How to be part of research community if you study off campus?

Posted 08/12/2014 by 757eb42a-e528-4a04-9952-a0ac00e0526f

Shailesh Appukuttan: First of all, if you conceptualise, design, and execute your research well, and work with the support and feedback from your supervisors, it will be unlikely that you were not able to close any gap in knowledge in your area of research. It will be important to define and identify what a ‘gap’ constitutes in your area of research from the beginning. In addition, (in UK) the doctorate is awarded not just for the creation and interpretation of new knowledge but also for the detailed understanding of relevant research techniques, systematic scholarly approaches employed, project management abilities, publishable quality of output (even if it means describing your above attempts and a reflective analysis of your account focusing on why such attempts may not be as successful as anticipated – by the way that itself is closing a gap in knowledge that previously may not have existed; remember… each research is a snapshot of a combination of specific contexts, test conditions, and variables), your ability to make informed judgements on complex research issues, and communicate your research clearly. So in other words, even if you had closed a gap through your research you also need to demonstrate many of the transferable skill outlined above. So be positive; if you have got the rest right you are going to close a gap!