Postgraduate Research Students Research Articles

Co-creating The Learning and Teaching Journey with Postgraduate Research Students Who Teach

Post-graduate research students (PGRs) often have teaching roles during their studies with little formal training or support (Lueddeke, 1997). Previous support at Edinburgh Napier University consisted of voluntary, unpaid on-campus Learning and Teaching (L&T) training over three days (pre-pandemic). During lock-down, this course transitioned online to a voluntary 3.5-hour workshop and a follow-up Moodle course.
 To have a student-centred approach (Pedersen & Liu, 2003; Hannafin & Hannafin, 2010) and understand the needs and wants of PGRs who teach, we aimed to co-create with students (Cook-Sather, Bovill & Felten, 2014) effective PGR support and evaluate its impact. 
 Students were employed as partners (Matthews 2018; Dollinger et al. 2022) to assess support needs and explore options available for PGRs at 11 other UK Universities. Based on the assessment findings, a new programme was co-designed between the student-partners and L&T academics: three 1-hour online workshops and three corresponding peer-led discussion sessions. The student-partners also created a Microsoft Teams workspace for students to build community: sharing their own L&T experiences, practice, and engagement with relevant theories.
 These findings support our plans for upcoming mandatory and paid introductory teaching workshops, as a foundation for this longitudinal development of peer-relations and practice. This new structure and format has cultivated a community of practice constructed by students, for students (Wilson, Wilson & Witthaus, 2020). 
 An autoethnographic approach has been taken with the student interns and lecturers as both researchers and participants (Wall, 2008; Méndez, 2013; Cooper & Lilyea, 2022), by means of writing a narrative based on self-reflection on the process. This will be analysed by thematic coding (Gibbs, 2008) to discuss the experiences, thematic ideas, emotive language, and feelings expressed by students interns and lecturers in this co-creation journey.

Doctoral Student Experience: The Supervisors’ Perspective

This research considers the perceptions of doctoral supervisors relating to their experience of supervising students within a single case study university in the United Kingdom (UK). A survey of supervisors was undertaken that elicited quantitative and qualitative data, which were analysed and compared with the responses from postgraduate research students from the same institution, obtained through the annual national postgraduate research experience survey. This new understanding was important to elicit as it provided us with valuable insights into various aspects of the doctoral students’ experience from a supervisory viewpoint, highlighting both strengths and areas that require improvement. By addressing the identified areas of concern, and building upon the areas of strength, the university will be able to enhance the doctoral supervision process, and so create a more positive and supportive postgraduate research environment in the future. One of the most interesting aspects to emerge from this research is the gap in perception between the supervisors’ own views and those of their doctoral students, for example regarding communication. To greater understand the identified phenomena, it is recommended that this research should continue as a longitudinal study with the survey being repeated on a biennial basis.

ChatGPT and its impact on research supervision: Insights from Australian postgraduate research students

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, its impact on academic environments, especially in postgraduate research supervision, becomes increasingly significant. This study explored the impact of ChatGPT, an advanced AI conversational model, on five dimensions of research supervision: functional, enculturation, critical thinking, emancipation and relationship development. Using a qualitative approach, we examined the practices and perspectives of 20 postgraduate research students with at least 4 months’ experience of using ChatGPT in research activities in Australia. The study revealed several areas of impact, including accelerated research progress, enhanced research quality, improved scholarly development and professional skills, enhanced critical thinking, increased student confidence and autonomy, and a deeper supervisory relationship. The findings suggest a shift in the roles and responsibilities of supervisors and students: the former provides strategic direction and high-level guidance, while the latter transits from apprentices to autonomous researchers due to the independence fostered by ChatGPT. This shift suggests an evolving model of postgraduate research supervision, with educational technology acting as epistemic tools to enhance the supervisory process. The study also considers the ethical implications of AI-enabled support. Implications for practice or policy: Postgraduate students can be facilitated by ChatGPT in self-directed research for enhanced independence and autonomy. Supervisors can deploy supervisory meetings for high-level guidance and personalized feedback in an AI-enhanced supervision model. Postgraduate programmes can leverage generative AI tools for an AI-enhanced research supervision model. Universities need to develop AI literacy curricula and protocols to guide students towards responsible use of generative AI tools while addressing potential challenges.

