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'Take a Break, You'll Be Able to Work More': Convergent Mixed Methods Analysis of PhD Students' Blog Posts

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Title: 'Take a Break, You'll Be Able to Work More': Convergent Mixed Methods Analysis of PhD Students' Blog Posts
Language: English
Authors: Dany Josué Vigil Avilés (ORCID 0000-0003-0213-9260), Yeaeun Jang (ORCID 0000-0003-3027-4283), Marek Urban (ORCID 0000-0003-2772-1388)
Source: Studies in Continuing Education. 2025 47(1):210-227.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 18
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Doctoral Students, Web Sites, Electronic Publishing, English, Spanish, Korean, Cultural Context, Mental Health, Sex Stereotypes, Coping, Stress Variables, Student Experience
DOI: 10.1080/0158037X.2024.2319806
ISSN: 0158-037X
1470-126X
Abstract: The pursuit of a PhD is associated with increased mental health risks, with commonly identified stressors that include supervision, financial constraints, hierarchical institutional culture, and specific work demands. However, previous investigations primarily relied on self-reported questionnaires. In this study, a convergent mixed-methods analysis was conducted on 94 blog posts written by doctoral students in English (N = 39), Spanish (N = 29), and Korean (N = 26). An inductive thematic analysis was employed to identify themes related to PhD studies. To succeed in academia, blog posts emphasised the importance of cultivating autonomy, resilience, purpose, intrinsic motivation, and self-regulatory skills. Intriguingly, the pursuit of academic achievement was exclusively associated with negative mental states. Subsequently, a qualitative-to-quantitative transformation (i.e. quantitising) was applied to the data, allowing a statistical examination of intercultural differences among the samples. The Spanish sample was concerned with challenging funding, academic culture, and gender stereotypes. The Korean sample highlighted problematic supervisory relationships and gender stereotypes. The English sample focused on maintaining mental health, albeit all coping mechanisms were perceived as mere instruments for improving productivity. Key implications include the recognition of cultural nuances in the experience of stressors and the importance of addressing mental health concerns in academic settings.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1466475
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0182907083;36r01mar.25;2025Feb12.04:56;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0182907083-1">'Take a break, you'll be able to work more': convergent mixed methods analysis of PhD students' blog posts </title> <p>The pursuit of a PhD is associated with increased mental health risks, with commonly identified stressors that include supervision, financial constraints, hierarchical institutional culture, and specific work demands. However, previous investigations primarily relied on self-reported questionnaires. In this study, a convergent mixed-methods analysis was conducted on 94 blog posts written by doctoral students in English (N = 39), Spanish (N = 29), and Korean (N = 26). An inductive thematic analysis was employed to identify themes related to PhD studies. To succeed in academia, blog posts emphasised the importance of cultivating autonomy, resilience, purpose, intrinsic motivation, and self-regulatory skills. Intriguingly, the pursuit of academic achievement was exclusively associated with negative mental states. Subsequently, a qualitative-to-quantitative transformation (i.e. quantitising) was applied to the data, allowing a statistical examination of intercultural differences among the samples. The Spanish sample was concerned with challenging funding, academic culture, and gender stereotypes. The Korean sample highlighted problematic supervisory relationships and gender stereotypes. The English sample focused on maintaining mental health, albeit all coping mechanisms were perceived as mere instruments for improving productivity. Key implications include the recognition of cultural nuances in the experience of stressors and the importance of addressing mental health concerns in academic settings.</p> <p>Keywords: Higher education; doctoral education; stress; mental health; convergent mixed method research</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-2">Introduction</hd> <p>A doctoral degree, commonly known as a PhD, represents a coveted academic achievement for a growing number of students. A PhD is the highest academic degree, typically requiring rigorous research and the completion of a doctoral dissertation. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref1">39</reflink>]), 1.1% of the adult population within its member states currently holds this academic credential, and there is a noticeable increase in individuals actively pursuing and obtaining PhD degrees. If current enrolment and graduation rates persist, an estimated 2.3% of the current population of OECD member countries will engage in PhD studies during their lifetime. This surge in interest holds significant implications for both academia and industry. Universities benefit extensively from PhD students through their contributions to research and the elevation of the institution's academic prestige. PhD students often publish scholarly articles, and contribute to the university's reputation as a centre for intellectual innovation. Research activities conducted by doctoral students contribute to the advancement of knowledge, benefiting not only academic institutions but also industries seeking highly trained and motivated professionals with PhD qualifications (Ezell, Nager, and Atkinson [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref2">17</reflink>]; Larivière [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref3">31</reflink>]; OECD [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref4">39</reflink>]; Rindermann and Thompson [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref5">45</reflink>]; Schaaper [<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref6">50</reflink>]).</p> <p>Unfortunately, a longer stay in academia is associated with specific work demands and doctoral students are at a higher mental health risk compared to other working populations (Barry et al. [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref7">4</reflink>]; Burford [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref8">7</reflink>]; Cidlinská et al. [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref9">9</reflink>]; Evans et al. [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref10">16</reflink>]; Hazell et al. [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref11">25</reflink>]; Levecque et al. [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref12">32</reflink>]; Mackie and Bates [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref13">36</reflink>]; Melin, Astvik, and Bernhard-Oettel [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref14">38</reflink>]; Panger [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref15">40</reflink>]; Pyhältö et al. [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref16">43</reflink>]). According to Levecque et al. ([<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref17">32</reflink>]), 51% of European PhD students experienced psychological distress and almost 32% were at risk of having or developing depression. Other surveys led by universities in the United States show similar results: Panger ([<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref18">40</reflink>]) found that 47% of PhD students reached the clinical threshold for depression. Smith and Brook ([<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref19">51</reflink>]) found that PhD students consider their stress levels 'more than average' in 50% of cases and 'tremendous' in 23% of cases. These results exceed the prevalence in the general population. It is estimated that nearly 11–18% of people worldwide exhibit one or more mental disorders (Ritchie [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref20">46</reflink>]). On the other hand, these results should be interpreted with caution due to the limitations associated with self-reported data. In the study of stressors among PhD students, self-report surveys are a commonly employed method. However, surveys investigating subjective experiences are susceptible to various factors that may impact the accuracy and reliability of the findings. Participants may underreport or overreport certain aspects, influenced by social desirability bias, memory recall limitations, and subjective interpretation of stressors. This is particularly pertinent when investigating mental health problems, as stigma or cultural factors may contribute to underreporting, a phenomenon observed more prominently in developing countries (Dattani, Ritchie, and Roser [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref21">11</reflink>]; Panger [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref22">40</reflink>]; Sagar, Chawla, and Sen [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref23">48</reflink>]; Whiteford, Ferrari, and Degenhardt [<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref24">56</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-3">Stressors in doctoral study</hd> <p>In recent years, the scientific community has shown growing interest in mental health and general well-being of doctoral students and researchers, as can be seen in an increasing number of published research (Mackie and Bates [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref25">36</reflink>]). Studies have shown that the scientific community experiences higher levels of stress and other mental health conditions – particularly depression and anxiety – than other working populations (Evans et al. [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref26">16</reflink>]; Levecque et al. [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref27">32</reflink>]; Panger [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref28">40</reflink>]), endangering their quality of life and undermines their professional activities (Barry et al. [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref29">4</reflink>]; Guthrie et al. [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref30">21</reflink>]; Levecque et al. [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref31">32</reflink>]; Sverdlik et al. [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref32">52</reflink>]).