DOCTORAL SUCCESS: QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

Doctoral Success: A Qualitative Data Analysis

Student Name

Institution

Introduction

Statement of the Problem

Getting accepted into a doctoral program is only half the battle. Completing the program is not a given, and current doctoral completion rates are only fifty-seven percent: meaning that almost half of all doctoral students do not complete the program as planned (Johnson, 2015). Those rates are substantially lower for minorities and women. Although women outnumber men at the time of enrolment in masters and doctoral programs, a greater percentage of men go on to complete their degrees (Castro, Garcia, Cavazos, et al, 2011). Understanding why students are not completing degrees is important because it will help reveal which student needs are not being met.

Given the tremendous challenges of simply reaching the stage of beginning ones doctoral degree program, motivation and aptitude would not seem to be variables that impact doctoral success. Yet there may in fact be motivational factors that do impact doctoral success, particularly given the fact that the pursuit of a doctoral degree is a much different process than pursuing an undergraduate or even a Masters degree. For example, most doctoral programs involve revolve around independent study, which would imply that factors like motivation, social support, and time management could be factors. When pursuing a doctoral degree, many students may also be in the work force, have families, and have other pressures that can interfere with their studies. Financial strain may be a critical factor determining success rates, particularly if some students come to believe that completing their degree may not enhance their current career path. Thus, loss of motivation could be a core concern. Loss of motivation and other psychological factors can be remediated through conscientious efforts on the students part, but also requires the availability and accessibility of psychological or social support systems. If those systems are not in place or made known to students, failure rates could be higher than they need to be.

Structural issues therefore also need to be taken into account when considering how to raise the rates of doctoral degree program completion.

Finally, program completion is a problem. While each student should be able to change his or her mind, failure to complete can lead to deleterious outcomes for multiple stakeholders. The university suffers from sub-par completion rates, which may reflect poorly on administration and faculty. When promising students drop out of PhD programs, they also diminish the quality of that program by reducing the number of viable voices and diverse approaches to doctoral research. Moreover, doctoral research is designed to enrich each area of study, each field of inquiry, and each profession. More completed doctoral degrees would broaden the research base and improving the quality and quantity of valuable information. Therefore, doctoral programs and the professional fields they represent need successful doctoral candidates as much as the students need the degree. Students also suffer psychologically from a sense of low self-esteem derived from the failure to complete, and may suffer from fewer career options. Given the long-term consequences for both students and academia, studying the best methods of raising doctoral success rates is important.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to explore some of the main reasons why students do not complete their doctoral degrees, and come up with cogent and workable solutions. Because there are different rates of completion for different demographic groups, this study aims to take demographic variables into account to offer specific suggestions for different populations. The study will explore both psychological factors impacting graduation rates, as well as socioeconomic variables including family life and finances. Finally, this study will outline some of the structural or institutional variables such as lack of student support, poor mentoring programs, and other factors that might reveal challenges for the university system to overcome.

Research Questions

What differentiates students who compete their degrees from students who do not?

What individual psychological factors are most important to address, and how can these factors be resolved?

What role do educational institutions play in promoting doctoral success?

Procedures

Qualitative Research Strategy

A qualitative research design has been selected for several reasons. First, the research is in a preliminary and exploratory stage. Second, qualitative research will reveal a number of variables that the participants themselves offer, rather than having the researcher make assumptions about the most salient factors in order to place those factors in quantifiable survey. On the other hand, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and case studies yield an abundance of information about the complex variables involved in doctoral success. For no one individual will there be one single variable; a survey or other quantifiable methods would limit how research subjects conceptualize their decisions about whether to complete their doctoral degree. A focus group will offer the additional benefit of helping participants bounce ideas off one another. Some individuals in the focus group may raise an issue or personal concern that another subject had not yet considered, but which was in fact a...…Cavazos, et al., 2011).

Stress, Motivation, and Other Psychological Factors

Psychological issues are also a major theme in the literature as well as in the data ollected for this research. Almost all the participants used the word stress or stressed, and a few mentioned that they were depressed. A lack of motivation to complete the degree was also a concern, as some felt a lack of purpose, and I forgot what I was doing all this work for in the first place. Research like Williams, Harlow & Gab (1970), Bitzer (20110 mention the importance of stress management when pursuing a doctoral degree.

Frustration with Faculty

Finally, frustration with the lack of institutional support seems to be a major reason why some students are not completing their doctoral degrees. The frustration was mitigated by issues like race and socioeconomic class, with students who were financially stable and white being less likely to report such frustrations (Nettles, 1990; Lundy-Wagner, Vultaggio, & Gasman, 2013). Nettles (1990) examined the differences among black, Hispanic, and white doctoral students at four major universities and found black and Hispanic doctoral students perceive more feelings of racial discrimination than do white doctoral students, and that blacks, who come from the poorest socioeconomic backgrounds, also receive the fewest teaching or research assistantships. The potential for future research is therefore vast.

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