The Mental Health of UK Postgraduate Research Students following the COVID-19 Pandemic

The mental health of postgraduate research students (PGRs) is a growing area of interest to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and researchers and has important implications for PGR wellbeing, success, and attrition. This study aimed to explore PGR experiences of mental health during the pandemic, the supervisory relationship, and seeking support. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 PGRs from across the UK. Questions invited PGRs to share their experience of supervision, the impact of supervision on their mental health, and any experience of discussing mental health with their supervisor(s). The experiences of supervision varied, as did the university responses to the pandemic and levels of supervisory support. A number of PGRs felt that their supervision experiences had negatively impacted their wellbeing and reported stigma and discriminatory practices. Themes identified included discourses, supervisory knowledge, university resources, and the research culture as key factors that impacted the mental health of PGRs. Supervisors often upheld perceptions of PhD life as being isolating, with negative impacts on wellbeing to be expected, setting expectations of overworking, anxiety, and stress. The move from pandemic to post-pandemic life posed both challenges and benefits. Issues of training on mental health awareness, university processes, and accessibility of services should be considered by HEIs.

(No) time to engage: an exploratory mixed-method study into factors predicting the engagement of postgraduate research students in Ireland

AbstractWorldwide, HEIs strive to provide the best possible training for their PGRs, the next generation of researchers. PGRs engagement is crucial for a successful completion of their training, however, research on the experiences of PGRs is limited. Moreover, the number of international PGRs has increased steadily over the last decade, which poses the question whether international PGRs have different engagement levels compared to local PGRs. Therefore, thus study is aimed at filling this research gap by investigating the mechanisms that influence the engagement of these groups of students. The paper focuses on the dimensions of (1) students’ engagement with the supervisor, (2) their engagement within the department, and (3) their cognitive engagement, by taking a mixed-method approach that draws on the Irish PGR StudentSurvey.ie 2019 data and 14 semi-structured interviews conducted with PGRs at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in 2021. The findings indicate that differences in engagement between Irish and international students are mainly influenced by perceived financial security and familiarity with institutional structures and environments, are mediated by their relationship with the supervisor, and ultimately influence the time available for engagement. Therefore, the findings will be relevant to policymakers and HEIs as they offer insights into how challenges for PGR students can be mitigated through supervisor support to encourage higher levels of engagement.

The Power Hour of Writing: An empirical evaluation of our online writing community

The “Power Hour of Writing” is an institution-led approach which brings together staff and postgraduate research students in a community that encourages participants to write regularly as part of their academic practice, helping to develop sustainable habits. This research into the “Power Hour of Writing” combines analysis of participant numbers with qualitative analysis of free text responses from online surveys taken at three different time points. Three themes emerged and were evident across all three surveys, independent of their time point: The importance of community; making writing a legitimate part of people’s everyday work; and accountability, which is built into the structure of the “Power Hour Of Writing”. Our research indicates that regular, short timeslots for writing can have a valuable impact on staff and postgraduate researchers. Not only did this intervention help build the community at a time while people were working even more in isolation due to the pandemic, but it also highlighted to participants that protecting time for writing benefits their work.

Exploring English Language Learning Needs of Pakistani ESL Postgraduate Research Students A Qualitative Study

English has gained supremacy as the primary language in a range of domains including business, science, technology, higher education, and research. This dominance has created a necessity for a curriculum that meets learners' needs. In Pakistan, postgraduate students face challenges related to the English language in coursework, research paper writing, and dissertation preparation. The objective of this research was to examine the English language requirements of potential Pakistani postgraduate students, who were pursuing studies in science disciplines. The sample included 26 prospective MS students and 4 prospective PhD students, who were preparing for admission tests. The researchers used a semi-structured questionnaire to collect the data, which had been validated by two experts. Thematic analysis revealed that the prospective postgraduate students needed reading skills for reading and comprehending research papers, followed by writing skills for research proposal writing and thesis writing. Participants also recognized the importance of speaking skills for research presentations and communication with supervisors, and listening skills for better understanding of lectures and seminars. The findings suggest that ESP learner-cantered courses should be offered to Pakistani MS/MPhil and PhD candidates that focus on the four language skills for research purposes.

Designing Technology-Mediated Peer Support for Postgraduate Research Students at Risk of Loneliness and Isolation

Student mental health and wellbeing have come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Postgraduate research (PGR) students are at risk of experiencing mental health concerns and this, with the often isolated and competitive nature of their work, can impact their sense of community and social connectedness. In response to these concerns, we designed Pears, a system to connect PGR students for regular “pearings” (in-person meetings) and provide activities to promote reflection and conversation. A four-week evaluation of Pears with 15 students highlighted its potential to sometimes, but not always, facilitate peer support. Some participants would instead meet formally and according to their needs, others instead used the system to make new social connections. Additionally, some participants who faced work-related difficulties during the study found using the system contributed to their stress levels. We conclude by noting how technologies that encourage peer support can help build social relationships, providing an avenue to share similar PhD experiences and guidance for those new to the experience, while importantly raising awareness and an understanding for the need to take time for self-care. However, these technologies must be utilised carefully, and are not a replacement for other sources of student support in universities.

