Journey into Doctoral Candidacy: A Grounded Theory Study of Doctoral Qualification Exam Process

Date

2017-01-01

Author

Burakgazi, Sevinc Gelmez
Yıldırım, Ali

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the process doctoral students go through in qualification exam. Within a grounded theory design, a series of in-depth interviews were carried out with six doctoral candidates to inquire into their thoughts and experiences. Data collection started four months before the qualification exam and ended approximately a month after the exam had been taken. A total of 127 pages of interview transcripts were produced as a result of interviews. The data from these interviews were analysed in three stages: (1) initial coding and theorizing; (2) selective coding and theorizing; (3) theoretical codes. The theoretical codes were generated from the codes using the constant comparative method. The analysis revealed five interrelated phases students go through in the qualification exam: Ambiguity and procrastination; Getting lost and finding ways; Getting on with the unavoidable: taking the exam; Relief or burnout after the exam, and Looking back with mixed feelings.

Subject Keywords

Doctoral qualification exam, Doctoral students, Higher education, Grounded theory

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/51005

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Article