</p> <p>Sverdlik et al. ([<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref33">52</reflink>]) located stressors in two main categories: external and internal. External stressors include relationships (e.g. supervision, personal/social lives), resources (i.e. funding), and institutions (e.g. department, university). On the other hand, internal stressors include psychological/mental processes related to academic work (e.g. motivation, writing skills, self-regulatory strategies, and academic identity). Pyhältö et al. ([<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref34">43</reflink>]) classified the results of their study into four categories of struggle along the doctoral experience: supervision and academic community, resources, general work processes, and domain-specific expertise. According to a large review by Mackie and Bates ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref35">36</reflink>]), the well-being of doctoral students has deteriorated due to role conflict, excessive workload, lack of transparency, closed decision-making, and unclear university expectations. In the end, Grady et al. ([<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref36">19</reflink>]) identified supervision, feelings of social isolation in the academic community, and funding, as the main sources of struggle among students, but clarified that the relevance of stressors may vary from programme to programme. For instance, psychology and education majors identified supervision as one of their most common sources of struggle. The reason may be connected to the fact that these doctoral students are skilled in subjects such as teaching, pedagogy, and learning, making them keener to put the teaching practices and communication skills of the supervisor under scrutiny (Pyhältö et al. [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref37">43</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-4">Supervision</hd> <p>The student/supervisor relationship is the stressor attracting the most attention in recent studies (Mackie and Bates [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref38">36</reflink>]). Peluso, Carleton, and Asmundson ([<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref39">41</reflink>]) have found that the level of satisfaction of students regarding their supervision relationship is a significant predictor of depression in experimental programmes. Other researchers suggest that lack of experience, inaccessibility, indifference to the student or lack of leadership of the supervisor can produce higher levels of stress, even to the point of dropping out of the study (Devine and Hunter [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref40">14</reflink>]; Levecque et al. [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref41">32</reflink>]). Levecque et al. ([<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref42">32</reflink>]) also classify supervision styles as autocratic, inspiring, and 'laissez-faire' (i.e. little intervention). Doctoral students with an inspiring supervisor exhibited higher levels of mental well-being, while a more 'laissez-faire' style had the potential to produce greater psychological distress. The autocratic supervision style does not appear to have a significant impact on the mental well-being of the supervisees.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-5">Academic community</hd> <p>Students who are integrated and socialised in the research community have several advantages over students who are working in more 'individualistic' fields. Becoming a member of a research team provides students with a social structure, a well-defined project, and access to feedback from peers. However, especially in humanities and social sciences programmes (Larivière [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref43">31</reflink>]), doctoral students face the need to develop their own research project and work in a more isolated environment, which may be more challenging (Long and Fox [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref44">34</reflink>]). Pyhältö, Stubb, and Lonka ([<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref45">42</reflink>]) found that students who identify themselves as members of their academic community exhibit higher levels of satisfaction and suffer less from lack of interest. At the same time, they found a correlation between learning environment dissatisfaction and stress, anxiety, and exhaustion in doctoral students.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-6">Resources</hd> <p>The category of resources includes funding, access to effective supervision, a network of supporting peers and scholarly community, well-defined goals and expectations, and equipment (Ryan et al. [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref46">47</reflink>]). Access to funding opportunities, especially in the form of scholarships, has a positive impact on the well-being of students and their research activities (Litalien and Guay [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref47">33</reflink>]). However, there is evidence that students with unknown sources of funding are at an increased risk of developing mental health conditions than those already integrated in the academic community (e.g. as lecturers). Furthermore, findings indicate that those with the aspiration to start a career in academia after PhD graduation are less likely to experience mental health issues (Juniper et al. [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref48">29</reflink>]). Ampaw and Jaeger ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref49">3</reflink>]) have found that PhD students who get a paid position as research assistants cope better through the different stages of the PhD programme than those who become scholarship awardees. When students have their financial needs covered, they are allowed to focus on their academic goals and are more likely to complete their programmes (Gururaj, Heilig, and Somers [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref50">20</reflink>]; Litalien and Guay [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref51">33</reflink>]). However, different funding opportunities have different implications; therefore adopting a case-by-case strategy and taking into account the particular needs of each student's access to funding opportunities would produce better results and improve their well-being (Sverdlik et al. [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref52">52</reflink>]). This suggests that, while funding is critical, having clear goals and being integrated into the academic community is, again, an important contributor to a positive doctoral experience.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-7">Present study: convergent mixed methods approach</hd> <p>Taking into consideration that most of the previous studies relied on self-reported surveys, the present study uses a convergent mixed methods analysis (Creswell and Plano Clark [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref53">10</reflink>]) of blog posts written by PhD students in an attempt to offer a more comprehensive understanding of the PhD study experience. Wilson, Kenny, and Dickson-Swift ([<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref54">57</reflink>]) demonstrated that blog posts have a large potential as a qualitative research tool. Data collection through blog posts gives researchers access to populations that otherwise would remain difficult or expensive to reach (Hookway [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref55">28</reflink>]), and at the same time, their voices can be 'listened to' in a more familiar tone due to their journal-like style (Wilson, Kenny, and Dickson-Swift [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref56">57</reflink>]). Academics widely employ blog posts as tools for communicating their ideas, considering them one of the most favoured social media tools (Zhu and Procter [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref57">58</reflink>]). PhD students and early career researchers leverage social media tools to enhance their scholarly communication practices, boost their professional profiles, swiftly disseminate their work to a broader audience, and solicit feedback and support from peers worldwide (Ahmad and Pawar [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref58">2</reflink>]; Busque and Mingoia [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref59">8</reflink>]).