Social support resilience as a protective mental health factor in postgraduate researchers’ experiences: a longitudinal analysis

PurposeThis study aims to examine the following across a six-month period in post-graduate research (PGR) students: mental health and well-being; the effect of academic pressures on depression, anxiety and well-being; and the extent to which psychological resilience buffered against academic pressures.Design/methodology/approachThis was a longitudinal questionnaire study with predictor variables of six types of academic pressure, outcome variables of depression, anxiety and well-being, and a moderator of resilience.FindingsWell-being significantly worsened across the six-month timeframe, but levels of depression and anxiety remained relatively stable. Negative perceptions of academic challenges at baseline significantly predicted anxiety, but not depression or well-being, six months later. Negative appraisals of relationships with supervisors, other university staff and work peers were not predictors of anxiety. Social support resilience which was present at baseline buffered the relationship between perceived academic challenges and anxiety.Practical implicationsHigher education institutions have a duty of care towards PGR students, many of whom struggle with the escalating interactions between mental health problems and academic pressures. Actively nurturing psychological resilience related to social support is key at the level of individual students and the PGR community but more broadly at an institutional level.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effects of negative perceptions of multiple facets of academic life on depression, anxiety and well-being longitudinally. Additionally, it is the first study to investigate, and demonstrate, the extent to which psychological resilience can lessen the relationship between academic challenges and anxiety over time.

Preparing postgraduate research students to research Indigenous topics

ABSTRACT When Indigenous and non-Indigenous postgraduate research students start researching Indigenous topics, how can we best prepare them for the task ahead? In this article, I describe the approach taken by one regional Australian university to support research students with Indigenous topics through a Master of Philosophy (Indigenous). Drawing on Nakata’s cultural interface theory, the programme is designed to grow students’ capacities to both negotiate the intersection between Indigenous and Western knowledges and successfully complete a research thesis. This article outlines the pedagogical underpinnings of the programme and describes some of the practices used throughout one-week intensives.

The research experience of postgraduate students: a mixed-methods study

ABSTRACT Research experience is widely used in quality assurance exercises to benchmark postgraduate education at the institutional level. However, individual differences in students’ research experience have been largely neglected. Furthermore, little is known about how differences in students’ research experience are associated with skill development and overall satisfaction. This study addressed these gaps using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Study 1 was a quantitative study that involved surveying 590 research postgraduate students (i.e. 421 PhD and 168 MPhil students). A person-centered approach, specifically latent profile analysis, was used to analyze the data. Our findings revealed that students could be divided into three groups based on their research experience: rewarding, ordinary, and unsatisfactory. Those with a rewarding research experience experienced greater development in their skills and higher levels of satisfaction, while those in the unsatisfactory group demonstrated the worst outcomes. Study 2 was a qualitative study that involved interviews with 10 PhD students. The qualitative findings largely triangulated the quantitative results but also uncovered emerging themes, including the importance of student-supervisor misfit, publication pressure, and the COVID-19 pandemic context. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

‘PGR Connections’: Using an online peer- learning pedagogy to support doctoral researchers

ABSTRACT Peer learning is defined as a reciprocal learning relationship among peers for their mutual benefit. This form of learning is now commonly used at undergraduate level within Higher Education internationally. However, less is known about how peer learning pedagogies can support the education and development of doctoral researchers. Initial evidence suggests that peers can help build a ‘researcher’ identity through social interactions where perspectives and experiences are shared. This study adds to these initial findings by exploring the benefits of an online peer learning scheme for postgraduate research students in a Scottish university. Results from this study suggest that peer learning pedagogies can help to develop a sense of community, enable honest conversations, boost motivation and provide a forum where postgraduate research students can learn from the experiences of others. These benefits emphasise the need to reconceptualise postgraduate research as a less solitary and isolating process by recognising the potential of peer-support and peer-learning pedagogies.

