Why is novelty mandatory for a Ph.D. degree?











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The institute I am studying at has added the following requirement recently:




A PhD scholar must publish two papers in his/her corresponding field
in SCI journals.




This means that a student cannot get PhD without two SCI rated papers. To the best of my knowledge, novelty is a mandate for such journals; hence, novelty has became mandatory for a student to get PhD in my institute.



In this context, I have the following query: Why is novelty mandatory for a PhD degree?



Consider a scenario in which a student is ambitious and wants to do research on an open problem or famous unsolved problem in his/her field. The student cannot attempt to research such a topic since research may be locally saturated, and he/she cannot come up with a novel idea. Does the rule not restrict the research on such problems? I can see the alternatives like tutorial papers, survey papers, etc., but some of these require only highly experienced geeks.



Note: Assume that neither the PhD student nor the PhD supervisor is an extraordinary person in that particular field.










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  • 41




    Before the requirement about two papers in SCI journals, did your institute award Ph.D.degrees without any requirement of novelty? In my opinion, that would be very strange and not consistent with what a Ph.D. should mean.
    – Andreas Blass
    yesterday






  • 5




    I don’t understand the last paragraph of your question. Why should a requirement for novelty be a problem for ambitious students?
    – Thomas
    yesterday






  • 26




    No sane advisor would allow a student to base his thesis 100% on proving the Riemann hypothesis. If the student insists and somehow manages to convince the advisor to do so, then he should consider the option that nothing will come out of it – this was his own choice to start with, so he should accept the consequences. If the rules state that two papers with novel results are a requirement, one needs to have results. Negative results are also results, and often very important, but "I've done research for 4 years but absolutely nothing worked; give me a PhD" is not enough.
    – corey979
    yesterday








  • 10




    One of the first lessons of PhD studies is that you’re likely not as smart as you think and that you’re likely to fail if working on famous unsolved problems.
    – ZeroTheHero
    yesterday






  • 11




    @O.R.Mapper Even the most ambitious student has zero influence on whether there still is anything novel to discover. — This is true, but vacuously so. There is always more to discover!
    – JeffE
    yesterday

















up vote
19
down vote

favorite
5












The institute I am studying at has added the following requirement recently:




A PhD scholar must publish two papers in his/her corresponding field
in SCI journals.




This means that a student cannot get PhD without two SCI rated papers. To the best of my knowledge, novelty is a mandate for such journals; hence, novelty has became mandatory for a student to get PhD in my institute.



In this context, I have the following query: Why is novelty mandatory for a PhD degree?



Consider a scenario in which a student is ambitious and wants to do research on an open problem or famous unsolved problem in his/her field. The student cannot attempt to research such a topic since research may be locally saturated, and he/she cannot come up with a novel idea. Does the rule not restrict the research on such problems? I can see the alternatives like tutorial papers, survey papers, etc., but some of these require only highly experienced geeks.



Note: Assume that neither the PhD student nor the PhD supervisor is an extraordinary person in that particular field.










share|improve this question




















  • 41




    Before the requirement about two papers in SCI journals, did your institute award Ph.D.degrees without any requirement of novelty? In my opinion, that would be very strange and not consistent with what a Ph.D. should mean.
    – Andreas Blass
    yesterday






  • 5




    I don’t understand the last paragraph of your question. Why should a requirement for novelty be a problem for ambitious students?
    – Thomas
    yesterday






  • 26




    No sane advisor would allow a student to base his thesis 100% on proving the Riemann hypothesis. If the student insists and somehow manages to convince the advisor to do so, then he should consider the option that nothing will come out of it – this was his own choice to start with, so he should accept the consequences. If the rules state that two papers with novel results are a requirement, one needs to have results. Negative results are also results, and often very important, but "I've done research for 4 years but absolutely nothing worked; give me a PhD" is not enough.
    – corey979
    yesterday








  • 10




    One of the first lessons of PhD studies is that you’re likely not as smart as you think and that you’re likely to fail if working on famous unsolved problems.
    – ZeroTheHero
    yesterday






  • 11




    @O.R.Mapper Even the most ambitious student has zero influence on whether there still is anything novel to discover. — This is true, but vacuously so. There is always more to discover!
    – JeffE
    yesterday















up vote
19
down vote

favorite
5









up vote
19
down vote

favorite
5






5





The institute I am studying at has added the following requirement recently:




A PhD scholar must publish two papers in his/her corresponding field
in SCI journals.




This means that a student cannot get PhD without two SCI rated papers. To the best of my knowledge, novelty is a mandate for such journals; hence, novelty has became mandatory for a student to get PhD in my institute.



In this context, I have the following query: Why is novelty mandatory for a PhD degree?



Consider a scenario in which a student is ambitious and wants to do research on an open problem or famous unsolved problem in his/her field. The student cannot attempt to research such a topic since research may be locally saturated, and he/she cannot come up with a novel idea. Does the rule not restrict the research on such problems? I can see the alternatives like tutorial papers, survey papers, etc., but some of these require only highly experienced geeks.



Note: Assume that neither the PhD student nor the PhD supervisor is an extraordinary person in that particular field.










share|improve this question















The institute I am studying at has added the following requirement recently:




A PhD scholar must publish two papers in his/her corresponding field
in SCI journals.




This means that a student cannot get PhD without two SCI rated papers. To the best of my knowledge, novelty is a mandate for such journals; hence, novelty has became mandatory for a student to get PhD in my institute.



In this context, I have the following query: Why is novelty mandatory for a PhD degree?



Consider a scenario in which a student is ambitious and wants to do research on an open problem or famous unsolved problem in his/her field. The student cannot attempt to research such a topic since research may be locally saturated, and he/she cannot come up with a novel idea. Does the rule not restrict the research on such problems? I can see the alternatives like tutorial papers, survey papers, etc., but some of these require only highly experienced geeks.



Note: Assume that neither the PhD student nor the PhD supervisor is an extraordinary person in that particular field.







phd research-topic publishability






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edited yesterday









TRiG

376215




376215










asked yesterday









hanugm

81711016




81711016








  • 41




    Before the requirement about two papers in SCI journals, did your institute award Ph.D.degrees without any requirement of novelty? In my opinion, that would be very strange and not consistent with what a Ph.D. should mean.
    – Andreas Blass
    yesterday






  • 5




    I don’t understand the last paragraph of your question. Why should a requirement for novelty be a problem for ambitious students?
    – Thomas
    yesterday






  • 26




    No sane advisor would allow a student to base his thesis 100% on proving the Riemann hypothesis. If the student insists and somehow manages to convince the advisor to do so, then he should consider the option that nothing will come out of it – this was his own choice to start with, so he should accept the consequences. If the rules state that two papers with novel results are a requirement, one needs to have results. Negative results are also results, and often very important, but "I've done research for 4 years but absolutely nothing worked; give me a PhD" is not enough.
    – corey979
    yesterday








  • 10




    One of the first lessons of PhD studies is that you’re likely not as smart as you think and that you’re likely to fail if working on famous unsolved problems.
    – ZeroTheHero
    yesterday






