I am teaching a PhD seminar on consumer and managerial decision making. I have a schedule conflict with an upcoming class. So, I asked the students to come up with a useful way to spend that time (until I can get the class rescheduled). Their first suggestion was to engage in formal hypothesis derivation of an original research idea.
My response:
Your idea is acceptable, but not exciting. But before I say yes, I would like you to brainstorm 20 more ideas for those three hours, and I want you to think much more creatively, bigger, and more fun.
Their response exceeded my expectations. Here is the list:
- Attend a section of this DU Graduate Marketing CB class
- Attend the upcoming AMA Colorado industry mixer event
- Read all of the 55 Tools for Writing book
- Go to a Colorado Rapids MLS (soccer) game and explain some phenomenon using pre-existing research in JDM.
- Attend the psychology department’s Colorado Climate Retreat
- Set up a Skype Q&A with a JDM professor from another school.
- Drive to ACR San Diego and attend a bunch of talks
- Attend Innisfree’s open poetry night on 9/12 or 9/19 and present an original poem in order to get more experience presenting
- Meet with a brand manager here in Boulder to discuss current challenges in marketing
- Organize a research hike where a bunch of students and faculty in the business school hike somewhere and talk about research along the way. Maybe there is a specific presenter on top of the hike.
- Go out for drinks or coffee with 2 marketing faculty members for networking.
- Attend a robotics and electronics meetup session in Longmont.
- Watch Daniel Kahneman’s talk on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjVQJdIrDJ0) and discuss a potential research idea
- Watch Dan Ariely’s talk on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS8R2TKrYi0) and discuss a potential research idea
- Read a few chapters of a book “The Honest Truth About Dishonesty” by Dan Ariely
- Read a few chapters of a book “Misbehaving: how economics became behavioural” by Richard Thaler
- Discuss with a marketing professor regarding current research projects
- Discuss with a psychology professor regarding his current research projects
- Watch the movie “Big Short” and discuss
- Connect with marketing PhD students at other universities and have a Skype meeting with them about research
- Talk with senior marketing students and get some advice about PhD life and job market.
- Read several papers and come up with an original research idea and hypothesis derivation.
What do you think? Which should they do?
Fellow academics, maybe you should hire them in 4 years or so.