PhD problem? Maybe.

I am completing my 3rd class of my PhD program at NCU. I like NCU, but the professors seem more focused on APA citation standards than actually teaching about the subject or the nuances of research. I use the PERRLA software, it seems to work well.

Is this normal in a PhD program? Seems a little discouraging.

Thanks for your input in advance,
Michael

 

Based on what I've heard about PhD programs in general, if you're only a little discouraged then you're probably ahead of the game. Hang in there.

 

I don't think it's normal. I've attended traditional and non-traditional schools. While I've only attended a small number of colleges in comparison to the total number out there, my experience was that the non-traditional schools were overly obsessed with APA formatting and didn't care as much about content. My master's was completed online, but at a traditional university. None of my professors made any comments about citation and reference formatting (we used Chicago Style). My PhD program at Texas State University is traditional and uses APA. Only one of my professors nitpicked a couple of times on formatting, but she focused most of her attention on methodology and having credible sources to back up any claims. My other professors couldn't care less as long as it looked mostly right, and these are people who have published dozens of articles in academic journals.

 

That's a very interesting observation.

I am now enrolled in a non-PhD program that allows all variations of non-standardized paper-formatting to occur. It's across the board. This is challenging and difficult to accept, after having mastered APA formatting. Concept is important, but formatting should also important (APA or Chicago Turabian or whatever).

If you're being nitpicked on APA formatting - but if your grades are nonetheless good - then take it for whatever it is worth and move on to the next hurdle. It's a good sign for you.

 

You gotta join the club. Also, seems like pretty thin reasoning for having concerns about one's doctoral program.

I used PERRLA for both my doctorates. Effective and inexpensive.

 

If all they cared about was formatting, and nothing else, I would say that is a reason for some concern.

For the most part though, nobody really cares what you write about. Not your professors, not even your dissertation chair. They just want you to be done. If good formatting gets you there, so be it.

 

I don't necessarily agree that this is true to the extreme implied by this post, but it has truth threaded throughout. Your research is about you, to you, and for you. It will define you forever. Also, whatever gets you through the process is what you should do.

To the point about doctoral research defining you, I'll make a confession. I'm really struggling with who and what I am professionally. Oh, I have the traditional trappings--what the organization for whom I work says I am. Boring! What am I? I've often said on this board to those who contemplate doing a doctorate that one should carefully consider what one will research, that it will define you forever. Well, come into my world. I have a PhD specializing in what this board does--nontraditional higher education. I specifically researched accreditation and its impact on the utility of degrees as reported by HR professionals. I also have another doctorate in human resource development, a field in which I've worked since 1978. (I developed a grounded theory on the Chief Learning Officer.) So what am I? I have no idea. I know what I do....and what I can do. And I've been able to define myself for decades. But no more.

What am I? Where should I go? What should I do? I am truly lost while others pay me handsomely to be what I've been.

 

That's pretty much what I said, wasn't it? :biggrin:

You make it sound nicer though.

 

Just adding a voice to the chorus....

 

What am I? Where should I go? What should I do? I am truly lost while others pay me handsomely to be what I've been.

Rich, are you ok? Catharsis?

 

Nope. Just fine. It is the finest, most interesting dilemma I've ever encountered. But it is very, very real.

 

The obsession with grammar is not unique to NCU. I encountered this at Liberty while completing an MA, also using APA. The standard does not seem to be good grammar anymore, but perfect grammar. It is no wonder students are forced to purchase/enroll with grammar services.

An additional problem I believe is even more cheating. Like the tit-for-tat that occurs in the development of military hardware [and other things technological], the effort to catch plagiarism and improve grammar has created a "space race" for students that only "ramps up" the pressure for good grades. How does anyone compete with computer software?

 

If this is true of your doctoral program, then you need to run. The dissertation committee should at least care about how your research was conducted and how you wrote it up (and I'm not talking about APA formatting). People fail their dissertation defenses or have their chairs reject their dissertations before the defense all the time, and I doubt it's because they didn't use proper APA, MLA, Chicago, etc. formatting. No one afterward will care about your dissertation, but you can at least turn it into publishable articles. If the OP doesn't have much experience with research methods, then I think it's reasonable to expect the program to have good courses on that. It is also reasonable to expect a U.S. program to cover theory.

Citation formatting is not grammar. Those are two separate issues. I have a professor who will nitpick over grammar, but not APA formatting. Bad grammar and spelling can mean that your papers won't be published. You also don't want to look like a fool in front of your students.

 

I will say that plagiarism software can be a headache. One of the problems I had (and perhaps the tech has developed beyond this) is that it was identifying all of my references as appearing in other publications and driving my score up.

That may not sound like a big deal. But if you used a large number of resources for a paper it was driving up your score into unacceptable ranges even though everything was properly cited.

 

turnitin

I think this is a consistent practice across universities. Professors don't have time to read contents, at best they can only 'glance' after looking at the turnitin matching percentage. Even in 80% of my masters courses, the objection/feedback I receive were mainly clerical in nature, like contents matched 4% so i did an excellent job, they match above 8%, so marks are deducted etc.
Nothing against the turnitin, but it is really turning professors into clerks now. I think these tools shall be used as helping aids, but can't be entirely relied on.