  • 11




    @O.R.Mapper Even the most ambitious student has zero influence on whether there still is anything novel to discover. — This is true, but vacuously so. There is always more to discover!
    – JeffE
    yesterday
















  • 41




    Before the requirement about two papers in SCI journals, did your institute award Ph.D.degrees without any requirement of novelty? In my opinion, that would be very strange and not consistent with what a Ph.D. should mean.
    – Andreas Blass
    yesterday






  • 5




    I don’t understand the last paragraph of your question. Why should a requirement for novelty be a problem for ambitious students?
    – Thomas
    yesterday






  • 26




    No sane advisor would allow a student to base his thesis 100% on proving the Riemann hypothesis. If the student insists and somehow manages to convince the advisor to do so, then he should consider the option that nothing will come out of it – this was his own choice to start with, so he should accept the consequences. If the rules state that two papers with novel results are a requirement, one needs to have results. Negative results are also results, and often very important, but "I've done research for 4 years but absolutely nothing worked; give me a PhD" is not enough.
    – corey979
    yesterday








  • 10




    One of the first lessons of PhD studies is that you’re likely not as smart as you think and that you’re likely to fail if working on famous unsolved problems.
    – ZeroTheHero
    yesterday






  • 11




    @O.R.Mapper Even the most ambitious student has zero influence on whether there still is anything novel to discover. — This is true, but vacuously so. There is always more to discover!
    – JeffE
    yesterday










41




41




Before the requirement about two papers in SCI journals, did your institute award Ph.D.degrees without any requirement of novelty? In my opinion, that would be very strange and not consistent with what a Ph.D. should mean.
– Andreas Blass
yesterday




Before the requirement about two papers in SCI journals, did your institute award Ph.D.degrees without any requirement of novelty? In my opinion, that would be very strange and not consistent with what a Ph.D. should mean.
– Andreas Blass
yesterday




5




5




I don’t understand the last paragraph of your question. Why should a requirement for novelty be a problem for ambitious students?
– Thomas
yesterday




I don’t understand the last paragraph of your question. Why should a requirement for novelty be a problem for ambitious students?
– Thomas
yesterday




26




26




No sane advisor would allow a student to base his thesis 100% on proving the Riemann hypothesis. If the student insists and somehow manages to convince the advisor to do so, then he should consider the option that nothing will come out of it – this was his own choice to start with, so he should accept the consequences. If the rules state that two papers with novel results are a requirement, one needs to have results. Negative results are also results, and often very important, but "I've done research for 4 years but absolutely nothing worked; give me a PhD" is not enough.
– corey979
yesterday






No sane advisor would allow a student to base his thesis 100% on proving the Riemann hypothesis. If the student insists and somehow manages to convince the advisor to do so, then he should consider the option that nothing will come out of it – this was his own choice to start with, so he should accept the consequences. If the rules state that two papers with novel results are a requirement, one needs to have results. Negative results are also results, and often very important, but "I've done research for 4 years but absolutely nothing worked; give me a PhD" is not enough.
– corey979
yesterday






10




10




One of the first lessons of PhD studies is that you’re likely not as smart as you think and that you’re likely to fail if working on famous unsolved problems.
– ZeroTheHero
yesterday




One of the first lessons of PhD studies is that you’re likely not as smart as you think and that you’re likely to fail if working on famous unsolved problems.
– ZeroTheHero
yesterday




11




11




@O.R.Mapper Even the most ambitious student has zero influence on whether there still is anything novel to discover. — This is true, but vacuously so. There is always more to discover!
– JeffE
yesterday






@O.R.Mapper Even the most ambitious student has zero influence on whether there still is anything novel to discover. — This is true, but vacuously so. There is always more to discover!
– JeffE
yesterday












4 Answers
4






active

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up vote
58
down vote













Novelty is a basic requirement in research because without novel results, the work is of at best limited usefulness. It's not useless - review papers are useful - but it's less interesting to the people at the frontier. In the case of a PhD, it is supposed to signify a student is now capable of doing research. Research (as opposed to literature review) necessarily involves new and novel results. Therefore novelty is a requirement.



If I understand your last paragraph right, you're wondering about open problems which might be too complex to solve in one go. But in that case, you still get new and novel results - they might be partial results, but they're still results. The same goes for research using new methods that turn out not to work: knowing where not to look is not as useful as knowing where to look, but by narrowing the parameter space, it's still useful.






share|improve this answer

















  • 2




    * But in that case, you still get new and novel results*... but it is very rare that a PhD student with a normal supervisor can get such results.
    – hanugm
    yesterday






  • 20




    @hanugm certainly not, most PhD students get such results. How else did your predecessors at your institution get awarded PhDs? They discovered enough new things to publish two SCI-indexed papers. See also corey979's comment.
    – Allure
    yesterday






  • 43




    @hanugm at my institution every single PhD student has new and novel results. The importance of the results vary, with some having papers at Nature/Science and others publishing at very insignificant local journals, but they always have results. That's what you do in your PhD. You do stuff no one did before. Whether someone cares about it is another thing, but it's still new.
    – Gimelist
    yesterday






  • 13




    @hanugm That may be true, but the single most important criterion for awarding a PhD is whether the student was able to obtain (publishable) original results. The importance of these results will be the largest factor in determining the grade of the PhD. Writing an excellent review of the literature is usually not enough for a PhD, although it is a popular format for Master's theses.
    – Earthliŋ
    yesterday






  • 3




    Also note that there are doctoral degrees that do not require original research, or at least not anything close to the levels of originality and substantiality required for a PhD. Examples include the DA (Doctor of Arts) degree, as well as many professional degrees such as MD, JD, PharmD, and DDS. A PhD is a research doctorate.
    – Robert Columbia
    yesterday




















up vote
27
down vote













This answer will be a bit different and not limited to the sciences as the other current answers seem to be. It will also apply to many similar degrees not designated PhD. I'll use the term "doctorate" as an abbreviation for "research doctorate" to distinguish it from other degrees such as those that are clinically focused, for example.



Study for a doctorate (PhD and similar degrees) in a field is intended to teach you how to carry out scholarship in that field, whatever it is. Scholarship is always intended to be the extension of knowledge. A successful scholar extends what is known in the field of interest. In literature, for example, you can study Dr. Faustus by Goethe and give a perspective never considered before. This, as are many (most?) studies very narrow. But it can also be very deep. If someone says that your thoughts aren't actually novel, but a simple extension of things written a few (or a lot of) years ago, then those thoughts don't really extend knowledge. So, if all you can accomplish are derivative works, without novelty, then you haven't reached the point of being able to extend knowledge in your field.



The actual accomplishment need not be earth shattering in its implications. Most are not - even in mathematics and the sciences. But you have to be able to say something that is interesting to other scholars, preferably something that will permit them to extend their own work in new ways not yet considered.



There are a lot of ways to demonstrate that you are, indeed, able to extend knowledge in your field. A requirement of publication in a good journal is just one way and it is easy for the faculty to judge, since the reviewers and editors of the journal help them in their judgement task. Not so many years ago, in mathematics, there was no requirement to publish before obtaining the doctorate and your "proof of ability" was measured only in your dissertation as evaluated by the local faculty, perhaps with some supplementing.



