statement on research?

[rivared]

 So, I'm finishing my dissertation and applying for a few jobs, and two of the applications ask for a "Statement on teaching" and "statement on research". Now, I am familiar with the "Statement on teaching", but what is the "statement on research" supposed to look like?  (I'm in the humanities, btw).  Is it a statement about my dissertation and why

Comments

[max_ambiguity]

Yes, this. I was told to talk about how you plan to market the diss as a book, and then address future book projects you have in mind. Show that you're not a one-trick pony, basically. And the larger theoretical issues your dissertation is only a teeny part of - how are you going to revolutionize those?

[sensaes]

http://www.grad.uiuc.edu/careerservices/academic/statements.htm

[drenilop]

The latter - your research trajectory is the big idea. What are you going to do with the diss and then what's next?

[lostreality]

I was told to talk about my dissertation, about the other past research I've done that has led to publications (or is under review), about the other non-dissertation I'm currently working on (if any), and about future directions I want to take my research, and future projects I plan to do.

Nows a good time to figure out what your post-dissertation plans are going to be in terms of research- you don't have to stick to them, but you do have to have thought of them. On my (one) interview, nearly every single professor who interviewed me asked what research I was going to do after I was done with my dissertation.

[okham]

If you are applying for a job as a faculty at a research university, or in any case somewhere where you will be supervising research work done by students (graduate or undergraduate), a useful starting point for a research statement might be that of asking yourself the following question:
"What research project would I suggest to a graduate student asking for an idea for a dissertation ?'