The Doctoral Experience From the Students' Perspectives: A Systematic Review

• In Event: Student Experiences in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education

Abstract

Studies on how students experience their PhD have been promoted in order to understand how this collective develops in their careers (research-oriented studies) and/or as an indicator to improve doctoral programmes (assessment-oriented). In the present review, 79 studies collecting data from questionnaires and scales were analyzed. Among the results, 60% of the studies were conducted in the USA and Canada, 37% were applied on a large-scale and 8% analysed longitudinal data. This state-of-the-art approach not only provides a database of instruments that can be useful for researchers, but also shows the core elements that have been considered traditionally when measuring the PhD experience, contributing in the clarification of this generic term. Directions for future research are offered.

Authors

• Maria Cerrato Lara, Oxford Brookes University

• Montserrat Castello, Universitat Ramon Llull

• Kirsti M. Lonka, University of Helsinki