Research in any field is directed at extending the "known world". You need to demonstrate the ability to do that to earn a doctorate and to be known as a "doctor" of the field. Only "novelty" will do.






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  • 2




    The notion of scholarship is really enlightening. Thank you!
    – ebosi
    yesterday


















up vote
10
down vote













Axiom



My answer derive from following definition of the PhD and its thesis.




The purpose of a PhD is to train a research student as an autonomous scientist
and a good researcher — i.e., as someone deserving the grade of Doctor.



The objective of a PhD thesis is hence to demonstrate to one’s peers that its author can be considered in this way by reporting the successful* completion of a high-quality piece of research.




Depending on one's field, the monograph-style thesis can be replaced by a set of published peer-reviewed paper. The objective remains the same.



Question



The question is then "What is an autonomous scientist and a good researcher?"




Being a good researcher means first to do science well, second to do good
science
, and third to do a lot of science.



Doing science well means following its ethical rules, being thorough, honestly and appropriately reporting one’s results, crediting one’s peers for their work and acknowledging one’s work limitations, using the adequate tools and methods to solve a problem, and doing research that is reproducible.



Doing good science means addressing a relevant scientific gap, an issue that is influential, a research problem that matters for science, the society, and the industry.



Doing a lot of science means to tackle a large-scale problem, to address subsequent research gaps, to contribute to multiple issues of a coherent sub-field.



One must, however, note that these criteria are conditional to one another. Doing a lot of science serves no purpose if one does not do good science. And more importantly, doing good science serves no purpose if one does not do science well.




To this, I would add that (it is my opinion, and one may disagree) the job of a researcher is to do science.

And doing science means reporting new knowledge that is as truthful as possible.

This is achievable using the scientific method that is commonly acknowledged as the best method for creating/unveiling (depending on your ontological positioning) reliable new knowledge.



Answer



So, to pragmatically answer your question:





  • the purpose a a PhD is to train you as a scientist,


  • producing new (and highly reliable) knowledge is quintessentially the role of a scientist.


Hence, you cannot be recognized by your peers as a scientist (i.e., being awarded the _Doctor_ title) if you don't prove that you can produce new reliable knowledge by yourself.



The confusion might come from the fact that — as it has been highlighted in comments — scientists do literature review, and literature review are useful and valuable. However, they are not the core of what is a scientist.



Post-scriptum



It it worth highlighting again the last quoted paragraph:




These criteria are conditional to one another. Doing a lot of science serves no purpose if one does not do good science. And more importantly, doing good science serves no purpose if one does not do science well.




Thus, I think that, when doing a PhD, one should mainly focus of the quality of one's contribution, rather than breadth or scale.



In other words: what matters is not that much what you have proven, but how you have proven it.



Of course I had the dream of a breakthrough thesis.

Yet I think that, during a PhD, it is more important to produce only a few robust, well designed experiment and well reported results on a minor "research gap"; rather than aiming to tackle a large scale issue without being able to produce robust results or reliable conclusions.



It's only once you'll have proven that you are a good researcher and autonomous scientist, that you'll be able to secure a job as a scientist/researcher.



And then you'll have time (and money, and support, and experience, …) to shoot for the stars.

Yet this is not the objective of a PhD. Everything in its own time.





Citations are excerpt of… the preface of my PhD thesis.



* Note that "successful" is to be understood as "We have completed each step of the scientific method". I.e., it does not consider whether results are positive or negative.






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  • 1




    This answer has some excellent points — e.g. the core answer that a PhD thesis must demonstrate the candidate’s capability as a scientist, and that’s why it needs novelty — mixed in with some very tendentious and field-dependent claims, like the idea ‘“successful” is to be understood as “We have been able to demonstrate with certainty that” rather than “there is a correlation/impact/link between A and B”.’ — there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research. It would benefit from focusing more on the uncontroversial key points.
    – PLL
    yesterday












  • @PLL Thanks for your feedback. I've now rephrased the footnote. I'm still welcoming any advice or suggestion!
    – ebosi
    yesterday










  • @PLL PS: Out of curiosity/interest, could you please elaborate on your point ("there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research.") — e.g., with some examples?
    – ebosi
    yesterday










  • Also interestingly enough is doesn't provide insight to the behind the scenes workings of the publication and review process which are machines which need much maintenance akin to the legal systems in some sense of the terms.
    – Jay
    yesterday


















up vote
9
down vote













A PhD thesis demonstrates the candidate's ability to perform research. Research, by definition, adds something novel to the body of knowledge.




Research: The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources
in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions
(Oxford English Dictionary)







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    4 Answers
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    up vote
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    Novelty is a basic requirement in research because without novel results, the work is of at best limited usefulness. It's not useless - review papers are useful - but it's less interesting to the people at the frontier. In the case of a PhD, it is supposed to signify a student is now capable of doing research. Research (as opposed to literature review) necessarily involves new and novel results. Therefore novelty is a requirement.



    If I understand your last paragraph right, you're wondering about open problems which might be too complex to solve in one go. But in that case, you still get new and novel results - they might be partial results, but they're still results. The same goes for research using new methods that turn out not to work: knowing where not to look is not as useful as knowing where to look, but by narrowing the parameter space, it's still useful.






    share|improve this answer

















    • 2




      * But in that case, you still get new and novel results*... but it is very rare that a PhD student with a normal supervisor can get such results.
      – hanugm
      yesterday






    • 20




      @hanugm certainly not, most PhD students get such results. How else did your predecessors at your institution get awarded PhDs? They discovered enough new things to publish two SCI-indexed papers. See also corey979's comment.
      – Allure
      yesterday






    • 43




      @hanugm at my institution every single PhD student has new and novel results. The importance of the results vary, with some having papers at Nature/Science and others publishing at very insignificant local journals, but they always have results. That's what you do in your PhD. You do stuff no one did before. Whether someone cares about it is another thing, but it's still new.
      – Gimelist
      yesterday






    • 13




      @hanugm That may be true, but the single most important criterion for awarding a PhD is whether the student was able to obtain (publishable) original results. The importance of these results will be the largest factor in determining the grade of the PhD. Writing an excellent review of the literature is usually not enough for a PhD, although it is a popular format for Master's theses.
      – Earthliŋ
      yesterday






    • 3




      Also note that there are doctoral degrees that do not require original research, or at least not anything close to the levels of originality and substantiality required for a PhD. Examples include the DA (Doctor of Arts) degree, as well as many professional degrees such as MD, JD, PharmD, and DDS. A PhD is a research doctorate.
      – Robert Columbia
      yesterday

















    up vote
    58
    down vote













    Novelty is a basic requirement in research because without novel results, the work is of at best limited usefulness. It's not useless - review papers are useful - but it's less interesting to the people at the frontier. In the case of a PhD, it is supposed to signify a student is now capable of doing research. Research (as opposed to literature review) necessarily involves new and novel results. Therefore novelty is a requirement.



