Editorial Preface by Editor-in-Chief

Abstract

International Journal of Doctoral Studies (Vol. 6) IJDS had another great year. We have seen a significant increase this year in articles submission. IJDS editorial board members have been very busy throughout the year to maintain the quality of IJDS publications. board has kept the tradition of excellence in quality publication for accepted papers. This sixth volume of IJDS includes seven manuscripts. first article by Barnes, Chard, Wolfe, Stassen, and Williams, An Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Graduate Advising Survey for Doctoral Students, reported on a substantial endeavor of collecting survey data from nearly 2,400 graduate and doctoral students about the advising support they received during their academic experience. Their results suggested six sound dimensions and a validated instrument that practitioners can use to improve the quality of doctoral advising as well as support. second article by Nutov and Hazzan, Feeling the Doctorate: Is Doctoral Research that Studies the Emotional Labor of Doctoral Students Possible? documented an intriguing question about the viability of conducting a doctoral dissertation about emotional labor during doctoral studies. They concluded that such research is productive, while it is possible to achieve only at the end of the doctoral endeavor. third article by N. Dreher and H. Dreher, Empowering Doctoral Candidates in Finding Relevant Concepts in a Literature Set, reported on a great technique to empower doctoral students and novice researchers on the mechanics of literature attainment. fourth article by V. Castro, Garcia, Cavazos, and A. Y. Castro, The Road to Doctoral Success and Beyond, documented a qualitative research study using semi-structured interviews about women's success in a Ph.D. counseling program. Their findings suggested three main themes, attributes, attitudes, and motivations, as the key ingredients for success in such doctoral studies. fifth article by Holley, A Cultural Repertoire of Practices in Doctoral Education, discussed the role of culture as an active repertoire in doctoral studies. Her qualitative research using a group of 40 doctoral students indicated that cultural repertoire is central to their socialization. sixth article by Jones and Alony, Guiding the Use of Grounded Theory in Doctoral Studies--An Example from the Australian Film Industry, documented the use of Grounded Theory (GT) in doctoral dissertations. Their work documented an example from the Australian film industry as a context for the use of GT in doctoral research. last article of this IJDS volume by Wao and Onwuegbuzie, A Mixed Research Investigation of Factors Related to Time to the Doctorate in Education, reported on an exploratory research study using mixed-methods approach on a sample of over 1,000 doctoral students about time to attainment of the doctorate (TTD) degree. Their findings provide some insights into the critical factors that have significant impact on TTD. As in prior years, I would like to thank the IJDS advisory board members, Prof. Marc Schniederjans, C. Wheaton Battey Distinguished Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NE (USA) and Prof. Niv Ahituv, Marko and Lucie Chaoul Chair for Studies in Information Evaluation Academic, Academic Director of the Institute for Internet Studies, Tel Aviv University (Israel) for their continuous support of IJDS. Furthermore, I would like to thank the IJDS associate editors for their exceptional work and continuous support to IJDS including (in alphabetical order of last names): Nicole Buzzetto-More, University of Maryland Eastern Shore (USA), Sue Conger (University of Dallas, USA), Nitza Geri (The Open University of Israel, Israel), George M. Marakas (University of Kansas, USA), Bernd Carsten Stahl (De Montfort University, UK), Steven R. Terrell, Nova Southeastern University (USA), and Victoria Wise, Deakin University (Australia). …