The start-up seminar shall normally take place during the semester when the candidate is admitted.

Content

The candidate shall present a written research plan comprising the outline of the PhD project, to be sent out by e-­‐mail at the latest one week beforehand. The plan shall give a good picture of the research problem, prior research in the field, research questions and aims, theoretical and methodological considerations, an indication of empirical materials and a time plan.

Procedure

Two discussants shall be appointed, one senior researcher from the unit, or external, and one PhD Candidate. Seminars shall be chaired by the Director of PhD Studies or by one of the supervisors. First, the author makes a shorter presentation and then the discussants will present their comments, preferably starting with the PhD candidate.

Discussants shall focus on presented matters related to the early decisions that have to be taken by the author in relation to the understanding of the research problem, formulation of research questions and aims, choice of theories and methodological strategies. The discussants shall also reflect on the feasibility of the proposed research and alternative theoretical and methodological strategies. Discussants shall also reflect on the choice between monograph and compilation forms of the thesis.

Specific learning outcomes

The presenting and commentary PhD candidates, as well as the other participating candidates, shall by the seminar deepen their understanding of the early stages of the research process, the importance of making scientifically motivated decisions and not least improving their capability of academic reasoning and raising scientifically grounded critique on the one hand, and defending a taken stand-point on the other.

The mid-seminar shall take place during the fourth or fifth semester after the candidate was admitted.

Content

The candidate shall present a written text comprising of the formulated research questions, one theoretical chapter and/or one chapter presenting empirical findings and analysis, alternatively one article in a compilation thesis. This text which could be structured in another way than by chapters or articles shall indicate the “red thread” in the thesis which is how research questions are investigated and analysed with the help of theoretical framework and methodological tools. This paper shall be sent out by e-­‐mail at the latest one week beforehand.

Procedure

Two discussants shall be appointed, one senior researcher from the unit, or external, and one PhD Candidate. Seminars shall be chaired by the Director of PhD Studies or by one of the supervisors. First, the author makes a shorter presentation and then the discussants will present their comments, preferably starting with the PhD candidate.

Discussants shall focus on the “red thread” in the dissertation work and on weaknesses and strengths in terms of the use of theories and methods to make an analysis and draw conclusions in line with the formulated research questions.

Specific learning outcomes

The presenting and commentary PhD candidates, as well as the other participating candidates, shall by the seminar deepen their understanding and knowledge of the importance of consistency between research questions, theory, methodology and analysis.

Discussant and reader

One external discussant and one internal reader are appointed for the final seminar. The choice of the external discussant and the internal reader is made by the supervisor(s) and the PhD candidate in consultation with the Director of Research Studies.

The discussant shall be a senior researcher (docent) well acquainted with the specific thesis topic and/or theory and/or methodology.

The internal reader will have no formal role as a commentator during the seminar but will participate in the general discussion. The internal reader has the task of carefully examining and formulating constructive written comments for the completion of the dissertation. The internal reader should be the internal member of the examining committee at the public defence.

Procedure

The final seminar is public and should be announced on the Department’s webpage, and an invitation should be sent out to all department members.

The final seminar shall be chaired by either the Director of PhD studies or by one of the supervisors. The external discussant shall start with a summary of the thesis and then examine the text presenting both weaknesses and strengths in a dialogue with the candidate and as part of that providing constructive comments, and in line with the requirements for a PhD thesis in Sociology of Law as formulated in the syllabus.

The seminar shall last for approximately three hours, where the first half is dedicated to the summary of the thesis and discussions between the discussant and the candidate, while the second half is open to comments and questions from the audience. All members of the research collegium are expected to acquire an overview of the text and participate actively in the seminar.

Written comments

Within one week after the seminar, the discussant and the internal reader each compile a written statement with recommended revisions to be conducted before the dissertation is sent to print. The written statements should be based mainly on the manuscript but also take discussions during the final seminar into account. The written statements should include an estimation of the time needed to conduct the suggested revisions, within the frame of a 100% workload. If the time estimate is more than one year, a new final seminar shall take place before the public defence.

Timeline

The final seminar should take place when the candidate has a complete manuscript for the dissertation and approximately 3-6 months before the public defence in the case of a compilation thesis and approximately 6 months before the public defence in the case of a monograph. The decision that the candidate is ready for a final seminar should be made in consultation between the candidate, the supervisors, and the Director of Research Studies.

The text for the final seminar should be sent to the external discussant, the internal reader, and all Department employees at least two weeks before the final seminar.

Before print – green reading

Before the thesis is sent to print, the internal reader shall go through the text to examine whether the revisions have been completed satisfactorily and whether the text is ready for public defence. The internal reader must report his/her evaluation to the research collegium before a final decision of whether the text is ready for public defence is made in the collegium. A green light is not followed by any written comments. In the case of a green light, but with suggestions for some crucial amendments, the green reader should communicate these to the supervisor(s).

If the reader concludes that the thesis is not ready for public defence, the reasoning for the conclusion should be in written form and sent to the research collegium for a decision. If the research collegium decides on a red light, a written statement including a precise description of needed revisions before the manuscript is ready shall be provided to the candidate by the internal reader.