    If I understand your last paragraph right, you're wondering about open problems which might be too complex to solve in one go. But in that case, you still get new and novel results - they might be partial results, but they're still results. The same goes for research using new methods that turn out not to work: knowing where not to look is not as useful as knowing where to look, but by narrowing the parameter space, it's still useful.






    share|improve this answer

















    • 2




      * But in that case, you still get new and novel results*... but it is very rare that a PhD student with a normal supervisor can get such results.
      – hanugm
      yesterday






    • 20




      @hanugm certainly not, most PhD students get such results. How else did your predecessors at your institution get awarded PhDs? They discovered enough new things to publish two SCI-indexed papers. See also corey979's comment.
      – Allure
      yesterday






    • 43




      @hanugm at my institution every single PhD student has new and novel results. The importance of the results vary, with some having papers at Nature/Science and others publishing at very insignificant local journals, but they always have results. That's what you do in your PhD. You do stuff no one did before. Whether someone cares about it is another thing, but it's still new.
      – Gimelist
      yesterday






    • 13




      @hanugm That may be true, but the single most important criterion for awarding a PhD is whether the student was able to obtain (publishable) original results. The importance of these results will be the largest factor in determining the grade of the PhD. Writing an excellent review of the literature is usually not enough for a PhD, although it is a popular format for Master's theses.
      – Earthliŋ
      yesterday






    • 3




      Also note that there are doctoral degrees that do not require original research, or at least not anything close to the levels of originality and substantiality required for a PhD. Examples include the DA (Doctor of Arts) degree, as well as many professional degrees such as MD, JD, PharmD, and DDS. A PhD is a research doctorate.
      – Robert Columbia
      yesterday















    up vote
    58
    down vote










    up vote
    58
    down vote









    Novelty is a basic requirement in research because without novel results, the work is of at best limited usefulness. It's not useless - review papers are useful - but it's less interesting to the people at the frontier. In the case of a PhD, it is supposed to signify a student is now capable of doing research. Research (as opposed to literature review) necessarily involves new and novel results. Therefore novelty is a requirement.



    If I understand your last paragraph right, you're wondering about open problems which might be too complex to solve in one go. But in that case, you still get new and novel results - they might be partial results, but they're still results. The same goes for research using new methods that turn out not to work: knowing where not to look is not as useful as knowing where to look, but by narrowing the parameter space, it's still useful.






    share|improve this answer












    Novelty is a basic requirement in research because without novel results, the work is of at best limited usefulness. It's not useless - review papers are useful - but it's less interesting to the people at the frontier. In the case of a PhD, it is supposed to signify a student is now capable of doing research. Research (as opposed to literature review) necessarily involves new and novel results. Therefore novelty is a requirement.



    If I understand your last paragraph right, you're wondering about open problems which might be too complex to solve in one go. But in that case, you still get new and novel results - they might be partial results, but they're still results. The same goes for research using new methods that turn out not to work: knowing where not to look is not as useful as knowing where to look, but by narrowing the parameter space, it's still useful.







    share|improve this answer












    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer










    answered yesterday









    Allure

    24.5k1375124




    24.5k1375124








    • 2




      * But in that case, you still get new and novel results*... but it is very rare that a PhD student with a normal supervisor can get such results.
      – hanugm
      yesterday






    • 20




      @hanugm certainly not, most PhD students get such results. How else did your predecessors at your institution get awarded PhDs? They discovered enough new things to publish two SCI-indexed papers. See also corey979's comment.
      – Allure
      yesterday






    • 43




      @hanugm at my institution every single PhD student has new and novel results. The importance of the results vary, with some having papers at Nature/Science and others publishing at very insignificant local journals, but they always have results. That's what you do in your PhD. You do stuff no one did before. Whether someone cares about it is another thing, but it's still new.
      – Gimelist
      yesterday






    • 13




      @hanugm That may be true, but the single most important criterion for awarding a PhD is whether the student was able to obtain (publishable) original results. The importance of these results will be the largest factor in determining the grade of the PhD. Writing an excellent review of the literature is usually not enough for a PhD, although it is a popular format for Master's theses.
      – Earthliŋ
      yesterday






    • 3




      Also note that there are doctoral degrees that do not require original research, or at least not anything close to the levels of originality and substantiality required for a PhD. Examples include the DA (Doctor of Arts) degree, as well as many professional degrees such as MD, JD, PharmD, and DDS. A PhD is a research doctorate.
      – Robert Columbia
      yesterday
















    • 2




      * But in that case, you still get new and novel results*... but it is very rare that a PhD student with a normal supervisor can get such results.
      – hanugm
      yesterday






    • 20




      @hanugm certainly not, most PhD students get such results. How else did your predecessors at your institution get awarded PhDs? They discovered enough new things to publish two SCI-indexed papers. See also corey979's comment.
      – Allure
      yesterday






    • 43




      @hanugm at my institution every single PhD student has new and novel results. The importance of the results vary, with some having papers at Nature/Science and others publishing at very insignificant local journals, but they always have results. That's what you do in your PhD. You do stuff no one did before. Whether someone cares about it is another thing, but it's still new.
      – Gimelist
      yesterday






    • 13




      @hanugm That may be true, but the single most important criterion for awarding a PhD is whether the student was able to obtain (publishable) original results. The importance of these results will be the largest factor in determining the grade of the PhD. Writing an excellent review of the literature is usually not enough for a PhD, although it is a popular format for Master's theses.
      – Earthliŋ
      yesterday






    • 3




      Also note that there are doctoral degrees that do not require original research, or at least not anything close to the levels of originality and substantiality required for a PhD. Examples include the DA (Doctor of Arts) degree, as well as many professional degrees such as MD, JD, PharmD, and DDS. A PhD is a research doctorate.
      – Robert Columbia
      yesterday










    2




    2




    * But in that case, you still get new and novel results*... but it is very rare that a PhD student with a normal supervisor can get such results.
    – hanugm
    yesterday




    * But in that case, you still get new and novel results*... but it is very rare that a PhD student with a normal supervisor can get such results.
    – hanugm
    yesterday




    20




    20




    @hanugm certainly not, most PhD students get such results. How else did your predecessors at your institution get awarded PhDs? They discovered enough new things to publish two SCI-indexed papers. See also corey979's comment.
    – Allure
    yesterday




    @hanugm certainly not, most PhD students get such results. How else did your predecessors at your institution get awarded PhDs? They discovered enough new things to publish two SCI-indexed papers. See also corey979's comment.
    – Allure
    yesterday




    43




    43




    @hanugm at my institution every single PhD student has new and novel results. The importance of the results vary, with some having papers at Nature/Science and others publishing at very insignificant local journals, but they always have results. That's what you do in your PhD. You do stuff no one did before. Whether someone cares about it is another thing, but it's still new.
    – Gimelist
    yesterday




    @hanugm at my institution every single PhD student has new and novel results. The importance of the results vary, with some having papers at Nature/Science and others publishing at very insignificant local journals, but they always have results. That's what you do in your PhD. You do stuff no one did before. Whether someone cares about it is another thing, but it's still new.
    – Gimelist
    yesterday




