This paper presents a qualitative investigation into the factors that prevent doctoral students from completing their degree programs, given that current completion rates stand at only fifty-seven percent. Using journals, letters, and in-depth interviews as primary data sources, the study identifies three overarching themes: work-life balance and time management challenges, psychological stressors such as anxiety and loss of motivation, and frustration with inadequate institutional and faculty support. The analysis pays particular attention to how race and socioeconomic status shape students' experiences, especially their access to meaningful mentorship. The paper concludes by connecting these emergent themes to existing literature and calling for targeted structural and psychological support systems within doctoral programs.
Getting accepted into a doctoral program is only half the battle. Completing the program is not a given, and current doctoral completion rates are only fifty-seven percent — meaning that almost half of all doctoral students do not complete the program as planned (Johnson, 2015). Those rates are substantially lower for minorities and women. Although women outnumber men at the time of enrollment in master's and doctoral programs, a greater percentage of men go on to complete their degrees (Castro, Garcia, Cavazos, et al., 2011). Understanding why students are not completing degrees is important because it will help reveal which student needs are not being met.
Given the tremendous challenges of simply reaching the stage of beginning a doctoral degree program, motivation and aptitude would not seem to be variables that impact doctoral success. Yet there may in fact be motivational factors that do impact doctoral success, particularly given that the pursuit of a doctoral degree is a much different process than pursuing an undergraduate or even a master's degree. For example, most doctoral programs revolve around independent study, which implies that factors like motivation, social support, and time management could be significant variables. When pursuing a doctoral degree, many students may also be in the workforce, have families, and face other pressures that can interfere with their studies. Financial strain may be a critical factor determining success rates, particularly if some students come to believe that completing their degree may not enhance their current career path. Thus, loss of motivation could be a core concern.
Loss of motivation and other psychological factors can be remediated through conscientious efforts on the student's part, but doing so also requires the availability and accessibility of psychological or social support systems. If those systems are not in place or made known to students, failure rates could be higher than they need to be. Structural issues therefore also need to be taken into account when considering how to raise the rates of doctoral degree program completion.
Program completion is also a concern for multiple stakeholders. While each student should be able to change his or her mind, failure to complete can lead to harmful outcomes for everyone involved. The university suffers from sub-par completion rates, which may reflect poorly on administration and faculty. When promising students drop out of PhD programs, they also diminish the quality of that program by reducing the number of viable voices and diverse approaches to doctoral research. Moreover, doctoral research is designed to enrich each area of study, each field of inquiry, and each profession. More completed doctoral degrees would broaden the research base and improve the quality and quantity of valuable information. Doctoral programs and the professional fields they represent need successful doctoral candidates as much as the students need the degree. Students also suffer psychologically from diminished self-esteem derived from failing to complete, and may face fewer career options. Given the long-term consequences for both students and academia, studying the best methods of raising doctoral success rates is critically important.
The purpose of this study is to explore some of the main reasons why students do not complete their doctoral degrees and to develop cogent and workable solutions. Because there are different rates of completion for different demographic groups, this study aims to take demographic variables into account and offer specific suggestions for different populations. The study explores both psychological factors impacting graduation rates and socioeconomic variables including family life and finances. Finally, it outlines structural and institutional variables — such as lack of student support and poor mentoring programs — that may reveal challenges for the university system to address.
The following research questions guide this study:
1. What differentiates students who complete their degrees from students who do not?
2. What individual psychological factors are most important to address, and how can these factors be resolved?
3. What role do educational institutions play in promoting doctoral success?
A qualitative research design has been selected for several reasons. First, the research is in a preliminary and exploratory stage. Second, qualitative research will reveal a number of variables that the participants themselves offer, rather than having the researcher make assumptions about the most salient factors in order to place those factors in a quantifiable survey. In-depth interviews, focus groups, and case studies yield an abundance of information about the complex variables involved in doctoral success. For no one individual will there be a single variable; a survey or other quantifiable method would limit how research subjects conceptualize their decisions about whether to complete their doctoral degree.
A focus group will offer the additional benefit of helping participants exchange ideas with one another. Some individuals in the focus group may raise an issue or personal concern that another subject had not yet considered, but which was in fact a major factor impacting their degree completion. However, not all individuals will be willing to divulge everything in a focus group setting. One-on-one structured interviews will help draw out some of the deeper and more personal issues that may be at stake in individual decision-making regarding degree completion. Finally, case studies will allow the researcher to present information in ways that can be understood by stakeholders, with the goal of effecting change in the doctoral community.
The researcher fulfills multiple roles in qualitative research, including performing background research, deciding what questions to ask participants, and ensuring that all ethical standards are met during the study. The researcher also meticulously collects data using both electronic and handwritten methods to ensure accuracy. Data is then analyzed systematically to locate themes. The researcher will present the results of qualitative data collection in narrative format for the case studies, and in expository format for the results of the focus groups and interviews.
After selecting participants, the researcher will use different data collection procedures for the interviews and the focus groups. The interviews will be conducted in person, with each lasting approximately one hour in a neutral space such as a coffee shop. The researcher will use a digital recording device and will maintain the flow of conversation by referring to a prepared set of questions. After the interviews are complete, the researcher will transcribe all interview data and proceed to the data analysis stage.
For the focus groups, the researcher will invite all participants who agreed to the interviews. A conference room will be rented, and participants will sit in a round-table format. The researcher will guide the flow of conversation with specific questions or topics. Data collection will involve both audio and video recording, allowing the researcher to observe nonverbal as well as verbal communication. The focus group will last between 1.5 and 2 hours, after which the researcher will analyze the data systematically.
Internal validity will be maintained through the use of electronic recordings, to ensure that researcher bias does not impact the collection of raw data. To further enhance internal validity, the researcher will rely on software for locating keywords from the transcripts. External validity will be more challenging, especially when working with a relatively small sample. Demographic data will be collected to ensure that results will be applicable to individuals with similar characteristics.
The most important ethical issue in this research will be maintaining the privacy and anonymity of the participants, especially during the focus group. All participants will be aware that by agreeing to the focus group setting, they will naturally surrender some degree of anonymity. However, the researcher will offer all students the option to use pseudonyms during both the focus group and the interview. These pseudonyms will be assigned at random. Ideally, the researcher will invite students from different institutions to participate and thereby reduce the risk of privacy infringements. If necessary, the researcher will use a live online chat room for a virtual focus group to better maintain anonymity and privacy.
"Family, finances, and institutional themes from documents"
"Stress, faculty frustration, and cross-method themes"
Finally, frustration with the lack of institutional support seems to be a major reason why some students are not completing their doctoral degrees. The frustration was mitigated by issues like race and socioeconomic class, with students who were financially stable and white being less likely to report such frustrations (Nettles, 1990; Lundy-Wagner, Vultaggio, & Gasman, 2013). Nettles (1990) examined differences among Black, Hispanic, and white doctoral students at four major universities and found that "Black and Hispanic doctoral students perceive more feelings of racial discrimination than do white doctoral students, and that Blacks, who come from the poorest socioeconomic backgrounds, also receive the fewest teaching or research assistantships." The potential for future research addressing these structural inequities is therefore vast.
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