The theory of diffusion of innovations really made an impact on me. It was elegant and useful for me to understand the problem I wanted to focus on. And I used it as the basis of my first idea for my PhD. In our program, we have to write a Research and Study Plan (RSP) and update it troughout the program. The first version is due after 6 months and then every end of the year.

In the almost-600-page Diffusion of Innovations book, Rogers present several concepts. Among them, I was fascinated by the decision innovation process. Using it, Rogers modeled the process where a decision unit (generally an individual but a small team could also fit) resolve if it will adopt an innovation or not.

At the beginning of my PhD, I tried to read the most I could. In this period, I came across a really interesting theory: the diffusion of innovations. It was proposed by Everett M. Rogers and is described on a book with almost 600 pages which first edition was published in 1962 and in 2003 was on its fifth edition.

A common advice for PhD students, and I would say to researchers in general when starting to research, is to have a problem in mind to serve as a guide. In this post, I want to discuss the one that I have.

A little bit more than three years ago, I left, I would say, a promising career in the web industry to start a PhD. Some friends told me that was crazy. But, a doctorate was something that I have always wanted and it would have been probably the last chance to do that. Besides that, from a personal life perspective, it was a perfect moment.