Résumés
Abstract
Despite the increasing number of non-traditional doctoral researchers, this population’s experiences remain largely understudied and their voices unheard. Through in-depth interviews with 24 part-time online doctoral candidates, we explored the perceived facilitators and barriers to academic integration and sense of belonging, as well as how online delivery influences the doctoral journey. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed a strong drive for participation, sometimes matched by the supervisor but rarely supported by the institution, which in the end does not sufficiently promote community building. Online delivery was viewed as both a blessing for the accessibility it enabled and a curse due to pervasive feelings of isolation and virtually non-existent peer networks. Online doctoral researchers coped by breaking free from the fully online model whenever possible to seek in-person and synchronous interactions and guidance. We conclude that online doctoral candidates constitute an ultraperipheral population in the academic landscape. Support provided by online PhD programmes should be modelled after the actual needs of their non-traditional students.
Keywords:
- online PhD studies,
- part-time online doctoral student,
- thematic analysis,
- lived experience,
- ultraperiphery
Parties annexes
Bibliography
- Boone, A., Vander Elst, T., Vandenbroeck, S., & Godderis, L. (2022). Burnout profiles among young researchers: A latent profile analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 839728. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.839728
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage.
- Byrnes, D. J., Uribe-Flórez, L. J., Trespalacios, J., & Chilson, J. (2019). Doctoral e-mentoring: Current practices and effective strategies. Online Learning, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i1.1446
- Conrad, D. (2005). Building and maintaining community in cohort-based online learning. International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education, 20(1), 1–20. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ807822.pdf
- Cronshaw, S., Stokes, P., & McCulloch, A. (2022). Online communities of practice and doctoral study: Working women with children resisting perpetual peripherality. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 46(7), 959–971. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2021.2023734
- Elliot, D. L., Swingler, M., Gardani, M., Pacheco, E.-M., & Boyle, J. (2022). “Let’s talk about wellbeing!”: Fostering interdependence in doctoral communities. In B. Cahusac de Caux, L. Pretorius, & L. Macaulay (Eds.), Research and teaching in a pandemic world: The challenges of establishing academic identities during times of crisis (pp. 481–496). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7757-2_32
- Evans, T. (2002). Part-time research students: The ‘reserve army’ of research students for universities. In M. Kiley & G. Mullins (Eds.), Quality in postgraduate research: Integrating perspectives (pp. 138–144). CELTS. University of Canberra. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=c68f766a8c1199de9196577e47bf3cd337ca2273
- Fawns, T., Aitken, G., & Jones, D. (Eds.). (2021). Online postgraduate education in a postdigital world: Beyond technology. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77673-2
- Jameson, C., & Torres, K. (2019). Fostering motivation when virtually mentoring online doctoral students. Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.5590/JERAP.2019.09.1.23
- Jameson, C. M., Torres, K. M., Goodin, J. B., & Mohammed, S. F. (2023). Online doctoral students’ perception of autonomy support to progress in dissertation. International Journal of Online Graduate Education, 6(1). https://ijoge.org/index.php/IJOGE/article/view/63
- Kochenov, D. (Ed.). (2011). EU law of the overseas: Outermost regions, associated overseas countries and territories, territories sui generis. Wolters Kluwer.
- Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.
- Lee, A. (2008). How are doctoral students supervised? Concepts of doctoral research supervision. Studies in Higher Education, 33(3), 267–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802049202
- Lee, K. (2022). Online doctoral education: A synthesis of literature. In Handbook of open, distance and digital education (pp. 1–21). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0351-9_66-1
- Mason, S., Bond, M., & Ledger, S. (2023). How motherhood enhances and strains doctoral research/ers. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 47(8). https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2023.2218274
- Melián, E., Reyes, J. I., & Meneses, J. (2023). The online PhD experience: A qualitative systematic review. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 24(1), 137–158. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v24i1.6780.
- Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass.
- Naumann, S., Matyjek, M., Bögl, K., & Dziobek, I. (2022). Doctoral researchers’ mental health and PhD training satisfaction during the German COVID-19 lockdown: Results from an international research sample. Scientific Reports, 12, Article 22176. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26601-4
- Neumann, R., & Rodwell, J. (2009). The ‘invisible’ part‐time research students: A case study of satisfaction and completion. Studies in Higher Education, 34(1), 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802601960
- Offerman, M. (2011). Profile of the non-traditional doctoral degree student. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2011(129), 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.397
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2022). Education at a glance 2022: OECD indicators. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2022_3197152b-en
- Palmer-Pratt, L. C. (2023). The doctoral online mentoring experience: The graduate reflective perspective [Doctoral dissertation, Grand Canyon University]. Proquest. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2875272975?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true&sourcetype=Dissertations%20&%20Theses
- Pilbeam, C., Lloyd-Jones, G., & Denyer, D. (2013). Leveraging value in doctoral student networks through social capital. Studies in Higher Education, 38(10), 1472–1489. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2011.636800
- Pollard, R., & Kumar, S. (2021). Mentoring graduate students online: Strategies and challenges. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 22(2), 267–284. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v22i2.5093
- Rainford, J., & Guccione, K. (2023). Thriving in part-time doctoral study: Integrating work, life and research. Taylor & Francis.
- Savva, M., & Nygaard, L. P. (2021). The ‘peripheral’ student in academia: An analysis. In M. Savva & L. P. Nygaard (Eds.), Becoming a scholar. Cross-cultural reflections on identity and agency in an education doctorate (pp. 154–172). UCLPress. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1140&context=lg_pubs
- Skakni, I. (2018). Reasons, motives and motivations for completing a PhD: A typology of doctoral studies as a quest. Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, 9(2), 197–212. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-D-18-00004
- Studebaker, B., & Curtis, H. (2021). Building community in an online doctoral program. Christian Higher Education, 20(1–2), 15–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/15363759.2020.1852133
- Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. (2023). Memoria 2021-2022. https://www.uoc.edu/portal/_resources/CA/documents/memories/2022/UOC_Memoria-2021-22-ESP.pdf
- UK Council for Graduate Education. (2023). Supervisory relationships with candidates. https://supervision.ukcge.ac.uk/good-supervisory-practice-framework/2-supervisory-relationships-with-candidates
- Veletsianos, G. (2020). Learning online: The student experience. Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Wang, F., Zeng, L. M., Zhu, A. Y., & King, R. B. (2023). Supervisors matter, but what about peers? The distinct contributions of quality supervision and peer support to doctoral students’ research experience. Studies in Higher Education, 48(11), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2212024
- White, N., Milicev, J., Bradford, D., Rodger, A., & Gardani, M. (2022). The mental labyrinth of postgraduate research: A qualitative study of the impact and role of the supervisory relationship on postgraduate mental health and wellbeing. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2297853/v1
- Woolston, C. (2022). Stress and uncertainty drag down graduate students’ satisfaction. Nature, 610, 805–808. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03394-0
- Zahl, S. (2015). The impact of community for part-time doctoral students: How relationships in the academic department affect student persistence. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 10, 301–321. https://doi.org/10.28945/2297