Doctoral Research Students Research Articles

Strengthening doctoral students’ ethical reflexivity and capabilities: the use of ethical trialogues between Ireland and Australia

ABSTRACT This paper explores the value in expanding existing compliance-focused approaches to research ethics, to one which facilitates researchers’ ongoing ethical reflexivity. The authors explore the use of ‘ethical trialogues’ – or technology-mediated reflective discussions – between doctoral research students as a means of fostering deeper ethical reflexivity among researchers. Through their experiences, they highlight the benefits and challenges of trialogues in developing ethically rigorous researchers. Through analysis of reflective vignettes generated from the trialogues, the authors draw attention to the potential affordances and value these forms of learning can have for researchers. They argue for the value of integrating trialogues into Higher Degree Research (HDR) programmes to cultivate researchers who prioritize ethical integrity over performative pressures and supporting the development of confident and reflexive ethical practitioners.

Preface

International Conference on Advances in Condensed Matter Physics (ICACMP 2023) October 11-13, 2023 Organized by Department of Physics, School of Science, GITAM – Hyderabad The area of condensed matter physics can undoubtedly be considered as one of the most important and fascinating fields of research from the perspective of both fundamental understanding and technological applications. It has been able to instigate interests in the minds of several researchers due to the discoveries of novel materials with fascinating properties. The exciting physical phenomena possessed by these solid-state and functional materials have always urged the need to pursue more fundamental research in order to develop new concepts, ideas and tools to better understand them. The main objective of this conference is to provide an active forum, where the research experts, young researchers and scientists from across the globe can meet, exchange innovative ideas and advancements in the field of condensed matter physics, materials science and technology. The meeting is also expected to provide opportunities for researchers who seek to establish fruitful research collaborations with the experts around the globe. The ensuing meeting will cover a wide range of topics in the frontiers of condensed matter physics through inspiring keynote lectures, Invited lectures, oral and poster presentations from eminent speakers, young scientists, doctoral research scholars and students. The various topics of the conference are summarized as follows. List of Conference Chair, International Advisory Committee, National Advisory Committee, Chief Patrons, Patrons, Convenors, Organising Committee, Treasurer, Scientific Committee, Venue, ICACMP 2023 Programme Schedule and Table of Contents are available in this Pdf.

A Critique of Supervisory Practices of Doctoral Student Research in Emerging Higher Education Context, Botswana

The science community in Botswana holds a broad consensus that not enough quality PhDs are being produced to meet the needs of societal developments in the country. There appears to be a connection between the level of knowledge advancement of a nation and its economic wealth. The role of supervision in the quest for a leap towards quality and quantity knowledge output therefore, cannot be overemphasised. This paper provides a critique of supervisory practices of doctoral student research in emerging higher education context of Botswana. The study adopted a desk top research methodology which focused on a scoping view of studies related to the phenomenon of study. The areas interrogated included the initial stage of student recruitment and selection, allocation of supervisors, proposal development, and management environment for research, implementation of the proposal, and document compilation for examination.

An equity‐driven ecological model for internationalizing doctoral student research training

AbstractThe global academic community is increasingly connected, which has implications for the internationalization of doctoral education. In our previous work, we presented a theoretical approach to doctoral student research training using an ecological theory that provided considerations for individual and programmatic practice. Though our proposed model for doctoral research training is still relevant and valuable, we recognize there is missing a layer of criticality in that framework that would allow for more nuance in doctoral research preparation for international contexts. In this chapter, we apply an equity‐driven lens to our model that accounts for a critical global perspective that was absent in our previous writing. We argue that power and privilege are inherent in all relational aspects of ecological theories and must be included in doctoral research preparation. Thus, we offer recommendations for addressing these issues for the individual doctoral student as well as the faculty and programs that train them and guide their research endeavors.Practical Takeaways Inequities are ingrained in all aspects of higher education; thus, we must critically examine how we approach research and scholarship through each system in the ecology of doctoral education. Faculty have a responsibility to prepare students to respond to global challenges, including how racial, colonial, political, and economic hierarchies inform current international research practices. We advocate for the application of an equity‐driven lens to an ecological model for doctoral student international research training. We recommend an equity‐driven, global ecological perspective in approaches to doctoral education broadly, including discipline‐specific courses, mentoring relationships, and graduate assistantships.

Methodological teaching-learning experiments applied to Geotechnical Engineering

The use of problem-based and project-based learning is beneficial. The teaching-learning process requires the development of a critical, objective, and rational mind. This paper analyzes methodological experiments from the teaching-learning process carried out in the geotechnical area of the civil engineering program at three universities in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, for more than 40 years. Three integrated experiments are presented. In the first experiment, undergraduate students in geotechnical engineering courses interacted with companies operating in the area, conducting laboratory and field tests and geotechnical instrumentation. The second experiment integrated students and teachers from different areas of the civil engineering program around a multidisciplinary project, while the third brought together undergraduate and graduate (master and doctoral) student research activities into a single project that extends from the development and construction of geotechnical equipment and applications of new soil improvement techniques to land use planning and occupation. )This study demonstrated the use of positive teaching-learning experiences carried out in the teaching of geotechnical engineering in the development of civil engineers who have technical skills and professional competences. It contributed to the advancement of knowledge in the development of new equipment, soil improvement, testing techniques and in the use, planning and occupation of soils. The interaction between the university, society and government institutions in problem solving also contributed.

Investigating research students’ perceptions about statistics and its impact on their choice of research approach

In the information society, there is a vast amount of data that needs to be analyzed quantitatively. The ability to perform quantitative analysis based on statistical thinking and data mining, is becoming extremely important. It is important that research students develop positive attitude towards both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. But many research students try to avoid applying quantitative methods in their research and prefer to rely on qualitative research approach due to lack of interest and confidence in statistical skills. This research aims to explore if research students’ choice of research approach is affected by their attitude towards Statistics. 81 research students from three different universities participated in a survey in which there was one open ended question. Quantitative data from the survey was analyzed by using cluster analysis and independent sample t-test was applied to examine differences in the attitudes of masters and doctoral research students. Other data analysis methods, such as cross-tabular analysis, chi-square and ANOVA tests were also applied. Responses to open ended question were analyzed qualitatively by detecting the themes, such as, focus on technique, data or meaning.This study found that students pursuing postgraduate degrees in social science streams are not very keen on using a quantitative research approach. Masters students’ attitudes towards statistics are different than the doctoral students. Findings of our research indicate that the majority of students who think that statistics is only about numeric methods, prefer to go away from it and choose a qualitative approach. Based on the findings, recommendations for changes in curriculum are presented.

Doctoral student's research productivity during COVID-19: the effect of gender, parenthood, and conscientiousness

ABSTRACT The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on doctoral students’ research productivity is examined with a special focus on gender, parenthood, and the personality trait conscientiousness. Data consist of 614 doctoral students active in medicine, technology, the natural sciences in Sweden. Results indicate that the overall research productivity of doctoral students has increased during COVID-19. It is tested if the observed increase in research productivity depends on gender, parenthood, or conscientiousness. Hypotheses regarding a pandemic penalty for women and parents are not supported. However, results indicate that conscientiousness had a positive effect on doctoral students’ research productivity during the pandemic. It is concluded that conscientiousness has been an important factor in determining the research productivity of doctoral students during COVID-19. The results are discussed with regard to the national context of Sweden, where schools, childcare facilities, and laboratories were open to a larger extent during COVID-19 compared with many other countries.

ORAL PROSODIC CORPUS: PHONETIC-PHONOLOGICAL AND INTONATIONAL TRANSCRIPTION OF THE TEXT

The paper discusses the role of phonetic-phonological transcription in modern linguistics and its scope of application. The aim of the study is also to identify and present the transcription and prosodic specificity of the text as a sample. After all, in modern linguistics, the prosodic side is not taken into account when transcribing texts. In general, the ratio of prosody and intonation was different in modern Kazakh linguistics. The research is guided by the research works of academician Z.M. Bazarbayeva, who for the first time comprehensively studied the problem of intonation in Kazakh linguistics. Also, in the process of analyzing the text, 8 main intonemic models are given. I.e., along with phonetic transcription, intonation(al) transcription of the text will also be transmitted in order to identify prosodic features. Also, in the process of transcription of the text, each sentence is divided into a syntagma, a rhythmic group in which such components as intensity, melody, pause, tempo are distinguished and described.In the study, models of intonemes of each sentence were created. The results of the research will be useful for conducting research on the prosodic development of the oral sub-corpus database and for the research of master's and doctoral students.

