THE YIN AND YANG OF A DOCTOR OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM: PERSONAL REFLECTIONS AND REVERSE ENGINEERING

Abstract

This reflective paper provides fresh accounts of the four co-authors’ personal experiences with respect to successfully completing the Doctor of Science in Information Systems and Communications program at Robert Morris University. This paper also presents a Yin & Yang Research Model that integrates the ancient Chinese concept of Yin and Yang and the modern Western concept of the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom hierarchy. This model reflects the complementary nature of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The unusually high graduation rate of this program over two decades, coupled with the subsequent, successful career trajectories of over 200 graduates, attest to the effective balance of humanity and technology that characterizes this program. The mix of doctoral courses offered within this program, coupled with the technical expertise and philosophical and research orientations of the associated faculty members, is fully consistent with this Yin and Yang concept of balance and harmony. The program was able to accommodate and individually benefit the four authors, each of whom came from a different national cultural heritage and birth country, had a different professional and technical background, and employed a different research methodology from the other three in their doctoral dissertation. This paper also illustrates the benefits of a cohort-based, resident, executive format doctoral program that emphasizes support and collaboration, knowledge sharing and co-creation. While four recent graduates represent an admittedly small and biased sample of the program’s 200+ graduates, the authors nevertheless believe their reflections, considered within the framework of the Yin & Yang Research Model, provide valuable insights useful for comprehending some of the reasons for the program’s consistently high graduation rate. Such insights may be useful to other institutions seeking to establish a new, similar program, or to improve an existing one. In addition, this paper provides practical and theoretical perspectives to help prospective students considering the pursuit of a terminal degree, in the process of program selection, or already on their selected path of higher learning.