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Research World, Volume 14, 2017
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Article A14.3

Walk Alone or Walk Together? A Choice for Doctoral Students

Chinmoy Bandyopadhyay
Doctoral Student, Xavier University, Bhubaneswar, India
chinmoy[at]stu.ximb.ac.in

Salil Mehta
Director, Dev-Q Foundation, Ahmedabad, India

Suggested Citation: Bandyopadhyay, C., & Mehta, S. (2017). Walk alone or walk together? A choice for doctoral students. Research World, 14, Article A14.3. Retrieved from http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/A14.3

1. Introduction

In this article, we present an argument in favour of developing a sharing and collaborative culture among doctoral students. To support our argument, we have reviewed the literature on related topics, interacted with five doctoral students of Xavier University, India, and compared our insights from these with our own experience as doctoral students. The article highlights some issues in the present practices of sharing and collaboration among doctoral students and suggests possible initiatives towards developing a sharing and collaborative culture.

There are students pursuing the PhD programme with a specific, albeit narrow goal of obtaining the degree and then, there are students seeking the path of a scholar. There are different motivations behind why people enrol themselves in PhD programmes (Brailsford, 2010; Guerin, Jayatilaka, & Ranasinghe, 2015). Some do it because they want to make a mark in academia by contributing significantly to the existing academic discussions (Leonard, Becker, & Coate, 2005), while others do it because of job security, self-accomplishment or recognition among friends and families (Mokhtar, 2012; Wellington & Sikes, 2006). However, for a majority of them, the distinction between intrinsic motivation (e.g., self-development) and extrinsic motivation (e.g., professional growth) is not clear, as they often possess both (Fenge, 2009).

Whatever maybe the motivation, despite an enthusiastic start, some doctoral students fail to complete their PhD programme (Golde, 2005). One of the reasons for this attrition may be the feeling of loneliness among doctoral students (Ali & Kohun, 2007). Following this line of diagnosis, Vekkaila, Pyhältö, and Lonka (2013) argued that disengagement among doctoral students happens more due to conflicts within the scholarly communities and lack of communication among students, rather than the stress of research work. Is it because doctoral students often take the burden upon them and don’t seek others’ help? Or, is it that a doctoral programme is designed to be a lonely journey? The opening paragraph of Sillitoe’s (1959) book, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner seems to be relevant here:
    Running was always a big thing in our family, especially running away from the police. It's hard to understand. All I know is that you've got to run, running without knowing why, through fields and woods. And the winning post is no end, even though the barmy crowds might be cheering themselves daft. That's what the loneliness of a long distance runner feels like. (p. 1)
The PhD scholar may not be running away from the police, but in every PhD scholar's life, a time-period comes when s/he feels lonely and isolated (Janta, Lugosi, & Brown, 2014). Therefore, doctoral students need support from their peers, faculty members, supervisors, and other relevant stakeholders (Gardner & Gopaul, 2012; Jairam & Kahl, 2012). According to some researchers (e. g., Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012; Tinto, 1998), interaction and sharing among each other helps doctoral students in remaining committed to the PhD programme. In addition, like others, doctoral students also need to network with others to gain a professional identity (Sweitzer, 2008). Based on these ideas, we wanted to launch a small-scale enquiry into this subject by framing the following questions: Is there a sharing and supporting culture among the doctoral students at our university? If no, what are the roadblocks for creating such a culture?

To enable us to address these questions, we interacted with five doctoral students in the management field, enrolled at Xavier University, India. The questions we asked all the students were: Do you think a culture of sharing and support is present among the doctoral students at your university? If no, what are the reasons behind that? This article is based on the personal experience of both the authors, guided by our study of the literature as well as our interpretation of the responses from the five doctoral students with whom we interacted. We make an attempt to describe the phenomenon of sharing and collaboration among the doctoral students.

2. Need for a Sharing Culture Among Doctoral Students

Traditionally, philosophers used to establish truth through discussion and argumentation (Okasha, 2016). However, with time, the process of creating knowledge seems to have become more individualistic due to the economic incentives attached to it (Cohen & Walsh, 2007). Likewise, PhD students are also expected to advance knowledge by joining ongoing scholarly discussions. Publications in academic journals or conference presentations allow some kind of formal discussion. However, in our view, the need of a culture of collaboration and sharing of ideas among PhD students has been ignored by the scholarly community.

PhD students feel compelled to focus on timely completion of their doctoral research projects. In pursuing the task, they tend to put less attention on the need to share and collaborate. The need to have one’s work published in reputed journals is very strong among PhD students. Initiatives towards establishing writing groups and orienting students towards publishing are discussed in the literature (Lee & Kamler, 2008; Page-Adams, Gogineni, & Shen, 1995). Students need support from their peers at every stage of their research, especially during the early stages of idea formation and research design.

3. Present Status of Sharing Behaviour

Some doctoral students at our university are often not open to ideas from others from their own area of research or from researchers from a different area. Being immersed in a particular area of research often acts as a barrier to fruitful discussion. This, in turn, creates silos and prevents sharing of ideas and experiences. This was evident in the following comment by Respondent 1:
    The presence of different functional areas, such as, marketing, finance, or human resource management, leads to less interaction among the students. For instance, I am working in the area of finance and accounts and I am the only one in my batch. Hence, most of the times it is not useful to interact with people from other areas. (Respondent 1)
Often, doctoral students need support from their seniors in terms of inputs and guidance. Inputs from senior scholars may help in understanding the expectations of the PhD programme and also enrich research quality. However, the frequency of such interaction remains low, may be for two reasons:

