Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2273.2011.00499.x
Volume 66, No. 1, January 2012, pp 47–64
Abstract
The paper examines the impact of the transformations in doctoral education in
the arts, humanities and social sciences in the United Kingdom over the past
decade. It focuses on the introduction of formal research training and codes of
research practice and in the first longitudinal candidate cohort study examines
their impact on doctoral outcomes, especially Ph.D. submission rates. Results
from this quantitative study show that engagement with research training,
completion of a project outline and plan and appointment of a supervisory team
were statistically positively associated with submission of the thesis within four
years. It is concluded that the professionalisation of doctoral education by
research training and codes of research practice has had a positive impact on
doctoral educational outcomes.
Introduction
This paper examines the impact of the introduction of formal research
training and codes of research practice on the education of doctoral
candidates in one UK higher education institution. In the first longitu-
dinal candidate cohort study it focuses on the impact on one of the key
doctoral outcomes, submission rates, in the disciplines where these rates
historically are at their lowest, in the humanities and social sciences
(Council of Graduate Schools, 2008).
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Bivariate analysis
To test the impact on submission of the new elements in the UK doctoral
process, a series of bivariate, inferential statistical tests was employed.
The three key variables in the data set integral to contemporary doctoral
conditions in the UK were employed in the analysis as predictors for
submission of the doctoral thesis in four years (Table 1).
There is a significant positive association at the 5% level between
engaging with research training and submitting the thesis within four
years, with 63% of candidates who had engaged with research training
submitting within four years, as against only 40% of those who did not.
The significance of this result is not affected by excluding the 12 candi-
dates who had withdrawn their Ph.D. registration from the analysis.
Excluding these withdrawals, 71% of the engaged candidates had
submitted as against 48% of the non-engaged (chi-square = 4.01;
p = 0.045).
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TABLE 1
Predictors of submission in four years
Submission in 4 years Chi- p
square
Yes No
n % n %
Engagement with
research training
Yes 22 63 13 37 4.23 0.04
No 21 40 31 60
Completion of PAF
Yes 39 56 31 44 5.67 0.02
No 4 24 13 76
Supervisory arrangements
One supervisor 7 32 15 68 3.65 0.05
Supervisory team 36 54 29 45
© 2011 The Authors. Higher Education Quarterly © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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TABLE 2
Supervisory arrangements by submission of a project approval form
One Supervisory Total
supervisor team
n % n %
Sumission of a PAF
Yes 11 50 59 91 70
No 11 50 6 9 17
Completion of PAF 22 100 65 100 87
Chi-square = 17.38; p = 0.000.
© 2011 The Authors. Higher Education Quarterly © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
TABLE 3
Submission of thesis by viva outcome for students registered in 2004 and all students submitting 2007–2009
Outcome of the viva Engaged with Not engaged Total Average
research with research 2007–09
training training
n % n % n % n %
Awarded Ph.D. immediately 3 14 2 10 5 12 17 11
Awarded Ph.D. subject to minor 7 33 9 43 16 38 42 27
corrections submitted within 1 month
Awarded Ph.D. subject to minor 9 43 8 38 17 41 73 48
corrections submitted within 6 months
Revise and resubmit thesis within 12 2 10 1 5 3 7 14 9
months without a further oral
examination.
Revise and resubmit thesis within 12 0 0 1 5 1 2 7 5
months with a further oral examination.
The Impact on Submission of Doctoral Degrees
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Multivariate analysis
The bivariate analyses above point to significant associations between
engagement with research training, submission of a PAF, supervisory
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TABLE 4
Variables in the binary logistic regression equation
B S.E. Wald df Sig. Exp(B)
Step 1 a
PAF -1.198 .684 3.065 1 .080 .302
TPA -.899 .468 3.687 1 .055 .407
SA -.499 .589 .718 1 .397 .607
Constant 1.746 .674 6.711 1 .010 5.731
a. Variable(s) entered on step 1: submission of project approval form (PAF), submission of
a training programme assessment (TPA), supervisory arrangements (SA).
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TABLE 5
Predicted probability of submitting thesis by combinations of
significant factors
Probability No. of
cases
Not submitted PAF, not submitted TPA,1 supervisor .1485762 8
Not submitted PAF, not submitted TPA, supervisory team .2231868 3
Not submitted PAF, submitted TPA, 1 supervisor .3001114 3
Submitted PAF, not submitted TPA, 1 supervisor .3662635 7
Not submitted PAF, submitted TPA, supervisory team .4138320 3
Submitted PAF, not submitted TPA, supervisory team .4875878 34
Submitted PAF, submitted TPA, 1 supervisor .5868030 4
Submitted PAF, submitted TPA, supervisory team .7004383 25
Total .4942529 87
Key: PAF = project approval form; TPA = training programme assessment.
and assignments and having more than one supervisor) the probability
of thesis submission is increased to 70%. This latter category was the
second most common in the cohort, with 25 (29%) research candidates
falling into this group. The most common group consisted of research
candidates who had submitted a PAF and had a supervisory team but
had not engaged with the training programme (34; 39%); for these
candidates the probability of thesis submission was 49%. These results
provide a clear quantitative indication that research training and codes of
practice impact substantially on the probability of research students
submitting their Ph.D. in four years. The results point to the importance
of ensuring that doctoral students engage with research training and
university procedures across their programmes and that university
research degree regulations are geared towards ensuring this happens.
Conclusion
The main conclusion from this cohort study is that changes in the UK
doctorate, including the introduction of codes of research practice and
formal research training, have had an important impact on the prospects
of research candidates submitting their theses within the required time.
Three factors representing key elements of the changes have been found
to be significant in this respect and when combined to greatly improve
the chances of submission in four years, namely: submission of a PAF
outlining the research objectives and plan; completion of a training
programme assessment; and being supervised by a supervisory team.
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