RCDC Research Roots & Wings Roundtable 2: Spreading Wings through Alternative Dissertations

The purpose of this roundtable, co-sponsored by SSWR’s Research Capacity Development Committee and the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work (GADE), will be to discuss how the dissertation fits within the shifting landscape of social work research, and whether alternative dissertation formats might be an option for aligning social work doctoral education with twenty-first century social work research. The roundtable presenters will first discuss the strengths and limitations of the traditional dissertation in the current context. Many other fields have embraced alternative dissertation formats, and the alternative dissertation is the focus of much debate in national organizations, such as the Council on Graduate Schools. The roundtable presenters will discuss examples of the range of alternative dissertation formats, explore how these formats fit with the research capacity development needs of social work PhD students, and discuss implications of alternative dissertation formats for twenty-first century social work research. The roundtable will provide an opportunity for a lively discourse among attendees, and for doctoral students, doctoral educators and others to share their own perspectives on the future of the doctoral dissertation in social work education.