Overview of the Dissertation Process within the Framework of Flow Theory: A Qualitative Study.

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to examine the flow of doctoral students who are also research assistants and in the dissertation process. The study was designed using the case study method. The case undertaken in the study was the dissertation process. Eleven participants were selected into the study using maximum variation sampling. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the transcripts. The descriptive analysis of the data identified four main themes: (i)personal characteristics, including tackling challenges, sense of responsibility and planned work habits; (ii)interest in the field, including decision making about postgraduate education, satisfaction from postgraduate education, the fit between the doctoral field and the student's interests and skills, and academic goals; (iii)emotional attachment, including enjoyed stages of the dissertation process, feelings aroused by the dissertation, and concentration on the dissertation process; and (iv) living the flow.Keywords: Flow theory * Dissertation process * Attachment to the job * Case studyTime is a silent saw.Emmanuel KantThe purpose of doctoral training, located at the center of academic practices, is to allow students to conduct independent studies, to interpret scientific phenomena from a wide and deep perspective and to gain the ability to determine the steps needed to reach a new synthesis (Stubb, Pyhalto, & Lonka, 2011). Doctoral education consists of the following basic processes: (i) course work, (ii) advisor assignment, (iii) proficiency exam, (iv) dissertation proposal, (v) evaluation of the dissertation by the dissertation monitoring committee and (vi) dissertation defense. Katz (1997) stated that strategies should be identified for the effective and productive completion of the doctoral process, which consists of several steps. He also added that for PhD education to be successful, students must have various skills, such as academic writing, research, practice, time management, and planning. Doctoral education is a process that requires not only the students but also the faculty and advisors to engage in planning. The literature's recommendations for the successful completion of the process include limiting the number of students under the responsibility of the advisor (Noble, 1994), providing economic support to students (Bowen & Rudenst, 1992), organizing workshops for the academic development of students (Atwell, 1996) and determining a common time for the selection of research topics (Vekkaila, Pyhalto, & Lonka, 2013). As seen from the statements above, various stakeholders have responsibilities for the implementation of the doctoral dissertation process. Doctoral students, who prove themselves in terms of academic achievement, are faced with various challenges in the dissertation process; these challenges arise from their own work strategies or from other stakeholders (Vekkaila et al., 2013). A review of the related literature found that students are constantly in troublesome situations during their doctoral education (Hyun, Quinn, Madon, & Lustig, 2006), have a high rate of attrition (Gardner, 2007; Golde, 2005), leave the doctoral track as a result of encountering negative experiences (Chiang, 2003) or halt their education (Stubb et al., 2011). Wright (2003) stated that in the dissertation process, students encounter various problems, such as difficulties with their advisors and colleagues, the inability to balance academic life and personal life and financial difficulties in addition to the academic challenges that they face. The motivation and focus levels of doctoral students, who face all these challenges, should be high in order to complete the dissertation process (Vekkaila et al., 2013). Csikszentmihalyi (1990) stated that individuals can direct their full energy toward a target if they physically and mentally force their own limits to achieve challenging targets and consciously focus their attention on the defined target. …