The Online PhD Experience: A Qualitative Systematic Review

The online doctoral population is growing steadily worldwide, yet its narratives have not been thoroughly reviewed so far. We conducted a systematic review summarizing online PhD students’ experiences. ERIC, WoS, Scopus, and PsycInfo databases were searched following PRISMA 2020 guidelines and limit...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Melián, Efrem, Reyes, Jose Israel, Meneses, Julio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
Repositorio:O2, repositorio institucional de la UOC
OAI Identifier:oai:openaccess.uoc.edu:10609/148730
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10609/148730
https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v24i1.6780
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:qualitative review
online higher education
online PhD program
online doctoral student
lived experienc
student’s perspective
id ES_9f77a2d2158e666e1a7b540dae7f4367
oai_identifier_str oai:openaccess.uoc.edu:10609/148730
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
repository_id_str
spelling The Online PhD Experience: A Qualitative Systematic ReviewMelián, EfremReyes, Jose IsraelMeneses, Julioqualitative reviewonline higher educationonline PhD programonline doctoral studentlived experiencstudent’s perspectiveThe online doctoral population is growing steadily worldwide, yet its narratives have not been thoroughly reviewed so far. We conducted a systematic review summarizing online PhD students’ experiences. ERIC, WoS, Scopus, and PsycInfo databases were searched following PRISMA 2020 guidelines and limiting the results to peer-reviewed articles of the last 20 years, yielding 16 studies eligible. A thematic synthesis of the studies showed that online PhD students are generally satisfied with their programs, but isolation, juggling work and family roles, and financial pressures are the main obstacles. The supervisory relationship determines the quality of the experience, whereas a strong sense of community helps students get ahead. Personal factors such as motivation, personality, and skills modulate fit with the PhD. We conclude that pursuing a doctorate online is more isolating than face to face, and students might encounter additional challenges regarding the supervision process and study/life balance. Accordingly, this review might help faculty, program managers, and prospective students better understand online doctorates’ pressing concerns such as poor well-being and high dropout rates.Athabasca University202320232023info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10609/148730https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v24i1.6780reponame:O2, repositorio institucional de la UOCinstname:Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)InglésThe International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 24(1), 137–158.https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v24i1.6780CC BYhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:openaccess.uoc.edu:10609/1487302026-05-28T12:42:01Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The Online PhD Experience: A Qualitative Systematic Review
title The Online PhD Experience: A Qualitative Systematic Review
spellingShingle The Online PhD Experience: A Qualitative Systematic Review
Melián, Efrem
qualitative review
online higher education
online PhD program
online doctoral student
lived experienc
student’s perspective
title_short The Online PhD Experience: A Qualitative Systematic Review
title_full The Online PhD Experience: A Qualitative Systematic Review
title_fullStr The Online PhD Experience: A Qualitative Systematic Review
title_full_unstemmed The Online PhD Experience: A Qualitative Systematic Review
title_sort The Online PhD Experience: A Qualitative Systematic Review
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Melián, Efrem
Reyes, Jose Israel
Meneses, Julio
author Melián, Efrem
author_facet Melián, Efrem
Reyes, Jose Israel
Meneses, Julio
author_role author
author2 Reyes, Jose Israel
Meneses, Julio
author2_role author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv qualitative review
online higher education
online PhD program
online doctoral student
lived experienc
student’s perspective
topic qualitative review
online higher education
online PhD program
online doctoral student
lived experienc
student’s perspective
description The online doctoral population is growing steadily worldwide, yet its narratives have not been thoroughly reviewed so far. We conducted a systematic review summarizing online PhD students’ experiences. ERIC, WoS, Scopus, and PsycInfo databases were searched following PRISMA 2020 guidelines and limiting the results to peer-reviewed articles of the last 20 years, yielding 16 studies eligible. A thematic synthesis of the studies showed that online PhD students are generally satisfied with their programs, but isolation, juggling work and family roles, and financial pressures are the main obstacles. The supervisory relationship determines the quality of the experience, whereas a strong sense of community helps students get ahead. Personal factors such as motivation, personality, and skills modulate fit with the PhD. We conclude that pursuing a doctorate online is more isolating than face to face, and students might encounter additional challenges regarding the supervision process and study/life balance. Accordingly, this review might help faculty, program managers, and prospective students better understand online doctorates’ pressing concerns such as poor well-being and high dropout rates.
publishDate 2023
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2023
2023
2023
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10609/148730
https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v24i1.6780
url http://hdl.handle.net/10609/148730
https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v24i1.6780
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 24(1), 137–158.
https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v24i1.6780
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv CC BY
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv CC BY
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Athabasca University
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Athabasca University
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:O2, repositorio institucional de la UOC
instname:Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
instname_str Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
reponame_str O2, repositorio institucional de la UOC
collection O2, repositorio institucional de la UOC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
_version_ 1869414930707382272
score 15.301603

Similares en LA Referencia