(a) Senior students who are in final stages of their work, remain preoccupied in completing their thesis and teaching assignments. This leaves hardly any time for anything else, including helping fellow doctoral students. One of the respondents stated:
    Our seniors are either working somewhere or are at an important stage in their doctoral project. Therefore, it is hard to get hold of them for guidance or a lengthy discussion. (Respondent 4)
(b) Sometimes, the entry level students don’t approach the seniors for a discussion. The absence of opportunities for socialising, such as, formal interaction sessions/ice-breaking sessions also leads to less interaction:
    The urge to learn should come from the juniors. Also, there is a need for some interaction sessions so that we can know each other well. (Respondent 5)
Even, serious scholars sometimes avoid discussions, especially if the discussions become unproductive. As per our experience, informal discussions tend to deviate from academic topics. This is not to say that discussions should be limited to research related topics. However, a certain level of discipline is required to have an effective discussion and sharing of ideas. Moreover, it is often seen that although some initiatives are taken for effective discussion, continuing the practice is a challenge. As one doctoral student pointed out:
    I tried to form a group for discussion among ourselves. We decided, each day, one of us will discuss a paper on methodology or research writing. For the first few days, it was a useful exercise. But, then, people stopped turning up by giving some excuse or the other. Even if, some people turn up, discussions often go beyond research related issues. Therefore, I think a formal initiative from the university may have a better impact. (Participant 1)
Time and again, students are reluctant to share their written pieces with their colleagues. This may arise from the fear of being judged by their peers. Sometimes lack of faith in others also plays a role. Some may feel their peers are not competent enough to assess their work. In addition, sometimes a history of negative experiences may also trigger this reluctance to share written work. When asked about such reluctance, one respondent reported:
    The fear that my idea can be used by others is always there. Also, it is not easy to get a friend who will read my piece of writing and give useful comments. (Respondent 2)
4. Challenges

In our experience, prior educational experience may also be responsible for the reluctant attitude of doctoral students towards sharing their work. Scholars with a professional study background (e.g., business studies) are habituated with incentive-based class-participation and group projects. On the other hand, doctoral students with general study backgrounds (e.g., basic science and arts) rarely involve themselves in meaningful discussion with their peers. The doctoral education process appears to be self-driven and students feel discouraged to share ideas and information as they find little appreciation or any tangible return. This was expressed by one of our respondents:
    There are no exams, no grading system, and no regular feedback. Our work is only evaluated by the supervisors twice/thrice in a month. And then, there are some seminars where we get feedback and grades from others. The time in between is very lonely, in the sense that it is only you and your project. The eventfulness of bachelor’s and master’s courses is completely missing here. (Respondent 2)
Our impression is that when PhD students engage in discussions through publications or conferences, there may be some instrumental value there. Some may argue that, that's the way academic discussions take place. We are not denying that a bit. However, there is a need for an intrinsic urge to discuss and share ideas without expecting any return. Sometimes, scholars help others with an intention to gain popularity among peers. The idea of unconditional sharing (however idealistic this may sound) is missing from academic culture at the institutions with which we are familiar.

We have noticed, scholarly discussions tend to be limited to supervisors and their students. We think more open discussions involving other stakeholders may enrich the learning experience of doctoral students.

Some doctoral students perceive seeking inputs from others as a sign of weakness. There are times when PhD students feel stuck and supervisors are not around to help. In those times, it is necessary to have some peers to fall back upon. Without such support from peers, the journey of doctoral study becomes challenging, as expressed by one of our respondents:
    You will find very few people who are eager to help in your work. Even if someone do, they let others know how my work has been benefitted by their inputs, which does not feel good. (Respondent 3)
Age differences among students may also be a reason for limited interaction among students. More often than not, students with some professional experience are wary of discussing or seeking inputs from younger scholars—a point made by Respondent 2:
    We have students who are much older than us and have their own group as they worked in the same sector or company. Our interaction with them are often restricted to formal greetings and some informal chit-chats. (Respondent 2)
5. What Next?

The coursework intended for doctoral students is often very technical in nature (e.g., courses on research methods). The value of sharing and collaboration among doctoral students may not be taught in a classroom setting. However, an effort from experienced researchers, supervisors, and mentors to initiate this culture may encourage the students to share and collaborate and learn from their peers (Littlefield, Taddei, & Radosh, 2015).

Arrangements like reading classes or summer schools may bring scholars together and provide them with a platform to share and learn from peers. This is consistent with Sohail and Daud’s (2009) contention that university administration should enable faculty members and PhD students to participate in discussion by supporting relevant events.

6. Concluding Comments

The key purpose of this article was to discuss the existing practices of idea sharing and collaboration among Indian doctoral students in the management field. We highlight the need of a sharing and supporting culture among doctoral students, present issues and challenges, and some possible steps that can be taken to develop such a culture. We contend that research productivity, to some extent, depends upon sharing of ideas, viewpoints, and skills among doctoral students. Besides the practice of publishing research papers and presenting at conferences, there is limited sharing and discussion among doctoral students themselves. Inculcating the value of idea sharing and collaborating is important for doctoral students’ learning and development. We also provide some suggestions for improving the level of peer learning and peer support among doctoral students. In closing, we present the following questions for future exploration and discussion:

Q1. To what extent are doctoral students aware of their roles and the values and expectations of academia?

Q2. How do supervisors play their role in encouraging a sharing and collaborating behaviour among doctoral students?

Q3. How can reading classes and summer schools embed a habit of productive discussions?

Q4. What role can doctoral study committees play to address the issue of limited sharing of ideas among doctoral students?

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to Nimisha Bora, Saiyada Ghzalah Sahin, Atul Singh Chouhan, Amaresh Panda, and Debadatta Das Mohapatra, all doctoral students at Xavier University, India, for sharing their experiences that helped us in building the arguments for this article. We also thank the Editor and the Managing Editor of Research World for their support.

References

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Published Online: February 15, 2018

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