Quantitative Preparation in Doctoral Education Programs: A Mixed-Methods Study of Doctoral Student Perspectives on their Quantitative Training

Ferguson, Sarah L.; Hovey, Katrina A.; Henson, Robin K.

doi:10.28945/3789

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(61 reference statements)

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“…A link has been found between the student's type of motivation and the student's attitude toward the activity of conducting research (Breen & Lindsay, 1999). In this regard, of interest are factors that act within the internal space of the university: its social contexts and the particular qualities of relationships within them, the forms and types of activity of doctoral students, and how different academic disciplines understand the meaning of doctoral study (Ferguson, Hovey, & Henson, 2017). All of these can significantly influence both the student's motivation to continue work on the dissertation, and its successful completion (Leech, 2012;Stenstrom, Curtis, & Iyer, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internal Motivation among Doctoral Students: Contributions from the Student and from the Student’s Environment

Lynch

Salikhova

2018

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: The present quantitative, cross-sectional study aimed to investigate objective and subjective factors in the self-determination of doctoral students in their educational activities. Objective determinants included major discipline and forms of academic and scholarly activity (that is, attending classes and writing papers), and subjective determinants included personal characteristics of the doctoral students, including dispositional autonomy and perceptions of environmental supports for students’ basic psychological needs. Background: The quality of students’ motivation for learning has been linked with many different outcomes. Specifically, students who are more internally motivated (that is, who engage in learning activities for reasons that are personally important and freely chosen) demonstrate better performance outcomes and are more likely to choose and to persist in challenging tasks, to enjoy learning, to exhibit greater creativity, and in general to experience greater psychological well-being. Important questions remain, however, regarding the sources that affect student motivation, in particular at the level of graduate school. The present study expands on existing research by exploring contributions to students’ motivation both from the students, themselves, and from supports stemming from two interpersonal contexts: close relationships and the university environment. Methodology: Participating in the study were 112 doctoral students from various natural sciences departments of a major university in the Volga region of Russia. Self-report measures included dispositional autonomy, motivation for various types of academic and scholarly activity, and satisfaction of basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in various interpersonal contexts. Analyses included descriptive statistics, comparison of mean differences, correlation, and structural equation modeling. Contribution: The present study goes beyond existing research by considering both dispositional and situational factors that influence the motivation of doctoral students for their scholarly and academic activities, and by comparing the impact on motivation of close personal relationships with that of various interpersonal contexts in the university setting. Findings: Doctoral students reported greater supports for their basic needs (for competence, autonomy, and relatedness) from their close personal relationships than in their university contexts. Students felt less support for their autonomy and competence with their research supervisor than in other university settings. The early stages of a scholarly activity, such as gathering sources and analyzing materials, were more likely to be characterized by external motivation, whereas the later stages, like the actual writing of a manuscript, were more likely to be internally motivated. When competing for variance, need supports from university-based but not from close personal relationships were significant contributors to students’ internal motivation for scholarly and academic activity; this effect, however, was fully mediated through students’ own dispositional autonomy. Recommendations for Practitioners: The present study underscores the importance of creating an environment in the university that supports doctoral students’ needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Educators, and in particular research supervisors, should attend to the ways in which their policies and practices support versus undermine these needs, which are shown to play an important role in promoting doctoral students’ own internal motivation for their scholarly and academic activities. Recommendation for Researchers: Although in this sample need supports from university-based interpersonal contexts outweighed the role of need supports from close personal relationships, in terms of doctoral students’ scholarly and academic motivation, it seems important to keep both contexts in mind, given the general importance of close relationships for motivation and other educational and well-being outcomes. As well, accounting for students’ own dispositional attributes, such as their own personal tendency toward autonomy, seems a critical counterpoint to looking at environmental contributions. Future Research: Future research should examine whether the mediational model tested in the present study applies to other samples of doctoral students, for example, to those from other disciplines, such as the humanities, and those in other cultural or geographic locations, where it is possible that close personal relationships may contribute more substantially to students’ motivation than was the case in the present sample. As well, future studies would do well to include other relevant outcomes, such as academic grades, successful degree completion, and measures of well-being, in order to confirm previous findings of the link between internal motivation and various educational outcomes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internal Motivation among Doctoral Students: Contributions from the Student and from the Student’s Environment

Lynch

Salikhova

2018

IJDS

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“…They argue that modern quantitative methods are not adequately taught in doctoral programs, potentially putting students at a disadvantage when it comes to having mastery of research methodology. Ferguson, Hovey, and Henson (2017) echoed this sentiment in their study, noting teaching quality in quantitative classes was a concern among doctoral students in education programs. Brennan (2005) explains this divergent approach to teaching research should be evolving to represent a convergent approach, successfully incorporating both methods.…”

Section: Research Education Coursesmentioning

confidence: 89%

Action Research in Doctoral Coursework: Perceptions of Independent Research Experiences

Vaughan

Boerum

Whitehead

2019

ij-sotl

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Action research focuses on creating meaningful and authentic change for those involved, whether in a classroom or community. This action research study examined the perceptions and potential benefits of action research coursework within a doctoral program. Participants were a cohort of doctoral students (n=7) that participated in a graduate level action research course. Students in this study experienced shifts in their identities as researchers, knowledge of the methodology, and their perception of the function and value of action research. The authors argue that action research is a viable course option in doctoral programs and the research skills supported through the course and the completion of an independent research project expand research knowledge and prepare doctoral students for dissertation research across a variety of methodologies.

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“…This is intended to provide a means of explaining the phenomenon, so enhancing comprehension and generating knowledge [15]. Lastly, the analysis was conducted using the table/framework to summarize the characteristics that demonstrated the relationship and were associated with specific research questions [16]. According to Hamid, Alexander, and Baldry [9], sampling procedures for the interview do not need to correspond to standard regulations; however, the researcher must develop a question for structured interviews.…”

Section: Fig 1 -Flow Chart Of the Data Reporting Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deferred Maintenance of Public University Buildings in Malaysia: A Preliminary Study

Yasin¹,

Mairizal²,

Zin³

et al. 2022

IJIE

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In mostdeveloping countries, deferred maintenance has become a common problem that negatively impacts the administration of an organization. A building must be effectively maintained in order to provide optimal service functioning, and this is crucial because it affects the building's performance. Public university producefuture leaders, managers, engineers, and industry players. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the issues and challenge, causes and effectsofdeferred maintenance for publicuniversity buildings atMalaysia. In order to accomplish this, a preliminary interview with an expert was held in order to identify rich information and to discuss the issue in depth with participants, as well as to acquire initial information and understanding before further study is continued. Preliminary expert interviews are required to assist the researcher in refining, rephrasing, and confirming the literature-derived criteria. In order to identify the important issues, challenges, causes and effects of deferred maintenanceforpublic university buildings atMalaysia, interviews were conducted with a sample of experienced individuals in order to obtain their expert opinions. Seven professionals and academics working in building maintenance management were selected as respondents. The study will show the issues and barriers as well as the causes and effects andprovide valuable information and a deeper understanding of deferred maintenance.

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Quantitative Preparation in Doctoral Education Programs: A Mixed-Methods Study of Doctoral Student Perspectives on their Quantitative Training

Cited by 7 publications

References 20 publications

Internal Motivation among Doctoral Students: Contributions from the Student and from the Student’s Environment

Internal Motivation among Doctoral Students: Contributions from the Student and from the Student’s Environment

Action Research in Doctoral Coursework: Perceptions of Independent Research Experiences

Deferred Maintenance of Public University Buildings in Malaysia: A Preliminary Study

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