A Qualitative Investigation Into Chinese International Doctoral Students’ Navigation of a Disrupted Study Trajectory During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 102831532110420
Author(s):  
Xing Xu ◽  
Ly Thi Tran
Keyword(s):  
Complex System ◽  
Systems Theory ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Ripple Effect ◽  
Qualitative Investigation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
International Doctoral Students ◽  
Bioecological Systems Theory ◽  
Practical Implications

This study delves into emic perceptions of Chinese international doctoral students’ navigation of a disrupted study trajectory during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with students and the conceptual framework of bioecological systems theory and needs-response agency, the article reveals a nuanced picture of how activities, relations and roles nested in a PhD study trajectory are impacted by and respond to the crisis. Specifically, the pandemic has instigated a ripple effect upon PhD study that is embedded within a complex system of person−environment factors in the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem. Confronting these changes and challenges, the students enact needs−response agency to cope with these impacts so as to restore stability. The study concludes with some practical implications for related stakeholders in the bioecological system to generate conditions and support for students to harness possibilities for growth amidst and beyond the health crisis.

Performance in neo-liberal doctorates: the making of academics

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-494
Author(s):  
Cynthia Courtois ◽  
Maude Plante ◽  
Pier-Luc Lajoie
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Performance Expectations ◽  
Academic Aspirations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Field ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to better understand how academics-in-the-making construe doctoral performance and the impacts of this construal on their positioning in relation to doctoral performance expectations. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on 25 semi-structured interviews with PhD students from Canadian, Dutch, Scottish and Australian business schools. Findings Based on Decoteau’s (2016) concept of reflexive habitus, this study highlights how doctoral students’ construal is influenced by their previous experiences and by expectations from other adjacent fields in which they simultaneously gravitate. This leads them to adopt a position oscillating between resistance and compliance in relation to their understanding of doctoral performance expectations promoted in the academic field. Research limitations/implications The concept of reflexivity, as understood by Decoteau (2016), is found to be pivotal when an individual integrates into a new field. Practical implications This study encourages business schools to review expectations regarding doctoral performance. These expectations should be clear, but they should also leave room for PhD students to preserve their academic aspirations. Originality/value It is beneficial to empirically clarify the influence of performance expectations in academia on the reflexivity of PhD students, as the majority of studies exploring this topic mainly leverage auto-ethnographic data.

scholarly journals Previous studies have several limitations …: Indonesian Doctoral Students’, Indonesian Academics’, and International Authors’ Research Gap Strategies in ELT Research Article Abstracts and Introductions

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-44
Author(s):  
M. Affandi Arianto ◽  
Ali Saukah ◽  
Yazid Basthomi ◽  
Anik Nunuk Wulyani
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Research Gaps ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Research Article ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Practical Implications

Presenting research gap(s) in a research article (RA), particularly in the abstract and introduction, should be considered by authors, since it functions to show the novelty of the research. As there have been limited studies on the possible variations in authors' research gap strategies and the problems in identifying research gaps, this mixed-method study aimed to fill the gaps. Using genre analysis, this study compared the use of research gap strategies in English Language Teaching (ELT) RA abstracts and introductions by three groups of authors, namely, Indonesian doctoral students, Indonesian academics, and international authors. The results of the quantitative analysis in this study indicated that the three groups share similarities and differences in using the types of research gap strategy in their ELT RA abstracts and introductions. Then, the qualitative analysis using semi-structured interviews with ten doctoral students revealed some problems encountered by them in identifying research gaps during research activities. Finally, this study demonstrates the extent to which our findings have theoretical and practical implications concerning the use of strategies in presenting research gaps in RAs.

scholarly journals Transitions Across Multi-Worlds: Experiences of Chinese International Doctoral Students in STEM Fields

2021 ◽  
pp. 102831532110162
Author(s):  
Yibo Yang ◽  
Judith MacCallum
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Social Worlds ◽  
Doctoral Study ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
International Doctoral Students ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

In the context of internationalization, this longitudinal qualitative study explores the diverse and challenging experiences of Chinese international doctoral students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The endeavor is to identify factors that facilitate or constrain their successful completion of a PhD abroad over time. By incorporating a three-dimensional multi-world conceptual framework that highlights the relationship between an individual’s research, personal, and social worlds, this study identified six patterns of congruence or difference across the worlds and the corresponding transitions, illustrated with narratives for each pattern. Evidence shows that congruence of an individual’s multi-worlds facilitates, but difference does not necessarily mean constraint when differences are respected, understood, and accommodated. Rather, it is how the transitions are negotiated that is important for the success of transnational and transcultural PhD study. This article contributes a conceptual framework, empirical evidence, and practical implications to the understanding of doctoral study abroad experiences.

scholarly journals Advising Experiences of First Year International Doctoral Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Marijanovic ◽  
Jungmin Lee ◽  
Thomas Teague ◽  
Sheryl Means
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
The Body ◽  
First Year ◽  
Developmental Advising ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Faculty Advisors ◽  
Academic Transitions ◽  
International Doctoral Students

