Abstract
Download ArticleBy Khandakar Farid Uddin and Md. Salauddin, PhD research candidates at Western Sydney University, Australia This article was initially published at Open Forum, Australia In the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, PhD research students were anxiously thinking about the transmission of the virus, even though they did not have any symptoms or close […]
Highlights
PhD research candidates at Western Sydney University, Australia This article was initially published at Open Forum, Australia In the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, PhD research students were anxiously thinking about the transmission of the virus, even though they did not have any symptoms or close contact to the disease
All this added anxiety caused PhD research students like ourselves to wonder, ‘what will happen to my research’? It is evident that the whole world has been impacted by disruptions caused by COVID-19; empirical evidence is helpful to ascertain how much COVID-19 has impacted PhD research students
We conducted an informal study, not related to any organisation, or supported by any university or institution, among our peers and colleagues to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on PhD research students in Australian universities
Summary
The survey participants were asked to rank five significant challenges they commonly faced during the COVID-19 disruptions. The respondents saw the lack of “research mindfulness” as the most serious disruption, with an overall score of 3.51 in the scale of 1 to 5. “I have lost a bit focus and direction and am only just starting to get back into everything.”. This was followed by the lack of a proper working environment with a score of 3.33 and was closely followed by personal and financial stresses. Institutional support was the least of their concerns, indicating that universities have done well in their support of candidates working from home. Graphic above: Rank of five significant challenges commonly faced by PhD research students
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