Document Type
Closed Project
Publication Date
Winter 2002
Instructor
Dundar Kocaoglu
Course Title
Decision Making in Engineering and Technology Management
Course Number
EMGT 530/630
Subjects
Universities and colleges -- Graduate work -- Decision making, Portland State University -- Graduate students, Academic dissertations -- Authorship
Abstract
Six months ago I began the course work for my Ph.D. degree. Obtaining a doctorate has been a personal goal ever since practical considerations prevented me from pursuing a Ph.D. in astrophysics some 20 years ago. Instead, I became a programmer in the newly deregulated telecommunications industry. As I rose through the ranks over the years I became keenly interested in engineering communication and culture. The more I studied, the more I realized that communication among software engineers was under-researched. Since research opportunities were limited as a manager, I entered the Engineering and Technology Management Ph.D. program at Portland State University. I seek the Ph.D. degree because I believe it is the most practical way for me to study software development communication and culture. My personal goal is to complete the Ph.D. by 2006, and afterwards to devote myself to research, writing, and teaching.
This paper describes the process I followed to decide on a topic for my dissertation research. I considered two dissertation topics deriving from my past industry experience.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/23968
Citation Details
Capps, Brent, "Choosing a Ph.D. Topic" (2002). Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects. 1607.
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/23968
Comments
This project is only available to students, staff, and faculty of Portland State University