The 2022 PDMA Doctoral Consortium: Emerging research priorities in new product development and innovation and insights into community building

AbstractIn July 2022, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) hosted the fifth Product Development Management Association (PDMA) Doctoral Consortium. As a critical vehicle to promote doctoral student research and scholarly networking, this consortium featured emerging research topics on new product development (NPD) and innovation by promising doctoral students and leading scholars, provided exposure to cutting‐edge practice in additive manufacturing, and facilitated opportunities for the NPD and innovation research community building. This article summarizes key insights and synthesizes important research topics emerging from the event.

What goes around comes around: Shedding light on today's doctoral student's research socialization and who will be the future faculty.

Higher education around the globe is striving to develop rigor and productive doctoral studies that mainly evolve in fostering doctoral students' research skills by furnishing the necessary socialization process which predicts their future professional and academic decisions. Although scholars investigated the socialization experiences of doctoral students from different perspectives and stages, a large body of evidence is concentrated in western countries that do not define or imply non-western countries like Pakistan. Therefore, the present qualitative study sought to be an icebreaker and stimulant investigation to unfold doctoral students' socialization experience in research-intensive universities through the lens of Weidman's socialization framework. After interviewing 24 doctoral students, the findings revealed that doctoral students have high expectations from research universities to enhance their research capabilities. Moreover, most students knew the research's significance for personal and professional development. The study concluded the progressive and adverse research socialization experiences of doctoral students.

Black doctoral student research participants: A mixed‐method systematic literature review

AbstractIn this study, we use a mixed‐method systematic literature review of articles that include African American counselor education doctoral student participants in the research. From this corpus of inquiry, we provide an opportunity for counselor education researchers to lead the way with inclusive scholarship and the use of strengths‐based frameworks. We examine how to conceptualize research particularly for African American doctoral student participants and offer suggestions on how to write the discussion and implication sections in a way to promote innovation and excellence.

Student research peer support group: reflections on mutual aid in qualitative research

ABSTRACT This paper details a doctoral student research peer support group that was established consisting of three social work researchers at various stages (doctoral student, doctoral candidate, and postdoctoral fellow) as they trained for qualitative simulation-based research within a research lab at a school of social work in Canada. Grounded in mutual aid, this paper highlights the development of this student research peer support group which focused on experiential, collaborative, and reflective learning. Benefits of establishing similar groups are discussed, and suggestions for doctoral students and faculty interested in developing similar groups are provided.

“You don't actually experience it until you're actually in it”: A translanguaging simulation for preservice teachers

“You don't actually experience it until you're actually in it”: A translanguaging simulation for preservice teachers

Factors associated with the timely completion of doctoral research studies in clinical pharmacy: A mixed-methods study.

There is growing scientific evidence of mental and well-being issues that doctoral research students face as a result of not finishing their program on time. This study aims to explore the factors associated with the timely completion of doctoral research studies in the clinical pharmacy speciality. This was a mixed-method study that combined surveys with in-depth interviews. Current doctoral research students and pharmacists who have recently completed their doctoral research program participated in the study. A validated questionnaire and an interview topic guide developed from the literature and pretesting were used to collect data. Data for this study were collected between February 2021 and September 2021. Quantitative data were analysed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) V.25 while interview data were subjected to reflexive thematic analysis. 47 students who are currently pursuing their doctoral research program in clinical pharmacy participated in the survey, while 8 pharmacists who had recently completed their doctoral research program in clinical pharmacy participated in the in-depth interviews. Five themes were identified: factors contributing to delay in the program, factors contributing to the timely completion of the program, ways to improve the program, advice to current students and advice to prospective students. Having more than one supervisor, supervisors' commitment to the research work and support from the department were identified as facilitators of timely completion of doctoral research programs in clinical pharmacy. Our study provides an understanding of the barriers and facilitators of timely completion of doctoral research programs in the clinical pharmacy specialist, and how these can be used to improve the postgraduate study programs in Nigeria.

