Doctoral Completion Rates Research Articles

Factors Contributing to Imposter Phenomenon in Doctoral Students: A US-Based Qualitative Study

Aim/Purpose: Our study explores the factors contributing to the Imposter Phenomenon among doctoral students in the United States. Background: Many studies show that Imposter Phenomenon impacts women doctoral students and students from minority groups, especially if they are enrolled in Predominantly White Institutions. Our study focuses explicitly on contributing factors to the Imposter Phenomenon among doctoral students in the United States. The study also explored how Imposter Phenomenon is related to doctoral students’ academic goals and achievements. Methodology: We utilized a qualitative phenomenological research design and conducted semi-structured interviews (45-90 minutes) in person and via Zoom. This study was conducted at a public research university in mid-western United States. A total of 14 (3 male and 11 female) doctoral students participated in the study. These students self-identified as White (9), African American (1), South Asian (2), mixed race (1), and Latina (1). Of the 14 students, 4 were international, and 10 were domestic. These students were from various disciplines, such as Education, Economics, Anthropology, Biology, Plant Sciences, and Engineering. Contribution: The study contributes to the field of psychology and higher education and helps us better understand doctoral students’ conceptions and experiences of the Imposter Phenomenon. The study provides empirical support to some of the previous claims by researchers and provides new insights related to the Imposter Phenomenon. Findings: In our study, participants did not consider the Imposter Phenomenon merely a personal or internal feeling or mental condition as presented in previous studies. We found there are multiple layers of the issue, and sociocultural factors play a contributing role to the Imposter Phenomenon. In our study, we found that relations with family, siblings, peers, and faculty played a significant role in shaping our participants’ sense of self and impacted how they responded to challenges in their academic life. We also noted that institutional culture impacts doctoral students’ self-concept and academic performance. Female doctoral students mentioned institutional culture and prevalent sexism in STEM fields as contributing factors to the Imposter Phenomenon. Overall, gender, race, age, and mental health emerged as major contributing factors to the Imposter Phenomenon among doctoral students. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend that higher education institutions should help doctoral students, especially students from underrepresented groups, by providing social, emotional, and economic support. To mitigate the challenges of institutional sexism, racism, and ageism, higher education institutions should consider creating peer support groups and try to foster a healthy and supportive environment for doctoral students. These groups could build on ontological inquiries to bolster student resiliency and self-perception. Also, there is a dire need for easily accessible mental health services on campuses, especially for graduate students. Recommendation for Researchers: Doctoral students, if successful, can play a significant role in society’s future growth. However, doctoral completion rates are currently staggeringly low, and the degree program is long. The situation is exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This impacts doctoral students’ emotional, psychological, and economic well-being, and may affect their health and family relationships. Incomplete doctoral degrees can be costly for individuals and society. Higher education institutions must provide better mental health and economic support to help doctoral students succeed in their programs so they can positively contribute to society and the world. Impact on Society: Doctoral students, if successful, can play a significant role in society’s future growth. However, doctoral completion rates are currently staggeringly low, and the degree program is long. The situation is exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This impacts doctoral students’ emotional, psychological, and economic well-being, and may affect their health and family relationships. Incomplete doctoral degrees can be costly for individuals and society. Higher education institutions must provide better mental health and economic support to help doctoral students succeed in their programs so they can positively contribute to society and the world. Future Research: We plan to expand our study to better understand the Imposter Phenomenon among doctoral students from cross-cultural perspectives to see if the same factors exist there.