</p> <p>On the other hand, several researchers expressed concerns regarding consent, privacy, authenticity, and anonymity associated with the use of different user-generated web content in qualitative research (Ackland [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref60">1</reflink>]; Lunnay et al. [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref61">35</reflink>]; Wilson, Kenny, and Dickson-Swift [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref62">57</reflink>]). However, publicly accessible web-based communication in the form of blog posts, social media posts or comments is becoming more and more important in every aspect of contemporary life, and given that web-based communication reflects experience, perception, and emotional being over time, its uses should be taken into consideration whenever it fits the purpose of a particular research aim (Hookway [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref63">28</reflink>]; Rathi and Given [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref64">44</reflink>]; Wilson, Kenny, and Dickson-Swift [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref65">57</reflink>]). Following their recommendations, this convergent mixed methods study had two overarching research goals. First, a qualitative goal was to identify the emerging themes associated with the PhD study. In this phase, the inductive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref66">5</reflink>]) was used to explore themes associated with PhD study in blog posts written in English, Spanish, or Korean language. Second, a quantitative goal, was to identify the exact differences in occurrence of specific themes between the blog posts written in different languages. To achieve this goal, the qualitative data obtained from thematic analysis were transformed (i.e. quantitised) to allow further statistical testing (de Block and Vis [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref67">13</reflink>]; Sandelowski, Voils, and Knafl [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref68">49</reflink>]). Statistical analyses allowed identification of themes that are specific for each respective culture. By comparing and synthesising both qualitative and quantitised data, the present study provides a comprehensive understanding of doctoral students' experience that goes beyond what could be achieved through either method alone.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-8">Methods</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0182907083-9">Sample</hd> <p>The sampling procedure focused on the identification of all blog posts relevant to successful enrolment, management, and graduation from a PhD study. The Google search procedure employed several phrases in all three languages (i.e. 'How to become a Ph.D. student?', 'How to get a Ph.D.?', 'How to survive a Ph.D. study?', 'Is a Ph.D. worth it?', 'Benefits of a Ph.D. study', 'Ph.D. experience', 'How to finish a Ph.D. study?', 'Life after a Ph.D. study').</p> <p>All blog posts that (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref69">1</reflink>) described the experience with a PhD study, and that were (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref70">2</reflink>) written by the actual PhD student were included in the sample. Blog posts were downloaded from the websites and saved in.docx format. The sample consisted of 94 blog posts written by PhD students or recent PhD graduates between 2007 and 2021. Each blog post author was represented in the sample only once. The blog posts were written in English, Spanish, or Korean (see Table 1 for an exact count of articles in each language).</p> <p>Table 1. Counts of blog posts by country of origin</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><td>Written in English</td><td>Written in Spanish</td><td>Written in Korean</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>United Kingdom</td><td char=".">16</td><td>Spain</td><td char=".">18</td><td>USA</td><td char=".">10</td></tr><tr><td>USA</td><td char=".">8</td><td>Argentina</td><td char=".">2</td><td>South Korea</td><td char=".">8</td></tr><tr><td>Netherlands</td><td char=".">6</td><td>Brazil</td><td char=".">2</td><td>Canada</td><td char=".">2</td></tr><tr><td>Australia</td><td char=".">3</td><td>Germany</td><td char=".">2</td><td>Sweden</td><td char=".">2</td></tr><tr><td>Germany</td><td char=".">3</td><td>Chile</td><td char=".">1</td><td>United Kingdom</td><td char=".">2</td></tr><tr><td>Canada</td><td char=".">1</td><td>Colombia</td><td char=".">1</td><td>France</td><td char=".">1</td></tr><tr><td>Estonia</td><td char=".">1</td><td>Mexico</td><td char=".">1</td><td>Singapore</td><td char=".">1</td></tr><tr><td>South Africa</td><td char=".">1</td><td>Peru</td><td char=".">1</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td /><td /><td>USA</td><td char=".">1</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td><bold>Total</bold></td><td char="."><bold>39</bold></td><td><bold>Total</bold></td><td char="."><bold>29</bold></td><td><bold>Total</bold></td><td char="."><bold>26</bold></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>The choice to focus on English, Spanish, and Korean languages stems from a deliberate effort to capture a diverse range of perspectives in the context of PhD studies. English was included for its widespread use in academic settings globally, providing a broad international perspective. Spanish and Korean were chosen to offer insights into the experiences of students from non-English-speaking backgrounds, enabling exploration of unique challenges in different linguistic and cultural contexts. This selection allows for a comparative analysis, revealing both commonalities and variations in the experiences among PhD students worldwide. By considering these distinct language groups, this study aims to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the cultural and linguistic dimensions of doctoral education, enriching the global discourse on the challenges and strategies employed by PhD students.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-10">Analytical procedure</hd> <p>Schematically, the convergent analytical procedure can be depicted as follows:</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mtable columnalign="right left" rowspacing=".5em" columnspacing="thickmathspace" displaystyle="true"><mtr><mtd><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">QUAL</mi><mspace width="thickmathspace" /></mrow></mtd><mtd><mo>+</mo><mrow><mspace width="thickmathspace" /><mi mathvariant="normal">quant</mi><mspace width="thickmathspace" /></mrow></mtd></mtr><mtr><mtd /><mtd><mo>=</mo><mrow><mspace width="thickmathspace" /></mrow><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mrow><mspace width="thickmathspace" /><mi mathvariant="normal">describe</mi><mspace width="thickmathspace" /><mi mathvariant="normal">the</mi><mspace width="thickmathspace" /><mi mathvariant="normal">themes</mi><mspace width="thickmathspace" /><mi mathvariant="normal">and</mi><mspace width="thickmathspace" /></mrow><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>2</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mrow><mspace width="thickmathspace" /><mi mathvariant="normal">identify</mi><mspace width="thickmathspace" /><mi mathvariant="normal">the</mi><mspace width="thickmathspace" /><mi mathvariant="normal">differences</mi><mspace width="thickmathspace" /><mi mathvariant="normal">between</mi><mspace width="thickmathspace" /><mi mathvariant="normal">samples</mi></mrow></mtd></mtr></mtable></math> </ephtml> </p> <p>The first objective (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref71">1</reflink>) of the study was to identify common themes related to a PhD study in doctoral students' blog posts. To achieve this goal, the study employed the inductive thematic analysis procedure outlined by Braun and Clarke ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref72">5</reflink>]). Initially, all three authors familiarised themselves with English articles. To mitigate the risk of potential distortion in the subsequent code construction for the Spanish and Korean samples, the authors engaged in preliminary discussions to align their expectations before the initial code construction, following the recommendations of Hill ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref73">26</reflink>]) and Hill, Thompson, and Williams ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref74">27</reflink>]). Subsequently, the coding process for the English articles involved collaborative efforts of all three authors. Throughout this phase, authors continuously discussed and refined the coding framework until a consensus was reached among the assessors. The consensus-building process was characterised by iterative discussions, reflection on the coding decisions, and adjustments to ensure a shared understanding of the emerging themes and patterns. Achieving consensus involved regular meetings where authors critically examined the coding decisions, resolved the discrepancies through dialogue, and refined the coding scheme to accurately capture the nuances within the data. The first author then continued with code construction in the Spanish sample; the second author continued with code construction in the Korean sample; the third author acted as an auditor. After the coding procedure, the codes were categorised into themes by all three authors. Finally, the themes were reviewed, labelled, and interpreted. The analysis was conducted in Atlas.ti 8.5.</p> <p>The second objective (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref75">2</reflink>) of the study aimed to compare the distribution of the themes among the English, Korean, and Spanish samples. To achieve this, the qualitative data obtained from the thematic analysis of blog posts were subjected to an approach known as quantitising, a method that involves converting qualitative information into a format suitable for quantitative analysis (de Block and Vis [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref76">13</reflink>]; Sandelowski, Voils, and Knafl [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref77">49</reflink>]). In our context, this process involved assigning a relative word count to each theme within every blog post. Quantitatising is an approach that bridges the gap between qualitative and quantitative analysis. In this study, the relative word count was determined by calculating the percentage of words associated with each theme in each article. This normalisation was crucial given the inherent variation in the length of the blog posts. By using the relative word count, it was possible to mitigate the potential impact of the article length on statistical testing, ensuring a more accurate comparison of the theme distribution across different language samples.