DSS2012

DSS2012 Doctoral Consortium

Overview
The doctoral consortium at DSS 2012 Conference has been designed to bring together Ph.D. candidates and experienced academic researchers in order to facilitate focused and in-depths discussions. The consortium will cover areas relevant to doctoral research and best practice of international research training.

The consortium will be facilitated by the members of Steering Group for the DSS 2012 Conference Participation is open and not limited to students who submitted their proposals for review.
Proposals / research papers presented at the DSS 2012 doctoral consortium will be part of the conference supplemental proceedings to be published electronically on a USB memory stick, as a publication of DSS Press with an ISBN number.

Target group and eligibility
Submissions to the PhD consortium are invited from PhD candidates conducting their research in decision support and related areas from any academic institution, which offers such program. PhD candidates interested in participating should have developed (and ideally defended) a proposal for their research, detailing a problem statement, research question and methodology. They should, however, not be so close to completion of their thesis that they can no longer benefit from the input at the consortium (typically before the last 6 months of their candidature). With the submission of the proposal a supporting letter/email from a supervisor or director of the Ph.D. programme is expected.

Organisation
The core of the programme will be centred on the critical and constructive discussion of the PhD candidates’ research proposals. In particular research design, i.e. the linkage between an identified problem area, a research question and the appropriate methodology will be discussed. In order to facilitate in depths discussions of the PhD’s research and to provide some additional guidance, the expected overall number of participants has been limited to 30.

• Moreover the consortium is also meant to provide additional input, such as:
• Talks by invited speakers about ongoing research and/ or methodological issues (different research traditions in DSS and neighbouring disciplines);
• Round table about practical considerations (publishing, job market, etc.);
• Speed thesis presentations and competition;
• Opportunities for networking.

Timetable

• April 15, 2012-- Deadline for submissions of proposals by PhD candidates
• May 1, 2012 -- Notification of acceptance
• June 1, 2012 -- Updated proposals/ research papers expected for distribution before the consortium
• June27, 2012 -- Consortium

Submission
Submissions by PhD candidates are sought which include

• a research proposal by PhD candidate (2000 - 3000 words): including motivation, research question, research design/ methodology,
• a statement by the supervisor or PhD programme director about the status of the PhD candidate and a recommendation that he or she will benefit from the consortium.

All of the above should be submitted via email to Professor Frada Burstein at Frada.Burstein@infotech.monash.edu.au by April 15, 2010. Prospective participants will be informed of the outcome by May 1, 2012

Doctoral Consortium Template
The written submission should not exceed 3000 words, formatted as follows:

• Times New Roman or equivalent font
• 11- or 12-point font
• Double-spaced (not 1.5)
• 1 inch margins all around
• 8.5 x 11 inch paper (or A4)
• Pages must be numbered

This limit does NOT include tables, figures, or references. Tables and figures cab be embedded in the text. References should appear last.
Three appendices of no more than one page each may be added, at the discretion of the student and the person nominating her or him. (These appendices must also follow the formatting guidelines outlined above.)