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Identifying, prioritizing and ranking of factors influencing the PhD milestones’ completion delays

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  • Supriya Kumar Ghatak

    (Indian Institute of Technology)

  • Balagopal G. Menon

    (Indian Institute of Technology)

  • Biswajit Mahanty

    (Indian Institute of Technology)

Abstract

The research oriented manpower is instrumental in the growth of economies. Unfortunately, the growth of doctoral research community is not keeping pace with the growing research requirements of India. “Time” to complete the milestones during the doctoral tenure is considered as an important constraint in doctoral degree completion. The present study mainly focus on this ‘time’ factor to complete the milestones in a doctoral life cycle. Secondary data and data collected through a focus group questionnaire survey were utilized. The opinions out of the survey were pairwise compared and ranked utilizing the Thurstone scale. The five doctoral lifecycle milestones identified through focus group discussions were enrolment, registration, synopsis submission, thesis submission, and viva-voce examination. The lack of administrative efficiency, guidance and publication; and delays in coursework completion and report arrival were found to be the most influential factors in delaying the different milestones completion in doctoral research. The findings out of this research can be further utilized to develop different policies towards overcoming these hurdles that can in turn lead to the timely completion of the different doctoral milestones. Moreover, this study can be generalized to other academic organizations as the doctoral journey milestones remain similar in every academic system in the world. Finally, some useful policy insights out of this study are presented.

Suggested Citation

  • Supriya Kumar Ghatak & Balagopal G. Menon & Biswajit Mahanty, 2021. "Identifying, prioritizing and ranking of factors influencing the PhD milestones’ completion delays," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 1457-1476, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:qualqt:v:55:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1007_s11135-020-01068-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11135-020-01068-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hugo Horta & Mattia Cattaneo & Michele Meoli, 2019. "The impact of Ph.D. funding on time to Ph.D. completion," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 28(2), pages 182-195.
    2. Joyce B. Main, 2018. "Kanter’s Theory of Proportions: Organizational Demography and PhD Completion in Science and Engineering Departments," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 59(8), pages 1059-1073, December.
    3. Rens van de Schoot & Mara A Yerkes & Jolien M Mouw & Hans Sonneveld, 2013. "What Took Them So Long? Explaining PhD Delays among Doctoral Candidates," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(7), pages 1-11, July.
    4. Sahoo, Biresh K. & Singh, Ramadhar & Mishra, Bineet & Sankaran, Krithiga, 2017. "Research productivity in management schools of India during 1968-2015: A directional benefit-of-doubt model analysis," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 66(PA), pages 118-139.
    5. Koen Geven & Jan Skopek & Moris Triventi, 2018. "How to Increase PhD Completion Rates? An Impact Evaluation of Two Reforms in a Selective Graduate School, 1976–2012," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 59(5), pages 529-552, August.
    6. Dongbin Kim & Cindy Otts, 2010. "The Effect of Loans on Time to Doctorate Degree: Differences by Race/Ethnicity, Field of Study, and Institutional Characteristics," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 81(1), pages 1-32, January.
    7. Sahoo, Biresh & Singh, Ramadhar & Mishra, Bineet & Sankaran, Krithiga, 2015. "Research Productivity in Management Schools of India: A Directional Benefit-of-Doubt Model Analysis," MPRA Paper 67046, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Balagopal G. Menon & Supriya Kumar Ghatak & Biswajit Mahanty & Sunil Sahadev, 2018. "Modeling Doctoral Population Growth in Premier Technology Institutions in India," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(6), pages 738-745, November.
    9. Grzegorzewski, Przemyslaw, 2006. "The coefficient of concordance for vague data," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 314-322, November.
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    1. Jaquiline Amani & Helena Myeya & Mariana Mhewa, 2022. "Understanding the Motives for Pursuing Postgraduate Studies and Causes of Late Completion: Supervisors and Supervisees’ Experiences," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, July.

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