The effect of parenthood on doctoral student's academic socialization and research productivity

The effect of parenthood on doctoral student's academic socialization and research productivity

Insider outsider perspectives: making sense of first-year Chinese international students’ academic experience

ABSTRACT Researcher roles as insiders and outsiders are important in qualitative studies. Yet, the roles and perspectives of insider and outsider researchers working collaboratively in transnational learning contexts have received little research attention. This paper reports on a small-scale qualitative project that explored our research collaboration as insiders and outsiders. We investigated three undergraduate Chinese international pre-service teachers’ academic experiences in one Australian university. The doctoral student researcher, as an insider who shared language and culture with the participants, undertook in-class observations and semi-structured interviews with the three participants while the outsider researchers developed and guided the overall project. In the course of data analysis, and using a reflexive lens, we were given insight into how our distinct cultural and linguistic identities and positionings steered our interpretations and enriched them as we made sense of them. In so doing we became aware of the ways in which our research plans and our own roles and dispositions were dynamically shaped and shifted as we worked with our participants and with each other. In this way, our research plan itself was changed while the process of interpreting the data became enriched and inspired confidence.

How the Reflexive Process Was Supported by Arts-Based Activities: A Doctoral Student's Research Journey

This paper showcases how a reflexive practice, that includes arts-based activities, deepened understandings experienced by a doctoral student of psychology while completing the data analysis section of a metasynthesis. The metasynthesis focused on qualitative studies, examining the mental and spiritual care of persons living with diabetic foot ulcers. Reflecting on the experience, this work argues for spaces where researchers stop and engage in reflexivity, making the work more robust.

Challenges and Support in Article Publication: Perspectives of Non-Native English Speaking Doctoral Students in a “Publish or No Degree” Context

Article publication as a requirement for graduation appears to be the most compelling challenge for doctoral candidates, especially for the non-English speaking ones. In order to contribute to this topic of growing interest, we aimed to investigate the key challenges to doctoral student research publication and develop an understanding of support they needed to ease the publication process. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 non-English speaking doctoral students in varied science and social science programs at an international university in north Cyprus. The findings revealed that the participants supported the “publish or no degree” policy as a condition for their graduation despite several challenges it created for them, such as lack of publication experience, weaknesses in the article composition, tough criteria of journals, and inadequate support from the instructors at the course phase. Peer-support community among the doctoral students lacked in the examined context and promoting it might yield positive results.

Valori centrale în comunități de practică a cercetării științifice la H. H. Stahl

This short presentation is about the communities of research practice facilitated by Professor Henri H. Stahl (HHS). Own experience of being a student, doctoral student, and young researcher under the mentorship of HHS served as a ground for reconstructing the style of HHS as a facilitator of communities of research practice. The space of Stahl’s communities of research practice was structured in a three-dimensional way. He acted to form his students and collaborators to value the definition and operationalization of working concepts, use of qualitative-quantitative mixed methods, and open communication with all the partners of the scientific research. The roots of this style of facilitating research communities of practice were in Stahl’s practice of monographic research, in his multidisciplinary social research and, also, in key references to the methodological Western literature that he studied and followed.

Fostering Doctoral Student Socialization and Research Expertise through Writing Pedagogy

In this article, we introduce a pedagogical exercise for doctoral writing and publication that aims to support students’ grounding in their research and to demonstrate concretized thinking throughout various stages of the research/writing/doctoral milestone process. We add to existing doctoral writing pedagogies with the contribution of the 7-Slide Update, which guides doctoral students to focus on key dissertation elements to support their socialization into and communication within academic discourse communities. This exercise creates a structure by which students can begin articulating their research, charting yearly progress, and developing as communicators of scholarship through written and oral means. The pedagogical exercise also supports socialization as doctoral students position their work in their respective disciplinary or academic discourse communities as it emphasizes developing research expertise and scholarly communication skills. The exercise is adaptable for use in doctoral and graduate-level programs. The article presents the original implementation of the exercise at a doctoral student residency and its modified version implemented a year later. Feedback from student and faculty participants is shared and implications are detailed.