A Thematic Analysis of the Structure of Delimitations in the Dissertation

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of the research was to examine the function and application of delimitations—what the researcher includes and excludes in a study—in the dissertation process. The aim was to map the delimitations process to improve research, rigor and relevance of findings, and doctoral completion rates using a formalized and standardized approach applied flexibly. Background: All research is bounded whether formally defined or not. Unlike limitations, which are issues which the researcher addressed after the completion of a study and cannot control, delimitations are what a researcher includes and excludes to make a project manageable and focused on the research question. Yet, there was no research identified which specifically discussed delimitations. Researching the structure and utility of delimitations in educational administration dissertations provided a systematic analysis of the formation of the scope and boundary of research in doctoral studies. Methodology: The structure of delimitations in dissertations were examined using descriptive quantitative statistics and a qualitative thematic analysis from 28 universities. The first stage included delimitations from 30 dissertations. Triangulation was conducted using the findings with a training set of delimitations in 15 dissertations with a rubric generated from the primary sample. Contribution: The thematic analysis presented a description and interpretation of the nature of delimitations and a systematic framework to improve the research process in dissertations. Mapping the delimitations process gave a detailed portrait of internal and external characteristics which could aid doctoral students in completing the dissertation. Doctoral attrition rates, poorly completed dissertations, and lack of relevance or applicability of results need remedied. Furthermore, the delimitations rubric provided a systematic method to focus communities of learners around a common goal. Findings: Findings suggested doctoral students used delimitations haphazardly and lacked a systematic application to research. Three major themes emerged from the delimitations sections: rituals, equifinality, and pragmatism. Topics within delimitations sections centered around two axes: the internal topics of sampling procedures and factors/variables and external topics of research design and conceptual/theoretical framework. Recommendations for Practitioners: Poorly understood and developed delimitations negatively impacted findings in dissertations, completion rates, and future research skills of doctoral students. By applying delimitations to a design of research framework in a community of learners, doctoral students and dissertation chairs could improve the dissertation completion process and improve research results using a Delimitations Evaluation Rubric. Recommendation for Researchers: Developing a rules-based process with a formalized and standardized process could give researchers a way to evaluate and plan the dissertation process. Developing and applying rubrics to delimitations could serve as a conduit to effective mentoring, feedback, and empowerment. Impact on Society: Improving doctoral completion rates in a timely manner would be beneficial to students’ long-term and personal interests. A well-defined delimitations process could improve the dissertation, and strengthened dissertations could add to the research base. Future Research: Delimitations are listed in one section, but the scope and boundaries are often fragmented and disjointed throughout a dissertation. By examining complete dissertations for delimitations, there could be further insight. Expanding rubrics as a tool to build a community of learners could develop a holistic approach to doctoral education.

Developing a student-doctoral education fit analytical model to assess performance

ABSTRACT Understanding factors that cause students problems throughout their doctoral education is of benefit to doctoral educators striving to improve doctoral completion rates. In this paper, Baker and Pifer’s (2015, “Antecedents and Outcomes: Theories of Fit and the Study of Doctoral Education.” Studies in Higher Education 40 (2): 296–310.) multidimensional framework of student-doctoral fit is extended to create a more nuanced framework comprising student-doctoral environment fit (including the sub-dimensions: student-organisation fit, student-private environment fit and student-people fit), student-vocation fit (including the sub-dimensions: student-motivation fit and student-learning environment fit) and student-doctoral culture fit (including the sub-dimensions: student-learning identity fit, student-(academic)writing fit and student-personal characteristics fit). We then operationalise the framework to create a doctoral student education fit analytical framework for providing insights on the association between fit and doctoral student performance. Our analytical model provides a springboard for fieldwork to examine student-doctoral education fit and doctoral student performance.

Organic Collaborative Teams: The Role of Collaboration and Peer to Peer Support for Part-Time Doctoral Completion

With doctoral completion rates hovering around 50%, students, faculty and institutions are seeking methods for improvement. This narrative inquiry examined the impact of collaboration and peer to peer experiences on doctoral completion of three peers in a part-time doctoral program. Prior to this inquiry, minimal research existed on the impact of peer to peer support and collaboration on doctoral completion; therefore, the three peer authors defined, described, and recommended ways to encourage organic collaboration. The authors’ defined organic collaboration as a naturally-formed dynamic peer to peer support group, built on individual strengths and differences, while focused on a common goal. Themes found during the narrative inquiry included the identification of a common goal, amicable group dynamics, peer to peer support, and intentional relational learning. The peer authors provided practical knowledge on ways students, faculty and higher education institutions can benefit from encouraging and supporting organic collaboration. This narrative inquiry demonstrated the long-term benefits of peer to peer support and collaboration that led to scholarly, professional, and personal support.

What works for doctoral students in completing their thesis?

Writing a thesis is one of the most challenging activities that a doctoral student must undertake and can represent a barrier to timely completion. This is relevant in light of current and widespread concerns regarding doctoral completion rates. This study explored thesis writing approaches of students post or near Ph.D. completion through interviews. The study's aim was to highlight factors identified by participants as helpful or hindering thesis writing. The analysis revealed ‘helpful’ factors were related to students' intrinsic behaviours and supervisory support, particularly support that adopted a ‘project-management’ style. Additionally, a subgroup of participants discussed the merits of a continuous-writing approach which is further explored in this paper with reference to the notion of writing to develop knowledge; this is recommended for timely Ph.D. completion.

The PhD track: Who succeeds, who drops out?

Doctoral completion rates are an indicator of successful doctoral programmes and of a region’s potential of highly skilled workforce. The Human Resources in Research – Flanders (HRRF) database contains data of all academic staff appointments, doctoral student registrations, and doctoral degrees of all Flemish universities from 1990 onwards. Previous research has identified the following factors as affecting successfully completing the PhD: cohort, scientific discipline, type of scholarship or appointment, gender, age, and nationality. We present a competing risk analysis of factors determining PhD completion and drop-out. This event history technique allows for determining the relative impact of each of these characteristics on the level of success/failure and time to degree. It predicts at what time periods the ‘time to degree’ and ‘time till drop out’ is most likely to occur, and why some individuals experience the event earlier than others. Our results show that scientific discipline and funding situation are the most important factors predicting success in obtaining the doctorate degree.

