While reading the latest statistics on the job market in the December 2005 Perspectives, I had to wonder whether the last line of this paragraph was intentionally, or accidentally, wry.

As we noted in our last job market report, a sharp drop in the number of new history PhDs in the 2002–03 academic year was followed by a sizeable increase in the number of PhDs reported the following year. Nevertheless, the number of graduate students in history doctoral programs and the number of students reportedly working on dissertations has fallen steadily over the past five years. [Emphasis added.]

If the number of students reportedly working on dissertations has fallen, presumably the number actually working on dissertations has really plummeted.

Caleb McDaniel - 12/8/2005

Well, I wasn't trying to provoke an "ouch." I thought your meaning was clear. And any time graduate students can laugh at ourselves, it's a good thing.

Robert B Townsend - 12/8/2005

Purely accidental, unfortunately. And doubly painful because my dissertation advisor has good reason to doubt reports about my work.

Rebecca Anne Goetz - 12/7/2005

on what the meaning of reportedly is. :) I'm reportedly going to finish a chapter this afternoon...

Ralph E. Luker - 12/7/2005

I shudder to think what an AHA Report on the numbers of tenured professors reportedly working on books would look like!