.

Assessment of dissertations

Rarely, examiners might reject a dissertation for failure to choose a contemporary topic, a poor review of literature, defective methodology, biased analysis or incorrect conclusions. If these cannot be corrected satisfactorily, it will then be back to the drawing board for the researchers, who would have to start from scratch to redesign the study, keeping the deficiencies in mind this time.

Before submission, dissertation has to be run through “plagiarism detector” software, such as Turnitin or Grammarly to ensure that plagiarism does not happen even unwittingly. Informal guidelines state that the percentage plagiarism picked up by these tools should be <10%.

No work of art is devoid of mistakes/errors. Logically, a dissertation, being no exception, may also have errors. Our aim, is to minimise them.

The dissertation is an integral part in the professional journey of any medical post-graduate student. It is also an important responsibility for a guide to educate his protégé, the basics of research methodology through the process. Searching for a gap in literature and identification of a pertinent research question is the initial step. Careful planning of the study design is a vitally important aspect. After the conduct of study, writing the dissertation is an art for which the student often needs guidance. A good dissertation is a good description of a meticulously conducted study under the different headings described, utilising the various reporting guidelines. By avoiding some common errors as discussed in this manuscript, a good dissertation can result in a very fruitful addition to medical literature.

Financial support and sponsorship

Conflicts of interest.

There are no conflicts of interest.

SUPPLEMENTARY FILES

Stanford University

Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is housed in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Introducing Our 2024-25 Pre and Postdoctoral Fellows

• Nora Sulots

Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) is proud to announce the incoming fellows who will be joining us in the 2024-2025 academic year to develop their research, engage with faculty, and tap into our diverse scholarly community.

The pre- and postdoctoral program will provide fellows the time to focus on research and data analysis as they work to finalize and publish their dissertation research while connecting with resident faculty and research staff at CDDRL.

Fellows will present their research during our  weekly research seminar series and an array of scholarly events and conferences.

Meet the Fellows

Julieta casas.

Hometown: Buenos Aires, Argentina Academic Institution: Johns Hopkins University Discipline and degree conferral date (or expected): PhD Candidate in Political Science, expected summer 2024

Research Interests: State capacity, bureaucratic politics, democratization, comparative historical analysis, American political development, and Latin American politics.

Dissertation Title: Building Bureaucratic Capacity: The Political Origins of Civil Service Reforms

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/ Postdoctoral program? I was drawn to CDDRL’s vibrant intellectual community and their concern with addressing the crucial questions of our time from an interdisciplinary and methodologically plural perspective. I was also attracted to the opportunities the Center offers to learn from scholars working on governance and democracy in different regions around the world.

What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at CDDRL? I look forward to working on my book project during my residency at CDDRL. Based on my dissertation, the book concerns effective representative governance and the paths countries can take to achieve it. The study highlights the importance that varieties of patronage have for bureaucratic reform in democratic contexts — some types of patronage are more likely to create favorable conditions for reform than others due to the incentives that their personnel management practices create.

Fun fact: My first job was in the Argentine bureaucracy, which I now study!

Jasmine English

Hometown: Belfast, Northern Ireland Academic Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Discipline and degree conferral date (or expected): PhD Candidate in Political Science, expected June 2024

Research Interests: Identity politics, interracial solidarity, political discussion, political violence, the carceral state, and American politics.

Dissertation Title: Essays on the Content and Consequences of Political Discussion

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/ Postdoctoral program? I was drawn to CDDRL’s interdisciplinary approach to the study of democracy. I am particularly excited to engage with scholars working on identity politics, deliberation, and political violence. 

What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at CDDRL? During my time at the Center, I’m hoping to complete several articles on political discussion, interracial solidarity, and the carceral state. I’d also like to start some new projects on related topics with collaborators at CDDRL. 

Fun fact: I’m a big fan of cold water swimming and am trying to complete 50 swims this year.

Alex Mierke-Zatwarnicki

Hometown: Vancouver, BC, Canada Academic Institution: Harvard University (PhD) / European University Institute (Max Weber Fellow) Discipline and degree conferral date (or expected): PhD in Government, November 2023 

Research Interests: Political parties, party organization, group identity, cleavages, civil society, and political communication.

Dissertation Title: Identity politics, old and new: Party-building in the long twentieth century

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/ Postdoctoral program? I really love how CDDRL brings together scholars working across regions and topics, truly embodying the spirit and method of ‘comparative politics.’ My work focuses on Western Europe but takes a lot of influence from scholarship on party politics elsewhere in the world. Moving forward, I want to become more embedded in broader comparative debates about democracy and political development, and I think CDDRL will be a great place to start joining those conversations. 

What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at CDDRL? I’m currently in the early stages of expanding my dissertation into a book, which requires adding a bunch of new cases and additional data. I’m hoping to make substantial progress on this while at CDDRL and to also start thinking more seriously about which questions and ideas I want to pursue for my next big project. 

Fun fact: During the pandemic, I got back into reading fiction, and I really love it! Last year, I read over a hundred novels and am on track to hit that milestone again in 2024.

Ivetta Sergeeva

Hometown: Saint Petersburg, Russia Academic Institution: European University Institute Discipline and degree conferral date (or expected): PhD in Political and Social Sciences, expected October 2024

Research Interests: Migration and citizenship, political behavior, and civil society.

Dissertation Title: Three Essays on Russian Political Migration Following the 2022 Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/ Postdoctoral program? I'm drawn to CDDRL for its interdisciplinary focus and emphasis on the practical impacts of research, which aligns with my previous experience as a practitioner and my goals as a social scientist.

What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at CDDRL? I want to develop a book project about politically-induced migration. I also plan to continue serving as the co-principal investigator in my research project OutRush, a panel survey of Russian migrants that I co-lead with Emil Kamalov.

Fun fact: I wrote most of my PhD dissertation while listening to the electronic musician Christian Löffler.

Gillian Slee

Hometown: Laguna Beach, California Academic Institution: Princeton University Discipline and degree conferral date (or expected): PhD Candidate in Sociology and Social Policy, expected July 2024

Research Interests: Inequality, poverty, democratic governance, law and society, justice and reentry, work and organizations, and social policy.

Dissertation Title: Humanizing Institutions: Inequality, Dysfunction, and Reform in the Parole Process

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/ Postdoctoral program? CDDRL’s commitment to scholarship on key challenges associated with democratic governance and the rule of law and its sustained investment in producing research that will work to promote equity and justice in contemporary society aligns deeply with my scholarly orientation. 

What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at CDDRL? I aim to publish academic articles and work on a book manuscript documenting persons’ grounded experiences serving parole in the United States. While doing so, I will advance my broader intellectual project — to identify how state processes may better serve involved parties and ameliorate inequality. I look forward to engaging with CDDRL scholars committed to bridging the divide between scholarship and practice and, most importantly, to asking critical questions about the work and health of democratic governance. 

Fun fact: I’m a firm believer in spending ample time outdoors (surfing, hiking, and more!), tripling the garlic in recipes, and indulging in well-placed, dumb jokes.