Examples: PhD Research
To help you understand what the design spine involves, here are examples of design spines produced by two PhD Sociology students, Janna Klostermann and Matthew Sanscartier. These designs were developed in the Doctoral Seminar during the second year of their program. Unlike the MA students who need to start their research work immediately upon completing their course work, our PhD students need to complete two comprehensives before they move onto their research. Consequently, this work on the design spine is positioned much earlier in the research timeline, and this gives students more flexibility in their use of the design spine process. For some, as in the example from Janna Klostermann, the exploration, integration and planning involved in the design spine can be used to conceptualize the entire PhD knowledge production process, including how the two comprehensives will inform and develop the focus, questions and research strategies of their proposed doctoral research. Using the design spine format can also be an opportunity to clarify more precisely the direction of research efforts by more closely identifying the theoretical positioning, conceptual resources and anticipated contributions of a doctoral thesis – as illustrated in the development of Matthew Sanscartier’s design spines. Thank you Janna and Matthew for your permission to post these early examples of your research design work.