</p> <p>The overall difference between samples was calculated with one-way MANOVA where percentage associated with each theme acted as dependent variable. The exact differences between the proportions of themes in the English, Spanish, and Korean samples were subsequently tested by one-way ANOVAs with a Ryan–Einot–Gabriel–Welsch Studentized Range Q (REGWQ) post hoc test. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) was performed to see how well the proportion of individual themes predict the membership to one of the samples. DFA was able to identify one significant discrimination function, Wilks' Λ =.27, Χ(<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref78">54</reflink>) = 102.09, <emph>p</emph> <.001, explaining 69.7% of variance, with canonical correlation of.76. DFA classified correctly 75.9% of Spanish, 84.6% of English, and 76.9% of Korean cases. For the visualisation of differences between the proportion of themes in English, Spanish, and Korean samples, a multidimensional scaling (MDS) procedure (PROXSCAL in IBM SPSS 28) was employed (Hair et al. [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref79">22</reflink>]). The Euclidian distance with ordinal proximity transformation produced a well-fitting two-dimensional solution (D.A.F. =.92, Tucker's coefficient of congruence =.96) as represented in Figure 1. Table 2 contains the exact statistics associated with one-way ANOVAs and pooled within-groups correlations between discriminating variables and standardised canonical discriminant functions (structure matrix) from DFA.</p> <p>Graph: Figure 1. The visualisation (MDS) of theme distribution in English, Spanish, and Korean articles.</p> <p>Table 2. Themes and subthemes identified in the blog posts, and their proportions in English, Korean, and Spanish samples.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><td>Themes</td><td>Proportions of themes</td><td>ANOVA</td><td>DFA</td></tr><tr><td /><td>English</td><td>Korean</td><td>Spanish</td><td><italic>Total</italic></td><td><italic>F</italic>(2, 91)</td><td>η<sup>2</sup><sub>p</sub></td><td /></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><bold>Activities Before, During, and at the End of Doctoral Study</bold></td></tr><tr><td><italic>1. Consider your motivation and do your homework before committing to PhD</italic></td><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /></tr><tr><td>Preparation for application</td><td char=".">5.2%</td><td char="."><bold>9</bold>.<bold>0%</bold></td><td char="."><bold>10</bold>.<bold>0%</bold></td><td char="."><italic>7</italic>.<italic>4%</italic></td><td char=".">4.45*</td><td char=".">.09</td><td char=".">.26</td></tr><tr><td><italic>2. Activities during PhD study include learning and research</italic></td><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /></tr><tr><td>Doing research</td><td char=".">4.0%</td><td char=".">4.7%</td><td char=".">3.3%</td><td char="."><italic>4</italic>.<italic>0%</italic></td><td char=".">0.90</td><td char=".">.02</td><td char=".">.13</td></tr><tr><td>Learning yourself</td><td char=".">1.0%</td><td char="."><bold>4</bold>.<bold>1%</bold></td><td char=".">0.9%</td><td char="."><italic>1</italic>.<italic>5%</italic></td><td char=".">7.38***</td><td char=".">.14</td><td char=".">-.27</td></tr><tr><td><italic>3. Prepare to make difficult career decisions after PhD</italic></td><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /></tr><tr><td>Closure and reflection</td><td char=".">3.0%</td><td char=".">2.4%</td><td char=".">3.9%</td><td char="."><italic>3</italic>.<italic>3%</italic></td><td char=".">0.84</td><td char=".">.02</td><td char=".">.20</td></tr><tr><td>Career outside academia</td><td char=".">3.2%</td><td char=".">1.8%</td><td char=".">3.1%</td><td char="."><italic>2</italic>.<italic>9%</italic></td><td char=".">0.22</td><td char=".">.01</td><td char=".">.12</td></tr><tr><td>Career inside academia</td><td char=".">1.5%</td><td char=".">1.4%</td><td char=".">2.6%</td><td char="."><italic>1</italic>.<italic>9%</italic></td><td char=".">0.87</td><td char=".">.02</td><td char=".">.20</td></tr><tr><td><bold>Academic Identity and Skillset</bold></td></tr><tr><td><italic>4. Your emerging academic identity needs to integrate a very specific skillset</italic></td><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /></tr><tr><td>Personality traits and skills</td><td char="."><bold>11</bold>.<bold>4%</bold></td><td char="."><bold>10</bold>.<bold>6%</bold></td><td char=".">3.2%</td><td char="."><italic>8</italic>.<italic>9%</italic></td><td char=".">7.25***</td><td char=".">.14</td><td char=".">.41</td></tr><tr><td><italic>5. Self-regulation is a key for success</italic></td><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /></tr><tr><td>Motivation (purpose and personal interest)</td><td char=".">5.3%</td><td char=".">2.2%</td><td char=".">2.5%</td><td char="."><italic>3</italic>.<italic>9%</italic></td><td char=".">1.44</td><td char=".">.03</td><td char=".">.39</td></tr><tr><td>Planning (goal setting and preparation)</td><td char=".">6.8%</td><td char=".">4.5%</td><td char=".">3.0%</td><td char="."><italic>5</italic>.<italic>1%</italic></td><td char=".">1.41</td><td char=".">.03</td><td char=".">.38</td></tr><tr><td>Execution</td><td char=".">0.9%</td><td char=".">0.7%</td><td char=".">0.5%</td><td char="."><italic>0</italic>.<italic>8%</italic></td><td char=".">0.15</td><td char=".">.00</td><td char=".">.14</td></tr><tr><td>Evaluation of outcomes</td><td char=".">2.2%</td><td char=".">1.8%</td><td char=".">1.4%</td><td char="."><italic>1</italic>.<italic>9%</italic></td><td char=".">0.13</td><td char=".">.00</td><td char=".">.17</td></tr><tr><td><italic>6. Academic writing should become your everyday routine</italic></td><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /></tr><tr><td>Writing and defending dissertation</td><td char=".">3.2%</td><td char=".">4.6%</td><td char=".">4.2%</td><td char="."><italic>3</italic>.<italic>8%</italic></td><td char=".">1.39</td><td char=".">.03</td><td char=".">.10</td></tr><tr><td>Journal publishing</td><td char=".">0.9%</td><td char="."><bold>3</bold>.<bold>2%</bold></td><td char=".">0.6%</td><td char="."><italic>1</italic>.<italic>2%</italic></td><td char=".">6.37**</td><td char=".">.12</td><td char=".">-.25</td></tr><tr><td>Dissemination of results</td><td char=".">1.3%</td><td char=".">0.3%</td><td char=".">0.4%</td><td char="."><italic>0</italic>.<italic>8%</italic></td><td char=".">1.13</td><td char=".">.02</td><td char=".">.21</td></tr><tr><td><bold>Stress and Well-being</bold></td></tr><tr><td><italic>7. Stressors are inevitable</italic></td><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /></tr><tr><td>Specific work demands</td><td char=".">5.8%</td><td char=".">7.4%</td><td char=".">10.0%</td><td char="."><italic>7</italic>.<italic>3%</italic></td><td char=".">3.08</td><td char=".">.06</td><td char=".">.30</td></tr><tr><td>Work demands under COVID-19 lockdown</td><td char=".">1.8%</td><td char=".">4.3%</td><td char=".">1.7%</td><td char="."><italic>2</italic>.<italic>0%</italic></td><td char=".">1.70</td><td char=".">.04</td><td char=".">-.07</td></tr><tr><td>Funding</td><td char=".">2.2%</td><td char=".">3.5%</td><td char="."><bold>11</bold>.<bold>5%</bold></td><td char="."><italic>5</italic>.<italic>3%</italic></td><td char=".">6.50**</td><td char=".">.13</td><td char=".">.47</td></tr><tr><td>Institutional culture</td><td char=".">3.6%</td><td char=".">2.0%</td><td char="."><bold>9</bold>.<bold>5%</bold></td><td char="."><italic>5</italic>.<italic>2%</italic></td><td char=".">4.90*</td><td char=".">.10</td><td char=".">.40</td></tr><tr><td>Supervision</td><td char=".">1.8%</td><td char="."><bold>9</bold>.<bold>7%</bold></td><td char=".">3.6%</td><td char="."><italic>3</italic>.<italic>6%</italic></td><td char=".">6.43**</td><td char=".">.12</td><td char=".">-.15</td></tr><tr><td>Interculturality</td><td char=".">0.7%</td><td char="."><bold>3</bold>.<bold>8%</bold></td><td char="."><bold>4</bold>.<bold>1%</bold></td><td char="."><italic>2</italic>.<italic>3%</italic></td><td char=".">3.26*</td><td char=".">.07</td><td char=".">.18</td></tr><tr><td>Gender stereotypes and sexism</td><td char=".">0.1%</td><td char=".">0.3%</td><td char="."><bold>1</bold>.<bold>6%</bold></td><td char="."><italic>0</italic>.<italic>6%</italic></td><td char=".">3.97*</td><td char=".">.08</td><td char=".">.34</td></tr><tr><td><italic>8. Maintaining mental and physical well-being is a key for higher productivity</italic></td><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /></tr><tr><td>Negative mental states</td><td char=".">9.3%</td><td char=".">8.2%</td><td char=".">5.1%</td><td char="."><italic>8</italic>.<italic>0%</italic></td><td char=".">1.15</td><td char=".">.03</td><td char=".">.25</td></tr><tr><td>Preserving mental health</td><td char="."><bold>13</bold>.<bold>1%</bold></td><td char=".">4.6%</td><td char=".">4.9%</td><td char="."><italic>8</italic>.<italic>9%</italic></td><td char=".">3.42*</td><td char=".">.07</td><td char=".">.46</td></tr><tr><td>Preserving physical health</td><td char=".">1.7%</td><td char=".">0.5%</td><td char=".">0.4%</td><td char="."><italic>1</italic>.<italic>1%</italic></td><td char=".">2.07</td><td char=".">.04</td><td char=".">.30</td></tr><tr><td><italic>9. Both professional and personal social life is important for your career development</italic></td><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /></tr><tr><td>Professional social life</td><td char=".">6.9%</td><td char=".">4.0%</td><td char=".">3.6%</td><td char="."><italic>5</italic>.<italic>3%</italic></td><td char=".">0.43</td><td char=".">.01</td><td char=".">.30</td></tr><tr><td>Visiting research (abroad experience)</td><td char=".">1.4%</td><td char=".">0.0%</td><td char="."><bold>3</bold>.<bold>2%</bold></td><td char="."><italic>1</italic>.