How do doctoral students interpret the idea of being part of a doctoral community at an English business school?
ISSN: 1443-9883
Article publication date: 14 June 2019
Issue publication date: 20 January 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to elicit the views of students on their experiences of being part of a doctoral community. In doing so, this paper will shed light on the success of doctoral schools and the degree to which students identify with the wider community of postgraduate researchers.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopted an in-depth interview method based on interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).
Findings
The findings indicate that Higher Education still has some way to go before all students identify as being part of a doctoral school. The data suggest that significant differences exist between PhD and Doctor of Business Administration students on their perceptions of being part of a doctoral community.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the growing corpus of work produced through IPA, and also provides insights into the development of a doctoral school.
Keywords
Citation
Stoten, D.W. (2020), "How do doctoral students interpret the idea of being part of a doctoral community at an English business school?", Qualitative Research Journal, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-02-2019-0014
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited