Nice Work - Writing a PhD Thesis in Accounting

Publisher Summary The chapter describes the complete process of writing a Ph.D. thesis in accounting, named “Understanding Accounting in its Social and Historical Context.” The thesis is written with the aim to present a “real life” account of the process of writing a thesis. This view is sure to breakdown the myth that writing a thesis starts with a research proposal and moves in a linear way to come to a conclusion. The chapter basically consists of four parts: First is the history of ideas about what academic ideas, fields and books were taken into consideration while writing the thesis. The second part provides information about the author—where he came from and his personal experiences while penning down the thesis. The third part describes the communal things—networks of seminars, meetings, conferences, and discussions with Ph.D. supervisors and students who helped with their feedback. The last part of the chapter details how the author learnt from his elders about the academic world to become a more or less fully-fledged academic versed in the complex rituals of academia. The chapter outlines not only the techniques of citation, reference, and acknowledgement but also the ways and means of the world of accounting academe.