<italic>6%</italic></td><td char=".">4.90**</td><td char=".">.10</td><td char=".">.37</td></tr><tr><td>Private social life (family and friends)</td><td char=".">2.2%</td><td char=".">0.6%</td><td char=".">1.2%</td><td char="."><italic>1</italic>.<italic>5%</italic></td><td char=".">1.08</td><td char=".">.02</td><td char=".">.29</td></tr><tr><td><bold>Total</bold></td><td><bold>100%</bold></td><td><bold>100%</bold></td><td><bold>100%</bold></td><td><bold><italic>100%</italic></bold></td><td char="." /><td char="." /><td char="." /></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>1 Notes<emph>:</emph> Bold represents significantly higher values in comparison to other samples (REGWQ post hoc test). DFA represents pooled within-groups correlations between discriminating variables and standardised canonical discriminant functions (structure matrix) obtained from discrimination function analysis (the value above.30 is considered to be able to discriminate between groups).</p> <p>2 * <emph>p </emph><.05, ** <emph>p </emph><.01, *** <emph>p </emph><.001.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-11">Results</hd> <p>The result section will describe the themes revealed by the inductive thematic analysis of doctoral student blog posts, while highlighting the similarities and differences between English, Korean, and Spanish samples. Table 2 lists all themes and subthemes identified by inductive thematic analysis. Each theme is reported with the actual percentual representation of a theme in each respective sample (e.g. theme <emph>Preparation for application</emph> represented 5.2% of the English blog posts, 9.0% of the Korean blog posts, 10.0% of the Spanish blog posts, and 7.4% of the complete dataset). The overall differences between samples were very strong, <emph>F</emph>(<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref80">54</reflink>, 132) = 2.17, <emph>p </emph><.001, η<sups>2</sups><subs>p</subs> =.47. The results of one-way ANOVAs in Table 2 show whether the individual themes are distributed similarly among all three samples.</p> <p>Based on the distribution of themes in individual blog posts, Figure 1 represents the MDS solution, plotting the blog posts from English, Korean, and Spanish samples into two-dimensional space. As can be seen, the English and Spanish blog posts are located in two separate areas of Figure 1, the Korean blog posts located in the middle.</p> <p>Figure 1 shows that Korean blog posts are thematically similar to English and Spanish samples, while the themes reported in English and Spanish blog posts are more distinctive. These findings will be further used to discuss the specific differences between samples along with the description of individual themes.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-12">Activities before, during, and at the end of the PhD study</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0182907083-13">Theme 1: consider your motivation and do your homework before committing to PhD</hd> <p>The blog posts consider conducting a PhD study as an important <emph>long-term commitment</emph> (23x)[<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref81">1</reflink>] and influential <emph>life choice</emph> (6x). Thus, it is crucial to think about the <emph>personal reasons</emph> (20x) why an individual aspires to obtain the degree. Specifically, the Spanish and Korean samples highlight a need to identify the personal reasons correctly, since the decision to apply for a PhD influences many aspects of individual private and professional life, and individuals without strong motivation most likely fail.</p> <p>In retrospect I should have listened to MYSELF more, rather than others. The fact that it was so difficult to find a good reason to just do it, and stop thinking about all the other "side effects" was a sign. I felt it wasn't something from me, but in my mind, I wanted to find reasons to convince myself to give it a try. It was my curiosity that eventually convinced me to do it. Sometimes curiosity for me is a strong enough motivation to take on the difficulties along the joys. Sometimes not (D45)</p> <p>Before application, blog posts suggest doing proper prior research and <emph>find a well-fitting</emph> PhD <emph>program</emph> (8x) by exploring all accessible resources. Department webpages offer only general information and may be misleading. It is therefore important to focus on more tangible results such as lists of publications and the number of successfully finished PhD candidates or international cooperations. More importantly, however, it is paramount to contact future PhD supervisors for personal consultation on the development of a research proposal. However, before developing the proposal, blog posts suggest <emph>visiting the workplace and exploring organizational culture</emph> (14x). Being comfortable talking out loud and asking questions, or, on the contrary, feeling tension between staff members (e.g. junior and senior colleagues, foreign scientists, people of different genders), may hint towards the demands connected to possible future work. Blog posts add, however, that individuals can still be <emph>rejected</emph> (5x) regardless of their prior effort.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-14">Theme 2: activities during PhD study include learning and research</hd> <p>According to the blog posts, a PhD study consists of two main facets. The one less discussed is <emph>learning oneself</emph> (24x), which is specifically important for the Korean sample. Learning is understood as a constant and proactive development of one's knowledge in the field, through attending specialised workshops or reading scientific articles.</p> <p>The second, more highlighted facet of a PhD study is <emph>doing research</emph> (37x). The blog posts focus on <emph>research design</emph> (15x), since having a flawed design will ultimately lead to incorrect outcomes. Last is the <emph>selection of proper scientific tools</emph> (16x). It is recommended to select tools in light of future needs (e.g. preferring to work with R despite it being more difficult at first).</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-15">Theme 3: prepare to make difficult career decisions after PhD</hd> <p>In all three samples, the graduation from a PhD study is connected mainly to <emph>assessment</emph> (39x), the evaluation of the time spent on PhD study. Some blog posts consider receiving a PhD degree to be a <emph>major life achievement</emph> (9x); for the others it is connected with <emph>grief and disillusionment</emph> (8x).</p> <p>If you do an informational interview with a Ph.D. 10 or 20 years out, they will carry nostalgic memories and certain stories with them like how they used to be in lab till 2 in the morning. But the fact of the matter is, they have moved on (they have a job, a family, and aren't eating out of a soup can everyday). They don't want to remember the feelings of doubt, stress, and pressure (although when you spend 5 + years of your life in grad school there are just some things you will never forget). But, that's why when you tell them the stress you are going through in your Ph.D. program, you will still get a reaction out of them because you are taking them back to their old grad school days and they have shared those same struggles/feelings at one point in time. (D35)</p> <p>The blog posts reflect upon who the students had become during their PhD study and how they fit into the professional world after their study had been finished. Some consider a <emph>career in academia</emph> (27x), but fear a <emph>lack of job opportunities</emph> (13x) as postdoctoral researchers and have doubts whether pursuing a further career in academia is meaningful. Others had considered a <emph>career outside of academia</emph> (29x), but found themselves <emph>overqualified</emph> (4x) or <emph>starting from very low positions</emph> (5x). In conclusion, among all samples, the <emph>reality of life after a</emph> PhD (16x) is connected to negative sentiment.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-16">Academic identity and skillset</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0182907083-17">Theme 4: your emerging academic identity needs to integrate a very specific skillset</hd> <p>Becoming a PhD student represents a transition between being a university student and a professional researcher. Specifically, the English and Korean samples stress the importance of developing academic identity as a set of personality traits that are required for a successful career in academia. The most highlighted personality traits are <emph>autonomy</emph> (33x) and <emph>proactivity</emph> (24x), followed by <emph>resilience</emph> (15x) in facing repeated rejections (e.g. grant applications, journal submissions) and failures (e.g. non-significant results), <emph>adaptability</emph> (13x) in a constantly changing and highly competitive environment, and finally, <emph>conscientiousness</emph> (11x) in the organisation and execution of study.</p> <p>Proactivity and autonomy are represented as the ability to navigate oneself freely through the complexities of PhD study without relying on the instructions given by the supervisor. On the contrary, the introduction of new ideas and the learning of new skills beyond what is expected are especially valued in the later stages of the study, although some supervisors may perceive them as a threat to their authority.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-18">Theme 5: self-regulation is a key for success</hd> <p>All three samples create a connection between individual motivation and three self-regulatory processes (planning, execution, and evaluation) to successfully manage a PhD study. First, one has to reflect on their <emph>intrinsic motivation</emph> (15x), which is unanimously represented as a <emph>passion for the research subject</emph> (13x) or <emph>seeing purpose in the research outcomes</emph> (18x)<emph>.