“These findings are very astonishing”: Hyping of disciplinary research in 3MT presentations and thesis abstracts

ABSTRACT The changing landscape of scientific communication raises new academic contexts in which research postgraduate students are exposed to diversified forms of interaction and a less predictable audience. Against this backdrop Three Minute Thesis (3MT) presentations have emerged, although we have not yet developed sufficient knowledge about how students present their research work to diverse audiences. In this study, we compared 80 students’ hyping practice of using promotional language to embellish or exaggerate aspects of the same research in 3MT presentations and thesis abstracts to explore how they understand their disciplinary knowledge and its connection with different audiences, and how they adapt their discourse accordingly. Our findings show that students hyped more frequently in 3MT presentations, relying on adverbial affective markers and attending to the broad research area. In thesis abstracts, conversely, boosting hypes were mainly used, especially verb resources, to comment on certainty of knowledge claims and promote the research methods used in the doctoral research. We see the divergency as a likely consequence of different communicative purposes between the two genres, and the different academic status and power asymmetry between students and the audience of each genre. In addition, disciplinarity was noted. Students in the hard sciences made more use of hypes in their 3MT presentations than their peers in the soft sciences and were inclined to promote both broad and specific research areas and embellish the primacy attached to their research. This disciplinary hyping practice is perhaps related to the conceptual abstractness of scientific knowledge and its opaque connection with common wisdom and public interest. Therefore, this study reveals not only that hypes mark a speaker’s orientation to what and who is addressed, but also that students modulate academic persuasion to balance their promotion of results and claims against the discoursal expectations and knowledge bases of different audiences.

Designing an Electronic Logbook System for Monitoring Postgraduate Research Students Progress

A logbook is an essential component of any research project, whether you are a research scientist or a research student. The logbook will serve as the primary source of record for lab activity as well as thought processes for data analysis and experiment planning. The study discovered that electronic logbooks (E-Logbook) can increase data quality and generate more accurate findings than traditional logbooks. Additionally, utilizing an e-logbook improves the monitoring process and ensures that the research is completed within the time frame. Therefore, the primary purpose of this project is to develop a real-time system for monitoring postgraduate students' research activities. The development part of this system uses the adapted agile model and the theory of Eight Golden Rules for Interface Design. Furthermore, to assure the effective and smooth operation of the e-logbook system, a test plan and questionnaires will be conducted.

Focusing with images

ABSTRACT The practise of Focusing with images was the key element of six workshops held for postgraduate research students at the University of East Anglia, UK. Participants were invited both to respond to extant images (including those from the university’s art galleries) as well as to create their own images through working with paint and other art materials. Changes in this highly anxious group’s ability to access and manage inner experiencing as a result of their participation in these workshops was recorded and assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Participants completed the Focusing Manner Scale (FMS) at the beginning and at the end of their participation in the workshops and improvement (p = 0.063) was seen in 6 out of 7 participants, indicating a shift in their ability to find ways of processing difficult experiencing. The FMS findings are supplemented by reconstructions of Focusing sessions based on field notes taken during the workshops. Images not only offer external representations of inner experiencing but also provide material for experience to be carried forward.

Indicators of recent COVID-19 infection status: findings from a large occupational cohort of staff and postgraduate research students from a UK university

BackgroundResearchers conducting cohort studies may wish to investigate the effect of episodes of COVID-19 illness on participants. A definitive diagnosis of COVID-19 is not always available, so studies have to rely on proxy indicators. This paper seeks to contribute evidence that may assist the use and interpretation of these COVID-indicators.MethodsWe described five potential COVID-indicators: self-reported core symptoms, a symptom algorithm; self-reported suspicion of COVID-19; self-reported external results; and home antibody testing based on a 'lateral flow' antibody (IgG/IgM) test cassette. Included were staff and postgraduate research students at a large London university who volunteered for the study and were living in the UK in June 2020. Excluded were those who did not return a valid antibody test result. We provide descriptive statistics of prevalence and overlap of the five indicators.ResultsCore symptoms were the most common COVID-indicator (770/1882 participants positive, 41%), followed by suspicion of COVID-19 (n = 509/1882, 27%), a positive symptom algorithm (n = 298/1882, 16%), study antibody lateral flow positive (n = 124/1882, 7%) and a positive external test result (n = 39/1882, 2%), thus a 20-fold difference between least and most common. Meeting any one indicator increased the likelihood of all others, with concordance between 65 and 94%. Report of a low suspicion of having had COVID-19 predicted a negative antibody test in 98%, but positive suspicion predicted a positive antibody test in only 20%. Those who reported previous external antibody tests were more likely to have received a positive result from the external test (24%) than the study test (15%).ConclusionsOur results support the use of proxy indicators of past COVID-19, with the caveat that none is perfect. Differences from previous antibody studies, most significantly in lower proportions of participants positive for antibodies, may be partly due to a decline in antibody detection over time. Subsequent to our study, vaccination may have further complicated the interpretation of COVID-indicators, only strengthening the need to critically evaluate what criteria should be used to define COVID-19 cases when designing studies and interpreting study results.

