Research Training
Perceptions of the Doctorate

Research training thrives on dialogue. Dialogue is particularly encouraged at the Oxford Academy for Advanced Studies which aims to be a bridge between Britain and the Islamic World, but welcomes people from any background.

Postgraduate students bring their own perceptions of the doctorate. What is it? How do you achieve success? Surely, success in the dissertation should be the goal of every candidate.

Curiously, success in exams may not always be the top goal. Several years ago I persuaded an Oxford University don to put on a demonstration of the tutorial for which Oxford and Cambridge are famous. The student read her essay. The don offered her comments and criticisms. This stimulated a remarkable dialogue between the two. Then one of the observers interrupted. "Does this tutorial prepare the student directly for her final written exams?" "Not directly," said the don. The observer objected. "Isn't the purpose of the tutorial to make the student achieve success in her exams?" "No," said the don. "The purpose of the tutorial is to encourage the student to think!"

The ultimate goal of research training is also to develop the power to think. But success is certainly a companion goal as well.

One of the pleasures of research training is building the potential for success. How well do the new candidates understand the special requirements for success? How well prepared are they to meet the people who will ultimately examine them? The research training instructor is an intermediary between the new candidates and their ultimate examiners.

Some candidates come from academic traditions that emphasize commentaries and exegesis, only to be shocked by the considerable emphasis in Britain on problem solving. Therefore, an important part of the research training at the Oxford Academy is devoted to refining the research problem to be solved. Next, students specify the methods to be used in the solution. They justify why they have chosen one method rather than another.

Students are introduced to the vast library resources of Oxford. They are asked to explore recent publications with special attention to outstanding issues and debates on their selected topic. They are encouraged to explore the theoretical context of their topic and to identify potential areas where they might make a contribution to knowledge.

Each candidate must design a research proposal. The effectiveness of the design is directly related to ultimate success.

Some research training is specifically related to the role of the Oxford Academy as a bridge between Britain and the Islamic World. All students are welcome whether or not they know the Arabic language.

The Oxford Academy runs two courses side by side for those of its students who are familiar with Arabic: English for Academic Purposes and Arabic for Academic Purposes. An attempt is made to identify subtle differences between academic English and academic Arabic. Students have often observed the rhetorical style of Arabic and the rather cold empirical style of academic English. They attempt to develop acceptable writing styles of their own which are appropriate to the language they are using.

Students also inspect successful dissertations in English and Arabic. What are the subtle differences? What can be written in Arabic, but not tolerated in English? How can candidates with a strong religious faith cope with an environment reflecting the tradition of methodological doubt?

The Oxford Academy provides training in particular skills such as the transliteration of Arabic into English letters. This is important not only for the construction of bibliographies, but also for searching references in British libraries where Arabic works are normally catalogued in a transliterated form.

We consider it vital for the instructors in research training to be involved in research themselves. We must experience what we teach. During the last academic year, for instance, I spent two and a half months near the Third Cataract of the Nile on an interdisciplinary project dealing with Nubian languages and history. Some of my students are now working towards doctorates in this area. Would anyone else like to join them?

Professor Herman Bell
Dean of Academic Affairs
Oxford Academy for Advanced Studies