    13




    13




    @hanugm That may be true, but the single most important criterion for awarding a PhD is whether the student was able to obtain (publishable) original results. The importance of these results will be the largest factor in determining the grade of the PhD. Writing an excellent review of the literature is usually not enough for a PhD, although it is a popular format for Master's theses.
    – Earthliŋ
    yesterday




    @hanugm That may be true, but the single most important criterion for awarding a PhD is whether the student was able to obtain (publishable) original results. The importance of these results will be the largest factor in determining the grade of the PhD. Writing an excellent review of the literature is usually not enough for a PhD, although it is a popular format for Master's theses.
    – Earthliŋ
    yesterday




    3




    3




    Also note that there are doctoral degrees that do not require original research, or at least not anything close to the levels of originality and substantiality required for a PhD. Examples include the DA (Doctor of Arts) degree, as well as many professional degrees such as MD, JD, PharmD, and DDS. A PhD is a research doctorate.
    – Robert Columbia
    yesterday






    Also note that there are doctoral degrees that do not require original research, or at least not anything close to the levels of originality and substantiality required for a PhD. Examples include the DA (Doctor of Arts) degree, as well as many professional degrees such as MD, JD, PharmD, and DDS. A PhD is a research doctorate.
    – Robert Columbia
    yesterday












    up vote
    27
    down vote













    This answer will be a bit different and not limited to the sciences as the other current answers seem to be. It will also apply to many similar degrees not designated PhD. I'll use the term "doctorate" as an abbreviation for "research doctorate" to distinguish it from other degrees such as those that are clinically focused, for example.



    Study for a doctorate (PhD and similar degrees) in a field is intended to teach you how to carry out scholarship in that field, whatever it is. Scholarship is always intended to be the extension of knowledge. A successful scholar extends what is known in the field of interest. In literature, for example, you can study Dr. Faustus by Goethe and give a perspective never considered before. This, as are many (most?) studies very narrow. But it can also be very deep. If someone says that your thoughts aren't actually novel, but a simple extension of things written a few (or a lot of) years ago, then those thoughts don't really extend knowledge. So, if all you can accomplish are derivative works, without novelty, then you haven't reached the point of being able to extend knowledge in your field.



    The actual accomplishment need not be earth shattering in its implications. Most are not - even in mathematics and the sciences. But you have to be able to say something that is interesting to other scholars, preferably something that will permit them to extend their own work in new ways not yet considered.



    There are a lot of ways to demonstrate that you are, indeed, able to extend knowledge in your field. A requirement of publication in a good journal is just one way and it is easy for the faculty to judge, since the reviewers and editors of the journal help them in their judgement task. Not so many years ago, in mathematics, there was no requirement to publish before obtaining the doctorate and your "proof of ability" was measured only in your dissertation as evaluated by the local faculty, perhaps with some supplementing.



    Research in any field is directed at extending the "known world". You need to demonstrate the ability to do that to earn a doctorate and to be known as a "doctor" of the field. Only "novelty" will do.






    share|improve this answer



















    • 2




      The notion of scholarship is really enlightening. Thank you!
      – ebosi
      yesterday















    up vote
    27
    down vote













    This answer will be a bit different and not limited to the sciences as the other current answers seem to be. It will also apply to many similar degrees not designated PhD. I'll use the term "doctorate" as an abbreviation for "research doctorate" to distinguish it from other degrees such as those that are clinically focused, for example.



    Study for a doctorate (PhD and similar degrees) in a field is intended to teach you how to carry out scholarship in that field, whatever it is. Scholarship is always intended to be the extension of knowledge. A successful scholar extends what is known in the field of interest. In literature, for example, you can study Dr. Faustus by Goethe and give a perspective never considered before. This, as are many (most?) studies very narrow. But it can also be very deep. If someone says that your thoughts aren't actually novel, but a simple extension of things written a few (or a lot of) years ago, then those thoughts don't really extend knowledge. So, if all you can accomplish are derivative works, without novelty, then you haven't reached the point of being able to extend knowledge in your field.



    The actual accomplishment need not be earth shattering in its implications. Most are not - even in mathematics and the sciences. But you have to be able to say something that is interesting to other scholars, preferably something that will permit them to extend their own work in new ways not yet considered.



    There are a lot of ways to demonstrate that you are, indeed, able to extend knowledge in your field. A requirement of publication in a good journal is just one way and it is easy for the faculty to judge, since the reviewers and editors of the journal help them in their judgement task. Not so many years ago, in mathematics, there was no requirement to publish before obtaining the doctorate and your "proof of ability" was measured only in your dissertation as evaluated by the local faculty, perhaps with some supplementing.



    Research in any field is directed at extending the "known world". You need to demonstrate the ability to do that to earn a doctorate and to be known as a "doctor" of the field. Only "novelty" will do.






    share|improve this answer



















    • 2




      The notion of scholarship is really enlightening. Thank you!
      – ebosi
      yesterday













    up vote
    27
    down vote










    up vote
    27
    down vote









    This answer will be a bit different and not limited to the sciences as the other current answers seem to be. It will also apply to many similar degrees not designated PhD. I'll use the term "doctorate" as an abbreviation for "research doctorate" to distinguish it from other degrees such as those that are clinically focused, for example.



    Study for a doctorate (PhD and similar degrees) in a field is intended to teach you how to carry out scholarship in that field, whatever it is. Scholarship is always intended to be the extension of knowledge. A successful scholar extends what is known in the field of interest. In literature, for example, you can study Dr. Faustus by Goethe and give a perspective never considered before. This, as are many (most?) studies very narrow. But it can also be very deep. If someone says that your thoughts aren't actually novel, but a simple extension of things written a few (or a lot of) years ago, then those thoughts don't really extend knowledge. So, if all you can accomplish are derivative works, without novelty, then you haven't reached the point of being able to extend knowledge in your field.



    The actual accomplishment need not be earth shattering in its implications. Most are not - even in mathematics and the sciences. But you have to be able to say something that is interesting to other scholars, preferably something that will permit them to extend their own work in new ways not yet considered.



    There are a lot of ways to demonstrate that you are, indeed, able to extend knowledge in your field. A requirement of publication in a good journal is just one way and it is easy for the faculty to judge, since the reviewers and editors of the journal help them in their judgement task. Not so many years ago, in mathematics, there was no requirement to publish before obtaining the doctorate and your "proof of ability" was measured only in your dissertation as evaluated by the local faculty, perhaps with some supplementing.



    Research in any field is directed at extending the "known world". You need to demonstrate the ability to do that to earn a doctorate and to be known as a "doctor" of the field. Only "novelty" will do.






    share|improve this answer














    This answer will be a bit different and not limited to the sciences as the other current answers seem to be. It will also apply to many similar degrees not designated PhD. I'll use the term "doctorate" as an abbreviation for "research doctorate" to distinguish it from other degrees such as those that are clinically focused, for example.



    Study for a doctorate (PhD and similar degrees) in a field is intended to teach you how to carry out scholarship in that field, whatever it is. Scholarship is always intended to be the extension of knowledge. A successful scholar extends what is known in the field of interest. In literature, for example, you can study Dr. Faustus by Goethe and give a perspective never considered before. This, as are many (most?) studies very narrow. But it can also be very deep. If someone says that your thoughts aren't actually novel, but a simple extension of things written a few (or a lot of) years ago, then those thoughts don't really extend knowledge. So, if all you can accomplish are derivative works, without novelty, then you haven't reached the point of being able to extend knowledge in your field.



