The responses so far have primarily focused on the value of grad students and not on the impact that workspace has on their productivity.
My own experience as a grad student focused on productivity has been as follows. I have appreciated the workspace offered to me on campus and the incredible collegiality that I've experienced when taking advantage of that workspace. However, there is a cost associated with the opportunity for collaboration. And that is the cost of interruptions to "thinking" time. And my experience has been that I need lots of thinking time to tease out and communicate the main messages buried in my field data. I have the "benefit" of a home office and self-funding of my graduate studies, so I have taken full advantage of the flexibility to say "no thanks, I'm working from home today." Thus my collaborations have been rifle shots and not shotgun blasts. I meet with people when there is a specific issue that benefits one or the both of us. As a result, I am on target to complete my research project about 15 months from the date it was started. This is a Master's project and undoubtedly the timelines are longer for PhDs. But my adviser has repeatedly expressed surprise at the speed with which I have progressed. I, in turn, ascribe it to a bit of sacrifice in collegiality and a whole lot more focus on getting the work done (by escaping to private thinking space). As others have said, this is not a scientific position, but a sample of one. I'm a people-lover, but let's face it, we're a social animal and that fact will most assuredly show itself when we're thrown together in a big room. Marty P.S. There is no doubt that this is a question that transcends graduate students. I worked for a long time in the business world, and I am quite sure that employee productivity has been studied up, down, and sideways, including organization of the office work environment. If you look to the business world, I can assure you there will be lots of studies on this topic. Best of luck to you. -- Martin J Pfeiffer University of Wisconsin Nelson Institute [email protected] (608) 669-6619
