Writing the PhD Dissertation, a 1-day workshop

Welcome to Writing the PhD Dissertation: A 1-day workshop in Copenhagen

Description:

Form and content are linked in academic writing. Thus, structure, coherence, and flow are important elements that support the quality of a PhD dissertation. The ’academic craft’ involves systematic reflection and choices about focus, research questions, unit of analysis, theory and concepts, philosophy of science approach, design, methods, ethics, and analysis. However, the academic craft is also demonstrated through how those choices are presented and argued for in writing and through one’s capacity to develop a text in which these choices and their consequences are clearly presented and reflected upon. This work starts in the beginning of the PhD process and lasts until the defense. This workshop is designed to be useful to PhD students at any stage of the process.

The Purpose of the workshop is to focus on the academic craft that is needed to write and edit the constitutive parts of a dissertation so that these parts join to a structured and coherent academic text of high quality where the boundary conditions and contributions of the dissertation are clearly presented and discussed. Through a mixture of lectures, exercises, and shared discussions we will expand participants’ ’toolbox’ around making the necessary decisions about  their writing. 

Description of paper requirements:

Participants must submit a brief text outlining their Ph.D. project (title, purpose, RQ and design/methods) + focused reflection on how they work with one of the three themes: structure, quality or contribution

Organizer: Ninna Meier

Lecturers: Ninna Meier & Nanna Møller Mortensen

ECTS: 1

Date: 5 October 2026, 9:30-15:30

Place: TBA

City: Copenhagen

Number of seats: 16 - PhD students enrolled at the Doctoral School of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Aalborg University are given first priority.

Suggested literature: 

1. Alvesson, M. and Sandberg, J. (2024), The Art of Phenomena Construction: A Framework for Coming Up with Research Phenomena beyond ‘the Usual Suspects’. Journal of Management Studies, early view version. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joms.12969
2. Locke, K., Feldman, M., & Golden-Biddle, K. (2022). Coding Practices and Iterativity: Beyond Tem-plates for Analyzing Qualitative Data. Organizational Research Methods, 25(2), 262-284.
3. Ragins, R. B. (2012). Editor's comments: Reflections on the craft of clear writing. Academy of Manage-ment Review, 37(4), 493-501.
4. Suddaby, R. (2010). Editor's comments: Construct clarity in theories of management and organization. Academy of Management Review, 35(3), 346-357.
5. Lange, D., & Pfarrer, M. D. (2017). EDITORS’ COMMENTS: SENSE AND STRUCTURE—THE CORE BUILDING BLOCKS OF AN “AMR” ARTICLE. The Academy of Management Review, 42(3), 407–416. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26395005

Deadline: 7 September 2026

Important information concerning PhD courses: 

There is a no-show fee of DKK 3,000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. 

We cannot ensure any seats before the deadline for enrolment; all participants will be informed after the deadline, approximately 3 weeks before the start of the course.

You may find more information in our FAQ:  https://phd.moodle.aau.dk/local/page/faq

For inquiries regarding registration, cancellation or waiting list, please contact the PhD administration at phdcourses@adm.aau.dk. When contacting us please state the course title and course period. Thank you.