    The actual accomplishment need not be earth shattering in its implications. Most are not - even in mathematics and the sciences. But you have to be able to say something that is interesting to other scholars, preferably something that will permit them to extend their own work in new ways not yet considered.



    There are a lot of ways to demonstrate that you are, indeed, able to extend knowledge in your field. A requirement of publication in a good journal is just one way and it is easy for the faculty to judge, since the reviewers and editors of the journal help them in their judgement task. Not so many years ago, in mathematics, there was no requirement to publish before obtaining the doctorate and your "proof of ability" was measured only in your dissertation as evaluated by the local faculty, perhaps with some supplementing.



    Research in any field is directed at extending the "known world". You need to demonstrate the ability to do that to earn a doctorate and to be known as a "doctor" of the field. Only "novelty" will do.







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited yesterday

























    answered yesterday









    Buffy

    31.6k6100165




    31.6k6100165








    • 2




      The notion of scholarship is really enlightening. Thank you!
      – ebosi
      yesterday














    • 2




      The notion of scholarship is really enlightening. Thank you!
      – ebosi
      yesterday








    2




    2




    The notion of scholarship is really enlightening. Thank you!
    – ebosi
    yesterday




    The notion of scholarship is really enlightening. Thank you!
    – ebosi
    yesterday










    up vote
    10
    down vote













    Axiom



    My answer derive from following definition of the PhD and its thesis.




    The purpose of a PhD is to train a research student as an autonomous scientist
    and a good researcher — i.e., as someone deserving the grade of Doctor.



    The objective of a PhD thesis is hence to demonstrate to one’s peers that its author can be considered in this way by reporting the successful* completion of a high-quality piece of research.




    Depending on one's field, the monograph-style thesis can be replaced by a set of published peer-reviewed paper. The objective remains the same.



    Question



    The question is then "What is an autonomous scientist and a good researcher?"




    Being a good researcher means first to do science well, second to do good
    science
    , and third to do a lot of science.



    Doing science well means following its ethical rules, being thorough, honestly and appropriately reporting one’s results, crediting one’s peers for their work and acknowledging one’s work limitations, using the adequate tools and methods to solve a problem, and doing research that is reproducible.



    Doing good science means addressing a relevant scientific gap, an issue that is influential, a research problem that matters for science, the society, and the industry.



    Doing a lot of science means to tackle a large-scale problem, to address subsequent research gaps, to contribute to multiple issues of a coherent sub-field.



    One must, however, note that these criteria are conditional to one another. Doing a lot of science serves no purpose if one does not do good science. And more importantly, doing good science serves no purpose if one does not do science well.




    To this, I would add that (it is my opinion, and one may disagree) the job of a researcher is to do science.

    And doing science means reporting new knowledge that is as truthful as possible.

    This is achievable using the scientific method that is commonly acknowledged as the best method for creating/unveiling (depending on your ontological positioning) reliable new knowledge.



    Answer



    So, to pragmatically answer your question:





    • the purpose a a PhD is to train you as a scientist,


    • producing new (and highly reliable) knowledge is quintessentially the role of a scientist.


    Hence, you cannot be recognized by your peers as a scientist (i.e., being awarded the _Doctor_ title) if you don't prove that you can produce new reliable knowledge by yourself.



    The confusion might come from the fact that — as it has been highlighted in comments — scientists do literature review, and literature review are useful and valuable. However, they are not the core of what is a scientist.



    Post-scriptum



    It it worth highlighting again the last quoted paragraph:




    These criteria are conditional to one another. Doing a lot of science serves no purpose if one does not do good science. And more importantly, doing good science serves no purpose if one does not do science well.




    Thus, I think that, when doing a PhD, one should mainly focus of the quality of one's contribution, rather than breadth or scale.



    In other words: what matters is not that much what you have proven, but how you have proven it.



    Of course I had the dream of a breakthrough thesis.

    Yet I think that, during a PhD, it is more important to produce only a few robust, well designed experiment and well reported results on a minor "research gap"; rather than aiming to tackle a large scale issue without being able to produce robust results or reliable conclusions.



    It's only once you'll have proven that you are a good researcher and autonomous scientist, that you'll be able to secure a job as a scientist/researcher.



    And then you'll have time (and money, and support, and experience, …) to shoot for the stars.

    Yet this is not the objective of a PhD. Everything in its own time.





    Citations are excerpt of… the preface of my PhD thesis.



    * Note that "successful" is to be understood as "We have completed each step of the scientific method". I.e., it does not consider whether results are positive or negative.






    share|improve this answer



















    • 1




      This answer has some excellent points — e.g. the core answer that a PhD thesis must demonstrate the candidate’s capability as a scientist, and that’s why it needs novelty — mixed in with some very tendentious and field-dependent claims, like the idea ‘“successful” is to be understood as “We have been able to demonstrate with certainty that” rather than “there is a correlation/impact/link between A and B”.’ — there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research. It would benefit from focusing more on the uncontroversial key points.
      – PLL
      yesterday












    • @PLL Thanks for your feedback. I've now rephrased the footnote. I'm still welcoming any advice or suggestion!
      – ebosi
      yesterday










    • @PLL PS: Out of curiosity/interest, could you please elaborate on your point ("there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research.") — e.g., with some examples?
      – ebosi
      yesterday










    • Also interestingly enough is doesn't provide insight to the behind the scenes workings of the publication and review process which are machines which need much maintenance akin to the legal systems in some sense of the terms.
      – Jay
      yesterday















    up vote
    10
    down vote













    Axiom



    My answer derive from following definition of the PhD and its thesis.




    The purpose of a PhD is to train a research student as an autonomous scientist
    and a good researcher — i.e., as someone deserving the grade of Doctor.



    The objective of a PhD thesis is hence to demonstrate to one’s peers that its author can be considered in this way by reporting the successful* completion of a high-quality piece of research.




    Depending on one's field, the monograph-style thesis can be replaced by a set of published peer-reviewed paper. The objective remains the same.



    Question



    The question is then "What is an autonomous scientist and a good researcher?"




    Being a good researcher means first to do science well, second to do good
    science
    , and third to do a lot of science.



    Doing science well means following its ethical rules, being thorough, honestly and appropriately reporting one’s results, crediting one’s peers for their work and acknowledging one’s work limitations, using the adequate tools and methods to solve a problem, and doing research that is reproducible.



    Doing good science means addressing a relevant scientific gap, an issue that is influential, a research problem that matters for science, the society, and the industry.



    Doing a lot of science means to tackle a large-scale problem, to address subsequent research gaps, to contribute to multiple issues of a coherent sub-field.



    One must, however, note that these criteria are conditional to one another. Doing a lot of science serves no purpose if one does not do good science. And more importantly, doing good science serves no purpose if one does not do science well.




    To this, I would add that (it is my opinion, and one may disagree) the job of a researcher is to do science.

