External PhD: Follow your drive

"A dissertation is a genre in which you write about research." This statement comes from one of the supervisors who, with their knowledge and experience, have contributed to our Handbook for External PhD Candidates—our field of expertise.

The beauty of this quote is that it opens the door to an exciting perspective: you can view your PhD research as writing your own book. This is certainly true for external PhD candidates, who can make relatively independent choices within academic traditions. But even as a “regular” PhD student, it's worthwhile to explore where you can add your own emphasis, even within a well-defined research program. Naturally, it helps if your supervisor is as curious about your ideas as you are about their field of research. As one supervisor mentioned: "Every external PhD candidate has something special. I learn a lot from, for example, fieldwork in Africa, but also from new authors who are introduced and new worlds that are explored. I had an external PhD candidate from the organizational consulting world who used the work of two philosophers I'd never heard of. Another external PhD candidate effectively operationalized my theory for research into conflicts in a new practice area for me."

Of course, that personal book must remain readable. "I want to be read. Yes, I want to be read!" are iconic lines from Dutch literature, penned by Multatuli. This readability isn't necessarily required for your peers within the academic world, because as long as the subject is sufficiently interesting, they'll struggle through all the findings with varying degrees of interest. But a no less important part of your research takes place in communication with the outside world. Your primary audience, the scientific community, is after all just one of the worlds you inhabit. In those other worlds—your professional practice and private life—you probably want, and perhaps even more so, to stay connected and not become that eccentric person in the attic. Talking with people who have no idea what you're talking about is good for your own mental health and can simultaneously advance your research. Their questions force you to find different words, different images. Their own ideas and experiences enrich your perspective. And before you know it, you've gained new insights.

Take this example, provided by one of the participants in our workshops. For years, the hoop skirt was an immensely popular garment. It easily caught fire, you could quickly get it stuck between the spokes of a bicycle or the gears of a machine. Not very pleasant, so that probably wasn't its charm. In fact, it’s fairly insane to wear such a hoop skirt at the risk of your own life. And yet, and yet, and yet: the hoop skirt was height of fashion for years on end, despite the dangers. How should you look at the phenomenon of the hoop skirt to understand this? What makes the allure of the hoop skirt comprehensible again? Questions that you can share with people around you, especially those without specialized knowledge. And before you know it, you're not the only one following your drive, but you've gathered a whole crowd of fans who may not all understand the dissertation but are very eager to read the commercial edition of your book.