</emph> A clear definition of motivation is understood as a reference point for goal setting and step planning to achieve goals. PhD students are supposed to set the goals that are aligned with their motivation (e.g. apply for meaningful assignments that are linked to their passion), even though they do not promise immediate career advantage. Once the goals are in line with one's motivation, the blog posts suggest planning the most specific steps to achieve them.</p> <p>View a Ph.D. as a series of steps. Typically, you will be required to submit an 80,000-100,000 word thesis. Basically, a book. This can be overwhelming, so break it down into specific goals to help maintain motivation. For example, a literature review is one element of a thesis. Consider reducing this to even smaller tasks such as "Identify seminal authors on my topic," "Write 1–2 paragraphs summarising each article I read," or even "Group literature based on themes." I find setting daily or weekly goals, no matter how small, help me focus. (D61)</p> <p>During execution of the steps, one has to <emph>avoid distractions</emph> (5x), such as emails, notifications, or social networking. In the case of more tasks that need to be done, one has to <emph>prioritise</emph> either the most important or the easiest one (creating flow instead of procrastination). In any case, the blog posts suggest <emph>avoiding multitasking</emph> (2x) and always focusing only on one task at a time. In the case of problems with finishing a task, the blog posts suggest changing the strategy, and <emph>asking for help</emph> (19x), either from colleagues or supervisors.</p> <p>Finally, the blog posts stress the importance of <emph>evaluating processes and outcomes</emph> (27x). It is, however, paradoxical that evaluation is connected strictly to <emph>external feedback</emph> (19x) that has to be requested from a supervisor or fellow PhD students.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-19">Theme 6: academic writing should become your everyday routine</hd> <p> <emph>Dissertation writing and defending</emph> (39x) is represented in all three samples as the ultimate goal of a PhD study. <emph>Journal publishing</emph> (19x), especially for the Korean sample, is understood more as a practical means to improve in academic writing and to receive feedback, with the benefit of gaining publications at the end of the study and being competitive in applying for postdoctoral positions.</p> <p>However, the writing process is similar for both dissertation and journal papers. The blog posts suggest dividing the work into the smallest possible steps (e.g. create titles for each chapter and always write only one chapter at a time) and create an <emph>everyday routine</emph> (25x) with reading and writing as the integral part. After the writing is concluded, all three samples evenly recommend <emph>disseminating results</emph> (13x) on scientific platforms (e.g. sharing preprints or datasets on public repositories) and social networks (e.g. Twitter, Researchgate, Academia).</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-20">Stress and well-being</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0182907083-21">Theme 7: stressors are inevitable</hd> <p>Stressors are the most represented topic in the blog posts. Overall, they account for 26.3% of their content. <emph>Specific work demands</emph> (65x) such as <emph>pressure on performance</emph> (47x), <emph>lack of job security</emph> (44x), and <emph>uncertainty about the future</emph> (44x), <emph>overtime work</emph> (14x), and <emph>no real breaks</emph> (5x), were evenly distributed across all the three samples.</p> <p>In total, thirty-seven blog posts were written after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. <emph>Lockdown</emph> (7x) was represented as an additional source of stress, especially in combination with <emph>restricted access to a workplace and working tools</emph> (10x; laboratories, scientific literature, statistical software, etc.) and <emph>uncomfortable living conditions</emph> (8x) (e.g. sharing a small apartment is acceptable during the ordinary school year, but not when all people work from home). However, in addition to these, the pandemic blog posts in all three samples only emphasised the themes that were described in their counterparts from previous years.</p> <p> <emph>Financial difficulties</emph> (40x), problematic <emph>institutional culture</emph> (37x), and <emph>gender stereotypes and sexism</emph> (8x) were especially significant for the Spanish sample. Securing funding, either as part-time employment or governmental grant, was related to the loss of work-life balance and long working hours. Problematic institutional culture was represented by a <emph>strictly hierarchical structure</emph> (12x), where PhD students do not have a voice, <emph>lack of institutional support</emph> (57x), either in the financial, educational, or career matters, excessive <emph>bureaucracy</emph> (27x) and <emph>inherited personal grudges</emph> (9x). Finally, being a <emph>female researcher</emph> (8x) was related to specific stereotypes about science being a male-oriented domain, coupled with possible pregnancy being considered a risk associated with accepting a female candidate.</p> <p>And of course, as much as in the interview you make it clear that you do not plan to have a child, they do not believe you, and they end up giving the place to someone else. Another person with a worse record than yours, with less experience than you, but who happens to be a man. (D14)</p> <p>For both Korean and Spanish samples, PhD study abroad was linked to <emph>racism and xenophobia</emph> (25x).</p> <p>No matter how sensitive the UK is to racism, if there is any race that escapes the radar, it's probably Asian. So, it's not like India or Pakistan, where there's a close relationship through long colonial rule. Especially Koreans who are not from Japan or Southeast Asia, which is well known for tourism. If there is a typical adjective applied to Asian women, it is probably "nice, kind, polite, quiet, cute", and I don't say it out loud, but maybe "passive". And there are many Korean women who are small or skinny compared to Western women, so there are times when they are treated as "under-grown" without realizing it. So, although I am in the same academic position as them and there is no substantial age difference, I look relatively small when applied to their standards, like an innocent (!) child who knows nothing about the world. Well, I'm grateful that they consider me young, but treating me like a child is a problem. If you are not used to British accent yet, you can't even defend yourself without tears in your eyes, which only supports their preconceptions about weak and quiet woman. (D103)</p> <p>Finally, the Korean sample listed the most problematic area as being the relationship with a <emph>supervisor</emph> (35x). The blog posts emphasised the importance of <emph>careful selection of the supervisor</emph> (30x) at the beginning of the study, since the wrong selection may lead to different kinds of misbehaviour (e.g. creating daily obstacles to not including a PhD student as a co-author in a scientific article). It is noteworthy that blog posts consider it to be the role of a PhD student to maintain <emph>regular contact with a supervisor</emph> (16x) and to nurture their relationship.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-22">Theme 8: maintaining mental and physical well-being is a key for higher productivity</hd> <p>The demands listed above are subsequently translated into the students' wellbeing. Wellbeing is the second most represented theme, accounting for 18% of the blog posts content with exclusively <emph>negative mental states</emph> (62x) associated with a PhD study. The blog posts alert towards the existence of <emph>mental illness stigma</emph> (7x) resulting in the silence about mental health in academia. To understand the scope of this problem, 42 of 94 blog posts mention dealing with <emph>anxiety</emph> and <emph>depression</emph>, followed by <emph>burnout</emph> (41x), <emph>loneliness and social isolation</emph> (21x), <emph>overwhelming stress</emph> (21x), <emph>doubts about oneself</emph> (21x), <emph>procrastination</emph> (11x) and in five cases also <emph>suicidal ideas</emph>.</p> <p>To cope with the aforementioned states, students are supposed to <emph>notice the redflags</emph> (47x), like elevated occurrences of bad moods, lower productivity, worse sleep or different psychosomatic symptoms (headache, backache, stomachache, etc.). To improve their conditions, students should <emph>learn how to rest</emph> (49x), take a break and clear their mind, spending time not thinking about their research or dissertation, etc.</p> <p>Every week schedule for yourself a full 24 hours off. I do it from Saturday evening until Sunday evening. Pick whatever 24 hour period works for your semester schedule. It should be the same every week. This way, when you're starting to feel burnt out near the end of the week you can push through knowing that you will get a full 24 hours off in just one more day. Regardless of how busy your week is, always have a scheduled 24 hour break. Overall, you'll be happier, more resilient, and more productive. (D50)</p> <p>If mental health does not improve with time, students are encouraged to <emph>see a mental health professional</emph> (24x). However, it is noteworthy that all strategies are represented only as a means to an end. Resting, having a hobby, or physical activities are understood as a necessity for keeping high productivity, but they do not contain an intrinsic value.