Informed by the analytical framework of academic emotions (Pekrun, R., and L. Linnenbrink-Garcia. 2012. "Academic Emotions and Student Engagement." In "The Handbook of Research on Student Engagement," edited by S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, and C. Wylie, 259-282. New York: Springer) and a cognitive approach to feedback,…

The pursuit of a PhD is associated with increased mental health risks, with commonly identified stressors that include supervision, financial constraints, hierarchical institutional culture, and specific work demands. However, previous investigations primarily relied on self-reported questionnaires. In this study, a convergent mixed-methods…

Alongside the growing demand for doctoral degrees, there has been an increasing number of online doctoral programmes and online doctoral students enrolled across the globe. While the importance of mediating roles that communication technology plays in online doctoral education has been extensively documented, a comprehensive account of how and for…

It is widely recognised that an important aspect of doctoral study is the development of a researcher identity. However, little is known about how to support this. Although previous research has highlighted the importance of discursive engagement for researcher identity development, no studies examine talk or discuss how identities are constructed…

This study investigates doctoral students' perceptions of themselves as academic writers and the factors contributing to this perception. Adopting content analysis and narrative inquiry, we conducted a survey with 121 responses from candidates at ten universities across Australia and semi-structured interviews with 12 candidates. The survey shows…

This article investigates whether experiences of the PhD trajectory during the first year of enrolment predict dropout during a later stage. More specifically, we studied how supervisor support, time pressure and passion for research relate to dropout among PhD students and assessed the role of discipline in this process. We used longitudinal data…

The spatial mobility of students and academics as part of the internationalisation of higher education is becoming increasingly relevant in securing top-tier positions, especially within academia. While the number of doctoral candidates is rising, new positions are not created at the same rate, leading to scarcer career opportunities in academia…

Publishing prior to completing graduate school is increasingly institutionalised through institutional policies in ways that pressurise doctoral students to publish as a graduation requirement or encourage them to do so to gain advantages in the academic job market. However, no systematic review of the role predoctoral publications play in shaping…

The research landscape in higher education is changing rapidly, with new challenges and opportunities emerging that require researchers to be adaptable and willing to learn new skills. The study reported in this article explored how Tanzanian universities can support the development of researchers. The study was guided by Linda Evans' conceptual…

This study aims to describe and interpret the critical aspects of the development of PhD candidates' professionally relevant, practice-near research competence in the fields of health, welfare and education. To provide knowledge regarding their development, a qualitative research design and phenomenological hermeneutic approach were used. Ten PhD…

With the trend of student mobility, talented individuals have been pursuing doctoral education opportunities abroad. Prior research addressed specific aspects or challenges of doing a PhD in a cross-cultural context, leaving a need to understand the nature of students' experiences from a holistic perspective. To address the need, this study…

Social media are becoming increasingly popular in a professional context and, if used appropriately, can be beneficial to postgraduate students. Little is known regarding the extent to which postgraduate students engage with social media for postgraduate purposes. The present study aimed to understand postgraduate students' general use of social…

Research on the career trajectories of doctoral recipients often assumes that all PhD students begin in roughly the same starting position. Consequently, the impact of pre-programme experiences remains understudied. This qualitative study draws on 59 interviews with PhD students studying in mainland China and Hong Kong to explore the influence of…

While the literature on doctoral writing groups suggests that these groups can have a substantial positive effect on doctoral dissertation completion, little is known about how group practices contribute to their success or failure. This collaborative autoethnography explores the experiences of five doctoral student participants in a peer writing…

This paper sets out to offer emic insights into doctoral students' identity formation processes emerging at the interface of their personal biographies and situational doctoral conditions. Leaning on a dialogical theorisation of identity, the study analyses life stories told by four PhD students, focusing on how participants narratively position…