The Expectations for Merit Set by Your Unit May Differ from the Wider World

I recently agreed to serve as an external reviewer for a mixed method dissertation completed in a country outside of this US. I was very pleasantly surprised to find it much more ambitious in scope and execution than the dissertations I was familiar with, particularly those completed at my home institution. In my home department, I never encountered a dissertation that demonstrated such complex thinking. I was bowled away by the depth of knowledge it showed of multiple research methods, including mixed methods.

Agreeing to review a dissertation or a manuscript submitted to a journal is a volunteer activity. There is no pay and it counts for very little during the review process. It takes time. I do it because I always learn something or I spot a new reference that I want to pursue. It has an added advantage for you. Any activity that creates the opportunity to interact with colleagues from other universities helps you gauge the degree expectation and caliber of research that is being produced outside of your home department. This can prove critical to your own future success as an academic when your home unit is operating with an outdated set of expectations or with a set prioritizes teaching.

External reviews from well-respected colleagues outside of the home institution play an out-sized role in the judgment that it is made about research quality during the tenure and promotion process. External reviewers are selected carefully. They are critical to the process because they bring expertise in the content area that is rarely available at the local level.

Academics have considerably less mobility now than they once had. Many are place-bound. The expectations set locally may are may not be in accord with those set by top-notch departments in your field. For those anxious to keep the door open to future advancement, one way to enhance your competitiveness is to engage in activities like conferences that bring graduate students together