Virtual Communities of Practice for Research Postgraduate Students: Determining Needs and Reducing Isolation

Postgraduate research is considered a lonely endeavour with students frequently experiencing social and intellectual isolation. Research offices in many higher education institutions have developed programmes to support supervisors and students undertaking research studies and supervision. These programmes include instruction on research techniques and methodologies but are often lacking in community-based approaches such as creating support and peer groups where students can share information and ideas directly. This study explores the use of online communities of practice as a support tool for postgraduate researchers in a university in Ireland. The research questions seek to determine the antecedents for successful implementation, the dominant problems associated with using online communities, and the motivators for, and barriers to, participation in communities of practice in this context. The study facilitates student collaboration by implementing a community of practice on an enterprise social network (ESN) platform. These platforms are increasingly used in industry to facilitate online community groups that collaborate professionally and socially. Professionally, ESN can be used as a platform to host virtual communities of practice (vCoP), where members can engage in sharing knowledge of their practice domains and experiences. The promotion of ESN and vCoP for this study is a joint initiative of the Research Support Office, the Students' Union, and the Postgraduate Society, who advocate for a strong peer to peer support system for postgraduate students. The study adopts an Action Research design and a mixed-methods approach, and data collection includes system use metrics, surveys, focus groups and interviews. The practical objective of the project is to manage the implementation of the virtual community as a peer-to-peer support environment, and success is determined primarily from usage statistics. This may lead to developing a framework for implementation that is generalisable to other higher education institutions.

'A fascinating time to be involved with research' exploring the impact of COVID-19 on postgraduate psycho-oncology researchers.

Key points To explore the COVID‐19 experiences of UK postgraduate research students (PGRs), the British Psychosocial Oncology Society (BPOS) conducted an online survey Twenty‐three respondents' qualitative data were analysed thematically and summarised using the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) framework COVID‐19 offered opportunities to develop online skills, resilience, and adaptability, whilst opening wellbeing conversations PGRs reported practical difficulties, social isolation, unhealthy work/life balance and concerns about future careers PGRs have had an unprecedented and continually evolving experience; BPOS and relevant institutions must continue to provide adequate support and development opportunities to safeguard their futures

A seven-question based critical thinking framework for cultivating innovation talents in engineering research and its implementation perspectives

The ability of research innovation is particularly important in the era of rapidly changing environment, challenges, and demands, where new knowledge, technologies, and unseen problems are emerging at an unprecedented speed. Engineering college students, especially postgraduate research students are well-trained with domain knowledge and technical skills to solve commonly known problems. However, the lack of a systematic critical thinking framework on research innovation prevents them from generating creative ideas, dealing with changes and new problems, and making step forward and groundbreaking innovations during their research program. This paper presents a seven-question based critical thinking framework, named “IDEA” catechism, which was proposed and implemented as a research training methodology in a research group at a Chinese higher education institution. Through the questions and answers (Q&A) process in the framework, engineering students can be better trained to deeply understand and critically scrutinize their research ideas and methods, and are eventually able to independently develop their own innovative ideas, especially leading them to do original study. The research group has been practicing this framework for several years and succeeded in developing a large number of distinctive innovation with national and international recognition, which were also collected as research cases.

Collective, Vulnerable, Nascent (Post) Qualitative Inquiry-Writing

As a group of multidisciplinary postgraduate research students and teachers emerging as a “we,” we read, discussed, and then, without planning to do so, responded in writing to the textual provocations of three post qualitative texts. We picture ourselves as a “classing,” a “becoming class” (Meirieu, 2020, para. 1.). We are a study-group-thinking-writing experimentation; vulnerable, wobbling and joyously grappling to (re)shape (our) post qualitative inquiries. The experiment offered a scholarly place to critically, creatively, and softly curate post qualitative questions and wonderings. The writings below offer a lure into our nascent post-qualitative vulnerabilities. The purpose of this paper is to offer an exploration of what it means “to do” post qualitative research. This includes both feeling-out what post qualitative research “is” and understanding that there is no extant single powerful definition and that post qualitative writing is likewise without set generic rules. In this paper we experiment with both the definitional boundaries of post qualitative research and the conventions of how to understand and come to write it. This paper is an incipient materialisation from a pedagogical event.