A reflective journey of an Austrian scholar in a positivistic setting: Developing a Research Community

It all starts with an idea, a creative thought that you wish to pursue academically. But how? Whom to address? Where to start and what to read? In the following, my own doctoral journey will be reflected, some tips will be given and a general outline for a PhD endeavour will be provided. As an educator of English and intercultural competence and higher education researcher, I have come to understand that the study of language, isolated from any context of language use, would contribute but little to the understanding of socially constructed processes. This was all the more true in view of the setting where I was operating.