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-23">Theme 9: both professional and personal social life is important for your career development</hd> <p>Similarly to the previous theme, also doctoral social life is represented instrumentally: it may serve as a <emph>job resource</emph> (30x) offering support during difficult situations or as an <emph>opportunity</emph> (30x) for further career development. This is especially evident in the Spanish sample, as an international <emph>visiting research stay</emph> (20x) is considered an important career opportunity. <emph>Private social life</emph> (29x) is perceived merely as a resource, while <emph>professional social life</emph> (48x) fulfils both purposes. It can be perceived as an opportunity to network at scientific conferences and discover opportunities by collaboration on research projects. Additionally, it is also perceived as a resource for moments when students are struggling; yet, it is paradoxical that all blog posts emphasise only the support of their peers. Supervisors, as described above, are perceived as a source of struggle.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-24">Discussion</hd> <p>Inductive thematic analysis of PhD students' blog posts written in English, Korean, and Spanish language reveals the doctoral education experience as a continuum between conducting research and constant learning. The blog posts acknowledged the transitional state of being a PhD student (Mantai [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref82">37</reflink>]), and similarly to previously published research (Davis and Hadwin [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref83">12</reflink>]; Urban and Jirsáková [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref84">54</reflink>]), the PhD students realised just how important it is to develop an autonomous, proactive, and resilient professional identity, defined by flexibility and consciousness. Among all three language samples, there was an emphasis on the role of intrinsic motivation for future success in academia. Students should define a higher purpose in their work and find their own personal interest. To succeed, the blog posts recommended fostering self-regulatory skills: setting specific research and learning goals, planning and executing individual steps toward their goals, and evaluating outcomes. All of these recommendations are in line with previous research findings; intrinsic motivation and self-regulatory skills are both connected to better academic performance and play a key role in innovative thinking (Hargrove and Nietfeld [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref85">24</reflink>]; Taylor et al. [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref86">53</reflink>]; Urban et al. [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref87">55</reflink>]).</p> <p>However, it is alarming that the blog posts only connect academic achievement with negative mental states such as anxiety, depression, burnout, feelings of loneliness, and overwhelming stress. The results of this study align with the growing concern in the academic community regarding the well-being of doctoral students (Barry et al. [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref88">4</reflink>]; Burford [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref89">7</reflink>]; Evans et al. [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref90">16</reflink>]; Mackie and Bates [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref91">36</reflink>]; Melin, Astvik, and Bernhard-Oettel [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref92">38</reflink>]; Pyhältö et al. [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref93">43</reflink>]). While the previous studies on wellbeing of PhD students collected data primarily through self-reported questionnaires, the blog posts in this present study brought more intimate access to individual academic narratives (Wilson, Kenny, and Dickson-Swift [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref94">57</reflink>]). Therefore, it is crucial to emphasise that the description of stressors was the most common topic in all blog posts (26.3% of its overall content).</p> <p>The analysis of the blog posts revealed six main stressors associated with PhD study. Four of them (specific work demands, funding, institutional culture, and supervision) are in line with previous research (Grady et al. [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref95">19</reflink>]; Mackie and Bates [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref96">36</reflink>]; Pyhältö et al. [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref97">43</reflink>]; Sverdlik et al. [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref98">52</reflink>]), while unearthing two additional stressors: interculturality, and gender stereotypes and sexism. Concerns related to specific work demands (such as pressure on performance, uncertainty about the future, and lack of job security) are evenly distributed among all three language samples. However, emphasis on the other stressors was placed differently according to each of the language samples. The Spanish and Korean samples were equally concerned with facing racism and xenophobia in the intercultural environment. Meanwhile, the Spanish sample highlighted the negative impact of insufficient funding, rigid institutional culture with lack of organisational support, and gender stereotypes related to the role of the female researcher, bringing further evidence that doctoral studies are inherently gendered experience (Handforth [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref99">23</reflink>]). The most influential stressor for the Korean sample was the relationship with the supervisor, the student being responsible for maintaining and nurturing the professional relationship with their supervisor.</p> <p>Facing the stressors described above, it is unsurprising that the second most frequent topic was the preservation of mental and physical wellbeing (18% of blog posts' content), the English sample specifically emphasising the preservation of mental health. The blog posts recommend that students constantly monitor mental health, and develop a daily routine with regular breaks and physical exercise. If 'red flags' occur, the blog posts recommend approaching peers, a supervisor or mental health professionals. However, it is noteworthy that all of these recommendations are understood as a means for higher productivity. This finding is the most alarming in the case of private social life, where meeting with friends and family is only important to improve performance. According to the blog posts, all leisure-time activities, hobbies, and spending time with close people do not have intrinsic value.</p> <p>The question is how doctoral students acquired the belief that all of the aforementioned activities are only valuable as instruments for increased individual production. Elliot et al. ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref100">15</reflink>]) suggested that an important role in value acquisition plays a hidden curriculum. Hidden curriculum refers to the unspoken, unofficial, and often unintended lessons, values, behaviours, and perspectives that students learn in the educational environment, beyond the formal curriculum. While the formal curriculum includes the explicit subjects and content taught in a school or educational institution, the hidden curriculum encompasses the implicit messages conveyed through the structure, organisation, and social interactions within the educational setting. Although a commonly shared performance orientation in academia is an important source of struggles (see Bröckling, Krasmann, and Lemke [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref101">6</reflink>]; Gillies [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref102">18</reflink>]; Kascak [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref103">30</reflink>], for a broader discussion), Elliot et al. ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref104">15</reflink>]) argued that by proactively navigating the hidden curriculum, doctoral students can gain academic, social, psychological and professional support to complement their formal learning, facilitate their enculturation into the research community, achieve transformative growth, and maintain wellbeing.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-25">Conclusion</hd> <p>In conclusion, this research provides a unique exploration of the lived experiences of PhD students through the analysis of blog posts, offering nuanced insights into their challenges, coping strategies, and perceptions of success. The subjective nature of blog posts, while acknowledging the potential influence of social desirability bias, contributes to a more authentic understanding of the intricacies involved in doctoral education. The identification of stressors and the emphasis on mental well-being call for a reevaluation of academic support structures and interventions aimed at fostering a healthier and more sustainable academic environment. It is imperative for institutions and stakeholders to recognise the multifaceted nature of the PhD journey and prioritise initiatives that address not only academic rigour but also the holistic well-being of PhD students. As Mackie and Bates ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref105">36</reflink>]) summarised, it is necessary to adapt evidence-based strategies to create a nurturing environment for both doctoral students and academic staff.</p> <hd id="AN0182907083-26">Disclosure statement</hd> <p>No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).</p> <ref id="AN0182907083-27"> <title> Note </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref60" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> For each code, there is a number in parentheses that represents how many blog posts mention this specific code. The maximum possible number is 94.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <ref id="AN0182907083-28"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibtext> Ackland, R. 2013. Web Social Science: Concepts, Data and Tools for Social Scientists in the Digital age. New York : Sage.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref58" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Ahmad, S., and S. Pawar. 