    And doing science means reporting new knowledge that is as truthful as possible.

    This is achievable using the scientific method that is commonly acknowledged as the best method for creating/unveiling (depending on your ontological positioning) reliable new knowledge.



    Answer



    So, to pragmatically answer your question:





    • the purpose a a PhD is to train you as a scientist,


    • producing new (and highly reliable) knowledge is quintessentially the role of a scientist.


    Hence, you cannot be recognized by your peers as a scientist (i.e., being awarded the _Doctor_ title) if you don't prove that you can produce new reliable knowledge by yourself.



    The confusion might come from the fact that — as it has been highlighted in comments — scientists do literature review, and literature review are useful and valuable. However, they are not the core of what is a scientist.



    Post-scriptum



    It it worth highlighting again the last quoted paragraph:




    These criteria are conditional to one another. Doing a lot of science serves no purpose if one does not do good science. And more importantly, doing good science serves no purpose if one does not do science well.




    Thus, I think that, when doing a PhD, one should mainly focus of the quality of one's contribution, rather than breadth or scale.



    In other words: what matters is not that much what you have proven, but how you have proven it.



    Of course I had the dream of a breakthrough thesis.

    Yet I think that, during a PhD, it is more important to produce only a few robust, well designed experiment and well reported results on a minor "research gap"; rather than aiming to tackle a large scale issue without being able to produce robust results or reliable conclusions.



    It's only once you'll have proven that you are a good researcher and autonomous scientist, that you'll be able to secure a job as a scientist/researcher.



    And then you'll have time (and money, and support, and experience, …) to shoot for the stars.

    Yet this is not the objective of a PhD. Everything in its own time.





    Citations are excerpt of… the preface of my PhD thesis.



    * Note that "successful" is to be understood as "We have completed each step of the scientific method". I.e., it does not consider whether results are positive or negative.






    share|improve this answer



















    • 1




      This answer has some excellent points — e.g. the core answer that a PhD thesis must demonstrate the candidate’s capability as a scientist, and that’s why it needs novelty — mixed in with some very tendentious and field-dependent claims, like the idea ‘“successful” is to be understood as “We have been able to demonstrate with certainty that” rather than “there is a correlation/impact/link between A and B”.’ — there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research. It would benefit from focusing more on the uncontroversial key points.
      – PLL
      yesterday












    • @PLL Thanks for your feedback. I've now rephrased the footnote. I'm still welcoming any advice or suggestion!
      – ebosi
      yesterday










    • @PLL PS: Out of curiosity/interest, could you please elaborate on your point ("there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research.") — e.g., with some examples?
      – ebosi
      yesterday










    • Also interestingly enough is doesn't provide insight to the behind the scenes workings of the publication and review process which are machines which need much maintenance akin to the legal systems in some sense of the terms.
      – Jay
      yesterday













    up vote
    10
    down vote










    up vote
    10
    down vote









    Axiom



    My answer derive from following definition of the PhD and its thesis.




    The purpose of a PhD is to train a research student as an autonomous scientist
    and a good researcher — i.e., as someone deserving the grade of Doctor.



    The objective of a PhD thesis is hence to demonstrate to one’s peers that its author can be considered in this way by reporting the successful* completion of a high-quality piece of research.




    Depending on one's field, the monograph-style thesis can be replaced by a set of published peer-reviewed paper. The objective remains the same.



    Question



    The question is then "What is an autonomous scientist and a good researcher?"




    Being a good researcher means first to do science well, second to do good
    science
    , and third to do a lot of science.



    Doing science well means following its ethical rules, being thorough, honestly and appropriately reporting one’s results, crediting one’s peers for their work and acknowledging one’s work limitations, using the adequate tools and methods to solve a problem, and doing research that is reproducible.



    Doing good science means addressing a relevant scientific gap, an issue that is influential, a research problem that matters for science, the society, and the industry.



    Doing a lot of science means to tackle a large-scale problem, to address subsequent research gaps, to contribute to multiple issues of a coherent sub-field.



    One must, however, note that these criteria are conditional to one another. Doing a lot of science serves no purpose if one does not do good science. And more importantly, doing good science serves no purpose if one does not do science well.




    To this, I would add that (it is my opinion, and one may disagree) the job of a researcher is to do science.

    And doing science means reporting new knowledge that is as truthful as possible.

    This is achievable using the scientific method that is commonly acknowledged as the best method for creating/unveiling (depending on your ontological positioning) reliable new knowledge.



    Answer



    So, to pragmatically answer your question:





    • the purpose a a PhD is to train you as a scientist,


    • producing new (and highly reliable) knowledge is quintessentially the role of a scientist.


    Hence, you cannot be recognized by your peers as a scientist (i.e., being awarded the _Doctor_ title) if you don't prove that you can produce new reliable knowledge by yourself.



    The confusion might come from the fact that — as it has been highlighted in comments — scientists do literature review, and literature review are useful and valuable. However, they are not the core of what is a scientist.



    Post-scriptum



    It it worth highlighting again the last quoted paragraph:




    These criteria are conditional to one another. Doing a lot of science serves no purpose if one does not do good science. And more importantly, doing good science serves no purpose if one does not do science well.




    Thus, I think that, when doing a PhD, one should mainly focus of the quality of one's contribution, rather than breadth or scale.



    In other words: what matters is not that much what you have proven, but how you have proven it.



    Of course I had the dream of a breakthrough thesis.

    Yet I think that, during a PhD, it is more important to produce only a few robust, well designed experiment and well reported results on a minor "research gap"; rather than aiming to tackle a large scale issue without being able to produce robust results or reliable conclusions.



    It's only once you'll have proven that you are a good researcher and autonomous scientist, that you'll be able to secure a job as a scientist/researcher.



    And then you'll have time (and money, and support, and experience, …) to shoot for the stars.

    Yet this is not the objective of a PhD. Everything in its own time.





    Citations are excerpt of… the preface of my PhD thesis.



    * Note that "successful" is to be understood as "We have completed each step of the scientific method". I.e., it does not consider whether results are positive or negative.






    share|improve this answer














    Axiom



    My answer derive from following definition of the PhD and its thesis.




    The purpose of a PhD is to train a research student as an autonomous scientist
    and a good researcher — i.e., as someone deserving the grade of Doctor.



    The objective of a PhD thesis is hence to demonstrate to one’s peers that its author can be considered in this way by reporting the successful* completion of a high-quality piece of research.




    Depending on one's field, the monograph-style thesis can be replaced by a set of published peer-reviewed paper. The objective remains the same.



    Question



    The question is then "What is an autonomous scientist and a good researcher?"




    Being a good researcher means first to do science well, second to do good
    science
    , and third to do a lot of science.



    Doing science well means following its ethical rules, being thorough, honestly and appropriately reporting one’s results, crediting one’s peers for their work and acknowledging one’s work limitations, using the adequate tools and methods to solve a problem, and doing research that is reproducible.



    Doing good science means addressing a relevant scientific gap, an issue that is influential, a research problem that matters for science, the society, and the industry.



