Issues in Doctoral Studies-Forty Years of Journal Discussion: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?

Introduction The doctoral degree is perceived by most academic institutions as the pinnacle of educational achievement (Jairam & Kahl Jr., 2012; Park, 2005). Notable exceptions to this are advanced doctoral degrees like the Habilitation in Poland and the Privatdozent (Docent) degree in Germany and Switzerland. The training and development of doctoral students is an important function of most tertiary educational institutions. Through doctoral education future faculty are trained, and future leaders of commerce and industry are developed (Millett & Nettles, 2006). Doctoral students: "[create] the new ideas and knowledge upon which future educational activities can be built, sustained and nourished" (Davis, Evans, & Hickey, 2006, p. 236). Further, doctorial students are the mediators of idea exchange between universities and business (Thune, 2009). The educational institution plays a large role in shaping the doctoral student into the future academic or practitioner. However, it is the doctoral supervisor who is fundamental to this transition and in refining the future roles that these people will play in society and academia (Barnes, Williams, & Archer, 2010; Halse & Malfroy, 2010; McAlpine & Amundsen, 2012). To ensure greater success in the doctoral graduate process, supervisors and institutions must have an understanding of the issues which arise through this task. Problems and issues can occur in many areas of the doctoral journey. Four issues are commonly discussed in the literature; these are attrition, supervisor relationship, supervisor quality, and social isolation. Research finds that attrition rates for doctoral students range from 33% to 70% (Gardner & Gopaul, 2012; Ivankova & Stick, 2007; Jiranek, 2010; Kim & Otts, 2010) with many students leaving in their first year (Jairam & Kahl Jr, 2012; Lott, Gardner, & Powers, 2010). Stress and isolation are found to be prime contributors to the phenomenon of attrition (Jairam & Kahl Jr, 2012). Socialization and a positive supervisor relationship have been shown to drive retention and student success (Ali & Kohun, 2007; Barnes, 2010; Gardner, 2008). As Ali and Kohun (2007, p.42) discuss, "In doctoral studies, encouraging social contact and providing social support goes a long way in minimizing the effect that social isolation has on students" As discussed above, the supervisor bears a fundamental responsibility in ensuring doctoral success, so it is not surprising to see that the quality of supervisors and advisors and their relationship with students is a commonly discussed issue in doctoral education literature. Barnes and Austin find these to be "exceedingly vexing problems" (2009, 298). Good advising relationships assist students with socialization and cultural indoctrination and better equip students with the tools they need to survive and prosper (Ampaw & Jaeger, 2012; Barnes et al., 2010; Felt, Igelsbock, Schikowitz, & Volker, 2012; Halse, 2011). The preceding issues of attrition and supervisor quality and relationship each point to the importance of the fourth issue, which is socialization, and its counter force--isolation. The task of research and writing a dissertation is, by design, a solitary journey which is "accomplished through the socially (and often physically) isolated context of field research, experienced and celebrated as a personal rite of passage" (Delamont, Atkinson, & Parry, 1997, p. 327). However, the implicit isolation which accompanies doctoral studies must be balanced with peer, supervisor, and institutional socialization, otherwise isolation can degenerate into alienation, and thus result in attrition (Gardner, 2010). These issues and others will be discussed in this paper. The discussion which follows is based on a thematic analysis of 995 papers on doctoral issues which have been published in 45 of the most prominent journals in this sector (a complete list of these journals and the number of papers from each which have been included in this analysis are included in the Appendix at the end of the paper). …