Issues in doctoral studies -forty years of journal discussion: Where have we been and where are we going?

Abstract

The scrutiny of doctoral studies as a field of academic research and discussion is relatively new, but it is growing quickly. An understanding of what has been said and why is important because it helps us to comprehend recurring themes and issues. This paper examines 995 papers written on issues of doctoral studies through the years 1971 to 2012. Thematic analysis of these papers pre-sents six central themes through which the management and training of doctoral students has been embodied. These six themes include teaching, doctoral program design, writing and research, employment and career, student-supervisor relationship, and the doctoral student experience. This paper expands on this analysis to unveil the roads we have travelled and the paths we are yet to travel down, and importantly the issues which have not been fully explored, and thus - continuing with this metaphor - remain uncharted.