On personal and collective dimensions of agency in doctoral training: medicine and natural science programs

The purpose of the present study was to investigate knowledge-creating agency by examining doctoral students' accounts of their pursuits, using structured interviews. We examined all of the talk apparently related to agency of 13 doctoral students taking part in collective doctoral training in two, highly regarded Finnish research communities (natural science and medicine). The doctoral process involved the participants pursuing article-based theses based on collectively shared research problems and journal articles co-authored with the supervisor and other senior researchers. Based on the qualitative analysis of the interviews, three categories of agentic talk were identified, respectively, for three proposed types of knowledge-creating agency: personal, distributed, and ‘object-related’. Personal agency involved participants' reflection on their academic competence, self-efficacy, and personal strengths and weaknesses. Distributed agency played an important role in assisting these participants overcoming challenges; this includes sharing of expertise, receiving social support, and having a sense of collective efficacy. Object-related agency, in turn, represented integration of a doctoral student's efforts with those of her immediate research community while pursuing shared research objects (e.g., co-authored articles). Apart from issues of agency which, the authors propose, are raised in the interviews, the data provide content-rich accounts of the collective nature of doctoral experiences.     

公平正义诉求下的博士招生“申请—考核”制探微

博士招生"申请——考核"制是我国近年来研究生招生制度改革的一大亮点。但在试行过程中引发了社会各界的广泛质疑。当下,迫切需要我们思考制度中的价值取向与程序正义。基于对博士招生"申请——考核"制的内容拷问,以公平正义的视角审视其出现的利益纠葛,从完善制度的准入制标准、合理规约导师招生权、拓宽招考监督与申诉路径及创建多元利益主体的正义程序四个方面来跨越与突破现实障碍。     

哥伦比亚大学师范学院时期的郭秉文——社会生活史的视角

从社会生活史角度,以哥伦比亚大学师范学院第一位中国博士学位获得者、郭秉文的原始档案及相关研究为史料,对其在师范学院学习期间（191l1914）进行历史探究。结果发现：（一）郭秉文选择师范学院的动机出自“教育改革的力量”,其学业成绩为中等略偏下,修业期限低于其后中国学生（博士）平均值;（二）郭秉文硕士、博士学位论文主题均为中国教育,博士论文选题教育史与其时师范学院整体博士论文选题相关,旨趣希望为英语语系人们介绍繁复的、不同时代中国教育制度的演进;（三）郭秉文在师范学院期间参与了大量社团活动,其娴熟的人际交往能力得到广泛认可,留美中国学生总会第一任主席及Phi Beta Kappa成员等均为明确表征,为其存留美中国学生群体中积累了深广人脉。该研究通过大量史料分析,为学界之前“师范学院对郭秉文一生事业影响巨大”结论找到了实证,修正并补充了郭秉文研究及师范学院中国学生群体研究的学源谱系。     

Faculty perceptions of common challenges encountered by novice doctoral writers

Although learning to write for publication is an important outcome of doctoral education, it has received surprisingly little scholarly attention. Within a socialization and supervisor pedagogy framework, this study uses narratives of faculty who regularly write with their doctoral students for publication to expose challenges students commonly encounter in the writing process. Common challenges include international students' ‘writing problem’, misconstruing the nature of disciplinary writing and not realizing that ‘public’ is part of publication.     

博士生招生中若干重点关切问题探究

基于对博士生招生工作现状的考察分析,提出了博士生招生工作中若干重点关切问题。从实施以学科为导向的招生配置,构建奖学金体系吸引考生报考,对生源质量指标和流程控制进行比照分析设计及引入淘汰机制的倒置诉求4个方面着手进行综合论述,以确保吸引更多优质的博士生生源,提高博士生教育水平。     

提升我国研究生导师队伍素质的对策探讨——基于指导2位以上全国优博论文的161位导师的调查

提升研究生导师队伍素质是加强拔尖创新人才培养的关键措施之一。全国优秀博士学位论文指导教师是我国研究生导师队伍中涌现出的优秀群体,有重要的榜样意义。依据1999-2011年间培养2位以上全国优博论文的161位导师的学科背景、学历学位、学术头衔、留学经历、学术成果、科研获奖等重要指标进行素质维度分析,结果发现这个导师群体的素质有显著的优势特征,这对进一步提高我国研究生导师队伍素质具有重要的参考价值。     

学术活跃度与博士生学术产出的实证分析——以中国某研究型大学为案例

本文以我国某研究型大学自然科学领域的博士生为研究对象,分析博士生在读期间的学术产出状况;构造了以学术研究投入时间、国内国际会议报告、与导师交流频率为维度的学术活跃度概念,并利用负二项分布的回归模型,证实了学术活跃度与博士生学术产出之间的关系。本研究认为,应努力创造良好的博士生教育环境和氛围,通过提高博士生的学术活跃度,进而提高其学术产出,这对提高我国博士生教育培养质量具有十分重要的意义。     

Utilizing Journal Dissertation Listings for Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the use and importance of examining dissertations listed in scholarly journals, while focusing on a critical period of French doctoral education in historical studies. French dissertations in history were bibliometrically examined from Revue historique, a mainstream history journal published in France. Prior to 1984, there existed three separate doctoral degrees in France for the social sciences and the humanities. Data from 1976 to 1990 were profiled reflecting critical changes to the French doctoral process as it underwent a period of doctoral reform. The period 1983–1990 is examined critically for its significance with respect to transformation and changes in degree structure, subdisciplinary evolution and periodization. Journals listing dissertations can be examined for their disciplinary indicators. Understanding these changes in gray literature is critical for researchers using French doctoral dissertations in historical studies.     

Uniqueness Matters: Author-Supplied Keywords and LCSH in the Library Catalog

This study concerns the overlap between author-supplied keywords and Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) bibliographic records in the library catalog. The article provides a discussion on uniqueness, matching, and complementariness based on a replication of Strader's methodology and rubric from a 2009 article. Findings support most of Strader's conclusions, including the complementary nature of keywords and controlled vocabularies. Both keywords and LCSH provide unique terms that enhance access. Researchers also broke new ground regarding partial matching, particularly within LCSH. The fact that uniqueness matters has implications for the continued use of LCSH, for LCSH maintenance, and for further research.     

Expanded Assessment Study Examining the Citation Patterns from Traditional and Nontraditional Institutions and Their Effect upon the Quality of Doctoral Dissertation Reference Lists

ABSTRACT

This study used citation analysis in conjunction with a subjective rubric with five validated criteria to assess the quality of a purposive sample of 452 education dissertation reference lists produced at a nontraditional institution from six doctoral programs. These programs used a variety of distance education models. The citations were then compared with the 100 reference lists selected from doctoral education programs at 10 traditional institutions. Criteria included the breadth of resources, depth of the literature review as shown through the citing of critical historical and theoretical works, depth as demonstrated through the scholarliness of citations chosen, currency, and relevancy. The study discusses how the expanded sample of traditional reference lists continued to demonstrate consistent patterns. In contrast, although the sample of reference lists from distance education programs was much expanded, the patterns of the subsets of reference lists at the nontraditional institution were significantly diverse. The patterns of 35 doctoral reference lists from another for-profit, nontraditional institution known for providing distance education were also examined to compare the results of the two nontraditional programs. Possible reasons for differences in citation patterns by traditional and nontraditional programs are discussed, and the possible role of distance education and program criteria are examined for insights they offer into the use of citation analysis as an assessment tool of the library research skills of doctoral students.