2021. 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Observatorio (OBS*) 9 (2): 29 – 46. https://doi.org/10.15847/obsobs922015842.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Dany Josué Vigil Avilés; Yeaeun Jang and Marek Urban</p> <p>Reported by Author; Author; Author</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib39" firstref="ref1"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref2"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib31" firstref="ref3"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib45" firstref="ref5"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib50" firstref="ref6"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref10"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib25" firstref="ref11"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib32" firstref="ref12"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl9" bibid="bib36" firstref="ref13"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl10" bibid="bib38" firstref="ref14"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl11" bibid="bib40" firstref="ref15"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl12" bibid="bib43" firstref="ref16"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl13" bibid="bib51" firstref="ref19"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl14" bibid="bib46" firstref="ref20"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl15" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref21"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl16" bibid="bib48" firstref="ref23"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl17" bibid="bib56" firstref="ref24"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl18" bibid="bib21" firstref="ref30"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl19" bibid="bib52" firstref="ref32"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl20" bibid="bib19" firstref="ref36"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl21" bibid="bib41" firstref="ref39"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl22" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref40"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl23" bibid="bib34" firstref="ref44"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl24" bibid="bib42" firstref="ref45"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl25" bibid="bib47" firstref="ref46"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl26" bibid="bib33" firstref="ref47"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl27" bibid="bib29" firstref="ref48"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl28" bibid="bib20" firstref="ref50"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl29" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref53"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl30" bibid="bib57" firstref="ref54"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl31" bibid="bib28" firstref="ref55"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl32" bibid="bib58" firstref="ref57"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl33" bibid="bib35" firstref="ref61"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl34" bibid="bib44" firstref="ref64"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl35" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref67"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl36" bibid="bib49" firstref="ref68"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl37" bibid="bib26" firstref="ref73"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl38" bibid="bib27" firstref="ref74"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl39" bibid="bib54" firstref="ref78"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl40" bibid="bib22" firstref="ref79"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl41" bibid="bib37" firstref="ref82"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl42" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref83"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl43" bibid="bib24" firstref="ref85"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl44" bibid="bib53" firstref="ref86"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl45" bibid="bib55" firstref="ref87"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl46" bibid="bib23" firstref="ref99"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl47" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref100"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl48" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref102"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl49" bibid="bib30" firstref="ref103"></nolink>
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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: 'Take a Break, You'll Be Able to Work More': Convergent Mixed Methods Analysis of PhD Students' Blog Posts
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dany+Josué+Vigil+Avilés%22">Dany Josué Vigil Avilés</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0213-9260">0000-0003-0213-9260</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yeaeun+Jang%22">Yeaeun Jang</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3027-4283">0000-0003-3027-4283</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marek+Urban%22">Marek Urban</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2772-1388">0000-0003-2772-1388</externalLink>)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Studies+in+Continuing+Education%22"><i>Studies in Continuing Education</i></searchLink>. 2025 47(1):210-227.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 18
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Doctoral+Students%22">Doctoral Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Web+Sites%22">Web Sites</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Electronic+Publishing%22">Electronic Publishing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English%22">English</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spanish%22">Spanish</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Korean%22">Korean</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+Context%22">Cultural Context</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+Health%22">Mental Health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sex+Stereotypes%22">Sex Stereotypes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Coping%22">Coping</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stress+Variables%22">Stress Variables</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Experience%22">Student Experience</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1080/0158037X.2024.2319806
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0158-037X<br />1470-126X
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The pursuit of a PhD is associated with increased mental health risks, with commonly identified stressors that include supervision, financial constraints, hierarchical institutional culture, and specific work demands. However, previous investigations primarily relied on self-reported questionnaires. In this study, a convergent mixed-methods analysis was conducted on 94 blog posts written by doctoral students in English (N = 39), Spanish (N = 29), and Korean (N = 26). An inductive thematic analysis was employed to identify themes related to PhD studies. To succeed in academia, blog posts emphasised the importance of cultivating autonomy, resilience, purpose, intrinsic motivation, and self-regulatory skills. Intriguingly, the pursuit of academic achievement was exclusively associated with negative mental states. Subsequently, a qualitative-to-quantitative transformation (i.e. quantitising) was applied to the data, allowing a statistical examination of intercultural differences among the samples. The Spanish sample was concerned with challenging funding, academic culture, and gender stereotypes. The Korean sample highlighted problematic supervisory relationships and gender stereotypes. The English sample focused on maintaining mental health, albeit all coping mechanisms were perceived as mere instruments for improving productivity. Key implications include the recognition of cultural nuances in the experience of stressors and the importance of addressing mental health concerns in academic settings.
– Name: AbstractInfo
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  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1466475
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1466475
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/0158037X.2024.2319806
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 18
        StartPage: 210
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Doctoral Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Web Sites
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Electronic Publishing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: English
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Spanish
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      – SubjectFull: Korean
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      – SubjectFull: Cultural Context
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mental Health
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      – SubjectFull: Sex Stereotypes
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      – SubjectFull: Coping
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      – SubjectFull: Stress Variables
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Experience
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    Titles:
      – TitleFull: 'Take a Break, You'll Be Able to Work More': Convergent Mixed Methods Analysis of PhD Students' Blog Posts
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            NameFull: Yeaeun Jang
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            NameFull: Marek Urban
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