The effects of acknowledgements in doctoral theses on examiners

ABSTRACT

Emphasis is growing on the use and form of doctoral acknowledgements, which are often viewed as sites of gratitude. Research has not addressed whether examiners are influenced by doctoral acknowledgements. We explore whether examiners read or do not read the acknowledgements, the reasons for their choice in this regard and whether the acknowledgements have an impact on examiners’ overall judgement of the thesis. Data collected through an exploratory qualitative online survey indicated that the majority of examiners do read the acknowledgements for a number of reasons: to check on the extent to which the work is the candidate’s own, to check on the quality of the student or supervisors and to discern the human being behind the thesis. Those who do not read them believe that the acknowledgements are not relevant to the examination process, they are not part of science, they are a personal statement and they have nothing to do with the quality of the work. Even though the majority of the examiners believe that they are not influenced by the acknowledgements, there was bias in their responses. This insight has pedagogical implications that relate to how doctoral supervisors and doctoral candidates understand and structure acknowledgements to meet the requirements of the examiners.

KEYWORDS:

• Doctoral acknowledgements
• examiners
• perspectives
• influences
• gratitude

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Otago, New Zealand.

Notes on contributors

Vijay Kumar

Vijay Kumar is a senior lecturer and an academic staff developer with the Higher Education Development Centre, University of Otago New Zealand. His research interests are in doctoral education, doctoral examination, feedback practices and the use of humour in teaching and learning.

Lara J. Sanderson

Lara J. Sanderson recently graduated with a PhD in Education. Her current research projects include genealogical and disability studies research. Her research interests are broad including doctoral writing, Arts-based research, human rights, and disability studies.