Leaving a mark

“Leaving a mark would require the student to rethink and draw new connections within a particular theory or phenomenon with their thesis. This would be how to get other researchers to read your thesis. It would make them rethink or re-examine something that they maybe thought they knew. That’s the direct way to make a mark, to change how practitioners or researchers think about a phenomenon and, indeed, part of the world.

Indirectly, the thesis can also help the student themselves or their advisor. It can change how they think about or approach the problem. This can lead to other research projects or give them a unique perspective that they bring with them to a new workplace that can then shape their environments there.

Both approaches are useful and effective in leaving a mark—be it directly or indirectly. It is unrealistic to expect that every thesis will receive great outside attention, but then, that’s not the only way of being successful. If you do something that truly shapes how you yourself and your supervisor look at the world, a mark has been left.”

(Matt Farmer)