The doctoral experience: a bit of a curate's egg (original) (raw)
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International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 2016
This is a report on a qualitative investigation into the challenges and solutions for Information Systems PhD candidature in Australia by conducting a three-phase research process. Information Systems doctoral theses approved within the past 10 years in Australia were identified in three areas of research, using structured evidence-based search and review methods. This was followed by two focus groups. The first focus group provided a forum where participants engaged and contributed by sharing and reflecting on experiences during their candidature. The data generated was thematically analyzed. The second focus group provided a forum to compare, contrast, and combine findings from the first focus group and the theses review. This was then conceptually organized into a SWOT framework for discussion. The findings imply that there is a need, not only for an inclusive candidature research pathway now provided by most Australian universities, but also an integrated research and personal s...
Contemporary perspectives on the Australian doctorate: framing insights to guide development
Higher Education Research & Development, 2020
The growth of the doctorate in recent decades has spawned concerns about programme quality and external relevance. This article reports findings from research conducted in Australia that was shaped by the view that the doctorate remains in need of educational clarification and design. The research generated insights that can be used to modernise and realign the doctorate. First, this article discusses the development of a doctoral education framework. Next, it presents results from a questionnaire developed using the framework and administered in a national survey to both five-year-out doctoral graduates and to doctoral experts. This identifies the need to design programmes that better orient and align research training with students' professional aspirations, incorporate more real-world forms of learning, enhance traditional aspects of research training and provide structured reports of doctoral outcomes, experiences and preparations. The results underpin the need for more specific analyses of outcomes and assessment, the nature and distribution of doctoral experiences and the design and management of the resources that go into doctoral education.
"Doctoral pedagogy: What do international PhD students in Australia think about it?"
Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities 19 (2), 521-534, 2011
Despite recent research, doctoral pedagogy remains something of a 'black box'. This article explores the 'mysterious activity' (Green, 2005, p. 151) which transforms research apprentices into licensed scholars by drawing on longitudinal interviews with six graduate students who travelled to Australia to undertake doctoral study. The article first discusses difficulties associated with the term "international students". It then argues that, given the economic benefits to Australian universities of participation by increasing numbers of international students (Bullen & Kenway, 2003), attention needs to be paid to the quality of students' learning experiences. The article also incorporates the author's dual perspectives as full-time doctoral student/researcher and experienced academic. The findings suggest that effective doctoral pedagogy is based on a mutually respectful relationship between student and supervisor supported by a flexible learning structure which enables modelling of scholarly practices and opportunities for scaffolded participation and reflection. However, as good doctoral pedagogy cannot be guaranteed, PhD students need to develop sufficient understanding of the doctoral endeavour to enable them to manage their own learning.
Rocky Road or Clear Sailing? Recent Graduates' Recollections and Reflections of the Doctoral Journey
Brock Education …, 2012
While a large group of students enroll in graduate studies in Canada every year, more than half do not reach degree completion (Elgar, 2003; Baird, 1990). This article highlights recent graduates’ experiences of their doctoral studies, including the dissertation process. A questionnaire was applied to 15 institutions of higher education, representing all regions of Canada. A total of 53 questionnaires were returned and analyzed. Findings indicated that doctoral students found several challenges to program completion including funding, interactions with faculty, and the writing of the dissertation. Participants also noted that the Canadian Academy provided them with quality experiences, if not at times, rocky ones. An overview is provided of structures and processes that supported and hindered students’ doctoral studies as outlined by Gardner’s (2009) conceptual framework of doctoral student identity development.