Contrasting the Socialization Experiences of Doctoral Students in High- and Low-Completing Departments: A Qualitative Analysis of Disciplinary Contexts at One Institution

To better understand how high and low doctoral completion rates affect the socialization process of doctoral students at one institution, 60 doctoral students in 6 disciplines were interviewed. Findings highlight differential socialization experiences between high and low completion departments and among developmental phases of the student experience.

Volunteer Support of English as an Additional Language (EAL) for Doctoral Students

Introduction English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) research students are a prized resource for universities desirous of doctoral output. Universities wanting more annual doctoral completions (see confirmation of these phenomena in Carter, 2006; Powell, 2006; Walsh, 2006) compete for local and international students, with strong growth in the numbers of postgraduate [EAL (English-as-an-additional-language)] students in the major education-provider countries (Ryan & Zuber-Skerritt, 1999, p. 3). Yet international students bring with them the challenges of writing about 80,000 words in competent academic prose in English when it is not their native language: the dissertation. The human stories behind doctoral internationalisation show that Speakers of English as an additional language ... still appear to be less empowered and more disabled in the institution (Hutchings, 2006, p. 248); it is something of an understatement to note that Such students often have difficulty meeting the demands of the kind of writing required of them in this particular genre (Paltridge & Starfield, 2007, p. 2). Resources for EAL students are seldom adequate (Strauss, Sachfleben, & Turner, 2006), and EAL students may feel that they and their writing are somehow marginalised (Ali & Kohun, 2007; Zamel, 1995). Doctoral drop-out rates have traditionally been high--as high as 50% in some disciplines (Bair & Haworth, 1999; McAlpine & Norton, 2006; Mendoza, 2007)--and individuals who struggle with prose may lose hope and leave. In such cases, institutional loss is also personal tragedy; the cost of futility is high. Furthermore, writing frustrations often spill into supervisors' in-trays, yet supervisors are under increasing pressure in a changing university environment (Davies, 2003; Forgasz & Leder, 2006; McGrail, Rickard, & Jones, 2006). How might the responsibilities of a university be synchronised with its desire for fast doctoral completion rates from EAL students? Most tertiary institutions are careful about recruitment, but even those EAL students who have ranked well in International English Language T esting System (IELTS) testing can find the size and complexity of their doctoral writing task disheartening. Many institutions, including my own, provide English for academic writing classes and nonetheless EAL researchers face an enormous challenge in the production of a dissertation. In New Zealand the Ph.D. is commonly based on a dissertation only, so students do not get the same amount of practice within courses that the USA system entails. Many international students arrive at a new campus in a culturally different city to begin the lonely task of writing their dissertation. My response as co-ordinator of a Student Learning Centre doctoral programme has been to establish across-campus support from native English speaker volunteers to EAL doctoral students. This support group is called D.EAL (doctorates for EAL students) following on from a preexisting EAL undergraduate programme named R.EAL (Results for EAL students) that already existed in the Student Learning Centre learning centre. Both international (Asian, European and Pacific Islander) and local students whose first language is not English made use of the support. These students self-identify as EAL. This support is not compulsory, so only candidates who feel they would like to develop their writing choose to attend. D.EAL has now operated for over four years, during which time we have sought to maximis[e] the benefits of volunteerism and improve intergroup relations (Karafantis & Levy, 2004, p. 248). D.EAL provides a case-study of volunteerism that may be adaptable elsewhere. Because the two groups who participated, doctoral students and retired volunteers, both benefitted in a symbiotic relationship, the support has proved to be a sustainable 'community of practice' (Wenger's 1998 term). D.EAL assumes that support, encouragement and motivation are key benefits of writing interventions (McGrail et al. …

The Big Paper Network Supporting Doctoral Students to Degree Completion

Doctoral completion rates are a concern across disciplines. This paper describes the way in which Curriculum Leadership faculty redesigned their doctoral program from coursework through completion to include a strong support system, intellectually and emotionally. This culminated in the creation of the “Big Paper Network,” designed to support candidates from proposal writing through defense.

What You Don't Know: Graduate Deans' Knowledge of Doctoral Completion Rates

Doctoral completion and times-to-completion are issues of growing concern in the university community. Research on student completion difficulties has focused on student characteristics and student–supervisor relations. This article addresses the administration of graduate programs — more specifically, graduate deans’ knowledge of and attitudes toward doctoral completion rates and times-to-completion. A survey was carried out involving graduate deans from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Data showed most deans were unable to report doctoral completion percentages and completion times. Still, they rated completion at their universities as relatively good. Their lack of information may hinder attempts to improve trends in doctoral completion. Improved surveillance of students’ progress in doctoral programs may aid deans in evaluating the impact of program requirements and economic factors on doctoral completion and graduate studies in general.