Evgenia Bystrov has defended her PhD thesis!

Read an interview with Evgenia

Evgenia Bystrov, associate researcher of the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, has defended her PhD thesis in Jacobs University Bremen. Her paper was written under the supervision of Christian Welzel, President of the World Value Survey Association and LCSR professor.  

Evgenia kindly told us about her thesis and further scientific plans, and also shared impressions of working on the paper.

What was your dissertation about?

My dissertation was about the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) processes in Israel. I analyzed different features of the transition in different groups, mainly postponement of marriage and fertility and the change in value orientation. Israel’s population is marked by heterogeneity in religious affiliation, level of religiosity and ethnic origin. Therefore, stages of the SDT from pre-transitional to post-transitional can be found there. Local and contextual factors were also discussed; for instance the absence of the institution of civil marriage as a constraining factor for the progression of the SDT. My aim was twofold: to show how the SDT is unfolding in Israel and to highlight the factors that may enhance or hamper the onset and the progression of the SDT in any society.

How long did it take to write your dissertation? Was it difficult?

I started working on my dissertation in 2009, when I focused my research interests on the changes in values and family behaviors in the developed world. I was curious about Israel’s rankings compared with developed countries. I chose the topic of the SDT because in my opinion many demographic and sociological processes in Israel were underrepresented in the literature. I wrote the dissertation at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Science (BIGSSS) and the writing took me approximately three years. My dissertation is a cumulative work consisting of four research articles on the same topic. Two articles, titled “The Second Demographic Transition in Israel: One for All?” and “Religion, Demography and Attitudes Towards Civil Marriage in Israel 1969-2009” have already been published, and the other two are in the peer-review process. One of the latter, the paper based on my project for the LCSR that I worked on in 2011, received The Best Paper Award at BIGSSS in April this year. Writing was not easy, of course, especially since I am not a native English speaker. It was rather challenging, but at the same time most interesting.

Could you say a few words about your university, your academic advisor, and the people who helped you in your work?

I can speak for hours about Jacobs University Bremen, but it won’t fully describe this truly unique place. Jacobs is an international private university. Students from more than 100 countries live, study and work there. This place is a paradise for social researchers, since it allows direct observation and study of cross-cultural differences in a very special academic setting. My supervisor, Prof. Dr. Christian Welzel, always mentions that standards and student motivation are exceptionally high at Jacobs.

Besides my fellow colleagues in Bremen and my supervisors, Prof. Dr. Johannes Huinink and Emeritus Prof. Ron Lesthaeghe, many people from Israel and Russia helped me with my dissertation. Among my Russian colleagues at the LCSR, I am especially grateful to Prof. Eduard Ponarin for valuable advice. My dissertation would not have been the same without the input from all the people who were involved along the way. There is an African saying "it takes a village to raise a child.” I can say from my experience that the same applies to a doctoral dissertation.

How did your doctoral defense go? How did it feel before and after?

As far as I can see, the defense was very successful. Despite some bureaucracy, which is a usual thing in such cases, the event was straight to the point. The examination committee consisted of seven people: three reviewers of my dissertation, three additional referees and a doctoral fellow representative. An audience was present as well; these were mainly BIGSSS fellows and some students and faculty from Jacobs. My presentation lasted for half an hour, followed by a round of questions from the committee members and my answers, and then the floor was declared open for questions from the audience. I must admit that I was very happy to hear students asking questions. I learn from this that the atmosphere was quite positive and that they found my topic interesting. The chairman, Christian Welzel, said that we all just faced a value change indeed – students hardly ever ask anything in similar settings!

What are you future research plans?

Firstly, I am trying to sort out the issues with the remaining papers that are in the revise-resubmit stage. I am not the only person involved – the reviewers and the editors have the ultimate say in what is going to be published and what not. Secondly, I am trying to advance my research project for the LCSR as far as possible at this stage, before other obligations and projects take the space. We’ll see what comes out of it!