    Doing a lot of science means to tackle a large-scale problem, to address subsequent research gaps, to contribute to multiple issues of a coherent sub-field.



    One must, however, note that these criteria are conditional to one another. Doing a lot of science serves no purpose if one does not do good science. And more importantly, doing good science serves no purpose if one does not do science well.




    To this, I would add that (it is my opinion, and one may disagree) the job of a researcher is to do science.

    And doing science means reporting new knowledge that is as truthful as possible.

    This is achievable using the scientific method that is commonly acknowledged as the best method for creating/unveiling (depending on your ontological positioning) reliable new knowledge.



    Answer



    So, to pragmatically answer your question:





    • the purpose a a PhD is to train you as a scientist,


    • producing new (and highly reliable) knowledge is quintessentially the role of a scientist.


    Hence, you cannot be recognized by your peers as a scientist (i.e., being awarded the _Doctor_ title) if you don't prove that you can produce new reliable knowledge by yourself.



    The confusion might come from the fact that — as it has been highlighted in comments — scientists do literature review, and literature review are useful and valuable. However, they are not the core of what is a scientist.



    Post-scriptum



    It it worth highlighting again the last quoted paragraph:




    These criteria are conditional to one another. Doing a lot of science serves no purpose if one does not do good science. And more importantly, doing good science serves no purpose if one does not do science well.




    Thus, I think that, when doing a PhD, one should mainly focus of the quality of one's contribution, rather than breadth or scale.



    In other words: what matters is not that much what you have proven, but how you have proven it.



    Of course I had the dream of a breakthrough thesis.

    Yet I think that, during a PhD, it is more important to produce only a few robust, well designed experiment and well reported results on a minor "research gap"; rather than aiming to tackle a large scale issue without being able to produce robust results or reliable conclusions.



    It's only once you'll have proven that you are a good researcher and autonomous scientist, that you'll be able to secure a job as a scientist/researcher.



    And then you'll have time (and money, and support, and experience, …) to shoot for the stars.

    Yet this is not the objective of a PhD. Everything in its own time.





    Citations are excerpt of… the preface of my PhD thesis.



    * Note that "successful" is to be understood as "We have completed each step of the scientific method". I.e., it does not consider whether results are positive or negative.







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited yesterday

























    answered yesterday









    ebosi

    1,5151827




    1,5151827








    • 1




      This answer has some excellent points — e.g. the core answer that a PhD thesis must demonstrate the candidate’s capability as a scientist, and that’s why it needs novelty — mixed in with some very tendentious and field-dependent claims, like the idea ‘“successful” is to be understood as “We have been able to demonstrate with certainty that” rather than “there is a correlation/impact/link between A and B”.’ — there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research. It would benefit from focusing more on the uncontroversial key points.
      – PLL
      yesterday












    • @PLL Thanks for your feedback. I've now rephrased the footnote. I'm still welcoming any advice or suggestion!
      – ebosi
      yesterday










    • @PLL PS: Out of curiosity/interest, could you please elaborate on your point ("there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research.") — e.g., with some examples?
      – ebosi
      yesterday










    • Also interestingly enough is doesn't provide insight to the behind the scenes workings of the publication and review process which are machines which need much maintenance akin to the legal systems in some sense of the terms.
      – Jay
      yesterday














    • 1




      This answer has some excellent points — e.g. the core answer that a PhD thesis must demonstrate the candidate’s capability as a scientist, and that’s why it needs novelty — mixed in with some very tendentious and field-dependent claims, like the idea ‘“successful” is to be understood as “We have been able to demonstrate with certainty that” rather than “there is a correlation/impact/link between A and B”.’ — there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research. It would benefit from focusing more on the uncontroversial key points.
      – PLL
      yesterday












    • @PLL Thanks for your feedback. I've now rephrased the footnote. I'm still welcoming any advice or suggestion!
      – ebosi
      yesterday










    • @PLL PS: Out of curiosity/interest, could you please elaborate on your point ("there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research.") — e.g., with some examples?
      – ebosi
      yesterday










    • Also interestingly enough is doesn't provide insight to the behind the scenes workings of the publication and review process which are machines which need much maintenance akin to the legal systems in some sense of the terms.
      – Jay
      yesterday








    1




    1




    This answer has some excellent points — e.g. the core answer that a PhD thesis must demonstrate the candidate’s capability as a scientist, and that’s why it needs novelty — mixed in with some very tendentious and field-dependent claims, like the idea ‘“successful” is to be understood as “We have been able to demonstrate with certainty that” rather than “there is a correlation/impact/link between A and B”.’ — there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research. It would benefit from focusing more on the uncontroversial key points.
    – PLL
    yesterday






    This answer has some excellent points — e.g. the core answer that a PhD thesis must demonstrate the candidate’s capability as a scientist, and that’s why it needs novelty — mixed in with some very tendentious and field-dependent claims, like the idea ‘“successful” is to be understood as “We have been able to demonstrate with certainty that” rather than “there is a correlation/impact/link between A and B”.’ — there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research. It would benefit from focusing more on the uncontroversial key points.
    – PLL
    yesterday














    @PLL Thanks for your feedback. I've now rephrased the footnote. I'm still welcoming any advice or suggestion!
    – ebosi
    yesterday




    @PLL Thanks for your feedback. I've now rephrased the footnote. I'm still welcoming any advice or suggestion!
    – ebosi
    yesterday












    @PLL PS: Out of curiosity/interest, could you please elaborate on your point ("there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research.") — e.g., with some examples?
    – ebosi
    yesterday




    @PLL PS: Out of curiosity/interest, could you please elaborate on your point ("there are whole fields of science where this is a complete category error as to the nature of research.") — e.g., with some examples?
    – ebosi
    yesterday












    Also interestingly enough is doesn't provide insight to the behind the scenes workings of the publication and review process which are machines which need much maintenance akin to the legal systems in some sense of the terms.
    – Jay
    yesterday




    Also interestingly enough is doesn't provide insight to the behind the scenes workings of the publication and review process which are machines which need much maintenance akin to the legal systems in some sense of the terms.
    – Jay
    yesterday










    up vote
    9
    down vote













    A PhD thesis demonstrates the candidate's ability to perform research. Research, by definition, adds something novel to the body of knowledge.




    Research: The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources
    in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions
    (Oxford English Dictionary)







    share|improve this answer



























      up vote
      9
      down vote













      A PhD thesis demonstrates the candidate's ability to perform research. Research, by definition, adds something novel to the body of knowledge.




      Research: The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources
      in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions
      (Oxford English Dictionary)







      share|improve this answer

























        up vote
        9
        down vote










        up vote
        9
        down vote









        A PhD thesis demonstrates the candidate's ability to perform research. Research, by definition, adds something novel to the body of knowledge.




        Research: The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources
        in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions
        (Oxford English Dictionary)







        share|improve this answer














        A PhD thesis demonstrates the candidate's ability to perform research. Research, by definition, adds something novel to the body of knowledge.




        Research: The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources
        in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions
        (Oxford English Dictionary)








        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited yesterday

























        answered yesterday









        henning

        16.4k45886




        16.4k45886






























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