Reflections on the PhD Process: The Experiences of Three Survivors
The Marketing Review, 2000
In the literature it is possible for doctoral candidates to find a broad range of guidelines on how to write a successful doctoral thesis. For example, in 1999 the Australasian Marketing Journal published an article on a structured approach to presenting doctoral theses, with an in-depth examination of the sections that are expected to appear in a doctoral thesis . The Marketing Review is currently printing a series of four articles on general guidelines on how to undertake a research project (Baker , 2000b). Candidates are often struggling with their theses one reason being that they find it difficult to present their research findings, and the efforts made by Perry and Baker are thus to be applauded; and the articles should serve both to motivate and guide candidates. The present article, however, focuses on what the authors consider to be one key, fundamentally unresolved, issue surrounding the Perry and Baker articles: the process of actually getting to the point of presenting the research findings in a doctoral thesis. The authors first share with the reader their personal experiences of going through a typical doctoral programme before offering their best pieces of advice. Overall, the list of dos and don'ts can help candidates to get on top of their doctoral research instead of the doctoral research getting on top of the candidates.
Traversing the Doctorate, 2019
Studies of how students experience their Ph.D. education have been promoted as an indicator to improve doctoral programmes (assessment-oriented studies) and/or to enhance understanding of career development among this collective (research-oriented studies). Interest in the latter group has increased in recent years as researcher development has become a field of study in the context of higher education. In this respect, a database of studies measuring the Ph.D. experience could be of use to researchers. We therefore conducted a review of 53 empirical studies, focusing only on large-scale research based on data obtained from questionnaires and scales, published between 1991 and 2018. In terms of results, we provide an overview of studies conducted in the last 27 years, reveal the core elements that are traditionally considered in measuring the Ph.D. experience, and identify some gaps and contributions in clarifying this generic term. Directions for future research are offered.
Feeling like a researcher: experiences of early doctoral students in Australia
Becoming a researcher is one of the roads travelled in the emotional, social, and intellectual process of PhD journeys. As such, developing a researcher identity during doctoral study is a social undertaking. This paper explores instances and practices where doctoral students identify as becoming researchers. Based on interviews with 30 PhD students from two Australian metropolitan universities, this paper presents students' experiences of moments when they feel like researchers. The paper finds identification as a researcher occurs early on in the PhD, and such instances are underpinned by external and internal validation of the student as a researcher. Validation is gained through research outputs (mainly publications), doing research, and talking about research. Such experiences are often mundane, occur daily, and constitute personal, social, informal, and formal learning opportunities for researcher development. Supervisors are largely absent as students draw on multiple individuals on and off campus in assuming a researcher identity.
“Feeling more academic now”: Doctoral stories of becoming an academic
The Australian Educational Researcher, 2018
It is commonly believed that the doctorate prepares students for academic careers. While there is wide ranging literature about the development of doctoral students as researchers, preparation for the other aspects of academic careers, e.g. teaching, is mostly absent from the discussion. This qualitative longitudinal study investigated the shift from doctoral identities to academic identities using narrative inquiry. It examined the narratives of 15 doctoral students from two large Australian universities, who were approaching thesis submission and who aspired to academic employment. Two contrasting stories illuminated in-depth accounts of how academic identities were developed and experienced. Students defined their identities and assessed their academic development in relation to their perceived ‘market value’ in academia. To increase their employability, they engaged in university teaching and focused on strategic networking. Students regarded researcher development as the main focus of the doctorate as being insufficient for an academic career. This paper argues that doctoral education needs to facilitate student agency, encourage synergies between teaching and research, and support non-academic work experiences to strengthen researcher identity development.
Tales of Doctoral Students: Motivations and Expectations on the Route to the Unknown
Education Sciences
This paper provides a reflection on the way changes taking place in doctoral education are being perceived and internalized by doctoral students. The Doctoral perceptions are analyzed through Ph.D. candidates’ motivations to enroll in the program and to their levels of satisfaction with the supervision experience. Comparisons between national and international students, as well as differences according to doctoral programs’ scientific areas, i.e., between students enrolled in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and in Social Sciences, Languages and Humanities (SSLH) are established. Based on a case study developed in a Portuguese university, conclusions point to the dominance of a romanticized, traditional view of doctoral education, with the academic profession at its core. This view is mostly shared by international students and those from SSLH scientific areas. In turn, national Ph.D. candidates and those from STEM areas have incorporated a more instrumental v...