Focusing Information Systems Post-Graduate Research Projects

This paper reports on an investigation of mechanisms that assist Information Systems post-graduate research students to focus their projects. An evaluation is presented of the experiences of Information Systems research students in focussing their research projects based on a survey conducted of students who participated in two of the first three Information Systems doctoral consortia to be held in Australia. The survey sought to determine whether a doctoral consortium or 'systematic expert review' is the most valuable mechanism for focussing a research proposal. Systematic expert review was considered by the students to be more effective than the doctoral consortium process for the purpose of focussing their research project proposals.