Your Committee Isn't Always Right
In this concise advisory video, Steve Tippins, Ph.D., tells doctoral candidates that they need not accept every piece of feedback from their dissertation committee without question. While acknowledging the natural instinct to please advisors, he argues that blind compliance undermines true scholarship. He encourages students to treat each comment as a conversation starter, asking why the suggestion is made and whether it strengthens or detracts from their argument. By listening to the committee but also articulating their own reasoning and, when appropriate, respectfully pushing back, students shift from appeasing authority to defending their work as scholars. The video ends with a call to join a free Dissertation Help community for further support.