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how international doctoral students matched with their faculty advisors, what types of advising experiences they had, and how these interactions influenced their first-year success in their doctoral programs. We applied the lens of developmental advising to situate the advising experiences of our sample due to the framework’s emphasis on holistic student support. We conducted individual semi-structured interviews with 21 international doctoral students attending a large research-intensive university in a Southeastern state.  Our findings revealed that students were often matched with an interim advisor. While most reported a positive advising experience, the data revealed concerning differences in the type of advising experiences and support reported based on academic discipline. This study contributes to the body of literature by studying advisor-advisee matching among international doctoral students, who are less frequently studied, and by further analyzing how advising experiences shape international students’ academic transitions.

scholarly journals A Qualitative Understanding of Doctoral Students’ Experience of Embodiment

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Abdul Waheed ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
University Environment ◽  
Qualitative Understanding ◽  
The World ◽  
International Doctoral Students ◽  
Emerging Themes

Human beings exist in the world ‘bodily’ and their existence is inexorable. International doctoral students’ understanding of themselves and their perspectives of the learning environment is through their embodiment. The purpose of the present research was to understand doctoral students’ embodiment experiences in relation to a culturally and academically diverse university environment. This understanding was gained through the phenomenological lense of qualitative research. For this purpose, thirteen doctoral students were selected through maximum variation sampling from the Austrian public sector universities located in different states. They were doing doctoral studies in various physical and social sciences at different stages of their dissertation. The understanding of the phenomenon was sought through semi-structured interviews. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed by coding the text and categorizing it into themes that emerged while frequently reading the transcripts. The emerging themes include ‘stress and anxiety, ‘confidence and motivation’ and ‘physical fatigue and exertion’. Most of the students experienced ‘confidence’, ‘encouragement’, ‘depression’, ‘nervousness’, ‘homesickness’, ‘stress’ and ‘frustration’ when asked about ‘lived body’ or corporeality. The study has implications in understanding doctoral students’ ‘bodily’ existence in the universities.

scholarly journals Exploring Cherishing: A Qualitative Approach

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pratishtha Bhattacharyya ◽  
Rabindra Pradhan
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Qualitative Investigation ◽  
Study Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Collectivistic Culture ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Affective Orientation ◽  
The Way

The word cherishing is frequently used in our daily jargons. It is also very often mentioned in empirical literature on cherished possessions. However, despite the relevance of the term in the empirical literature on cherished possessions, very little is known about the way it operates in people’s lives. The only link with cherishing happens to be the studies conducted in individualistic cultures on cherished possessions. Besides, there is hardly any consensus on how cherishing operates in collectivistic culture such as India owing to the scarce literature available on the topic. Hence, the present study addresses the gap in the literature with the objective to explore the concept of cherishing. The present study examines cherishing through qualitative investigation by using semi-structured interviews in India. Forty-eight participants were interviewed for the study. Analysis of the data based on grounded theory techniques revealed three major themes: (i) the attributes of cherishing, (ii) functions of cherishing and (iii) the objects of cherishing. The attributes of cherishing convey a sense of protectiveness, a tendency to care, affective orientation and reminiscence. The functions reveal the benefits experienced from cherishing. The objects of cherishing convey the targets towards which one experiences cherishing. Recommendations for further study, along with theoretical and practical implications of the study findings, are also discussed.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Antibiotic Use and Resistance: Are Antibiotics the Dentists’ Anxiolytics?

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 735
Author(s):  
Julie Dormoy ◽  
Marc-Olivier Vuillemin ◽  
Silvia Rossi ◽  
Jean-Marc Boivin ◽  
Julie Guillet
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Oral Surgery ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Clinical Factors ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public

Background: Antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis. The aim of this study was to explore dentists’ perceptions of antibiotic resistance. Methods: A qualitative method was used. Seventeen dentists practising in the Nancy (Lorraine, France) region were surveyed. They were general practitioners or specialised in oral surgery, implantology, or periodontology. The practitioners took part in semi-structured interviews between September 2019 and July 2020. All of the interviews were transcribed in full and analysed thematically. Results: Four major themes have been selected: attitudes of the dentists in regard to the guidelines, clinical factors that influence prescriptions, non-clinical factors that influence prescriptions, and the perception of antibiotic resistance. The dentists stated that they were very concerned regarding the public health issue of antibiotic resistance. However, they often prescribe according to their own interests and habits rather than according to the relevant guidelines. Conclusions: Although dentists are generally well aware of antibiotic resistance, they often do not adequately appreciate the link between their prescribing habits and the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance. Regular updating of practitioners’ knowledge in this regard is necessary, but patients and the general public should also be made more aware of the issue.

Expressions of loneliness: Different perspectives of loneliness among school deputy principals

2021 ◽  
pp. 174114322110214
Author(s):  
Peleg Dor-Haim
Keyword(s):  
Educational Organizations ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Practical Implications

The study of loneliness in the workplace has received extensive attention recently. However, there is a lack of research concerning loneliness within educational organizations and no study to date has examined loneliness among deputy principals. The current study examined deputy principals’ interpretation of loneliness in the workplace and posed two questions: (a) How do deputy principals interpret their experience of loneliness at work, specifically in regard to how it manifests across different contexts? (b) What do deputy principals note as the reasons for their feelings of loneliness at work across different contexts? Based on 19 semi-structured interviews with Israeli school deputy principals, four distinctive themes of loneliness expressions were found: (a) loneliness perceived as separateness, (b) loneliness perceived as abandonment, (c) aloneness in carrying the burden of responsibility, and (d) aloneness in commitment to the school. From an analysis of the deputy principals’ accounts, several insights are provided and practical implications are suggested.

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