Investigation of Phd students' initial qualitative research experiences via their diaries

Abstract

The aim of this study is to understand initial qualitative research experience and the qualitative researcher identities they try to build via diaries they reflect. This research is a analytical research model. Research data were obtained 25 diaries which were selected by criterion sampling from 60 doctoral students' diaries that they wrote in qualitative research methods course between the years 2008 and 2014. Content analysis was applied to the data. As a result of the analysis, "becoming a qualitative researcher" category which consists of "I learned from my experiences", "I discovered my researcher identity", and "I discovered myself" have emerged. I learned from my experiences themes that compose "I learned from my mistakes", "I read, implemented, reflected", and found out that "I realized that I wasn't a qualitative researcher." I discovered my researcher identity theme includes subthemes such as "I should be open-minded", "I should try to understand", and "I should be patient." I discovered myself theme consists of subthemes such as "I realized my prejudices", "I learned criticizing myself", and "I saw the limits of my abilities." It has emerged that researcher diaries are functional tools to understand the research experiences of PhD students. Therefore, doctoral students can be encouraged to write diaries in the research process.

“It Requires Interest, Time, Patience and Struggle”: Novice Researchers’ Perspectives on and Experiences of the Qualitative Research Journey

“…De Marrais et al (2018) found that in the process of learning about theory in qualitative research, students felt confusion, frustration, anger, but these were replaced with feelings of success in adopting theory. Consistently, Ersoy (2015) found that the first qualitative research experience was a unique opportunity for doctoral students to discover their personal abilities, raise awareness about personal biases, criticize themselves and think the limits of their abilities. Albeit challenging the researchers in certain terms, the research process helped them gain new insights in many aspects.…”

“…According to Kalpokaite and Radivojevic (2019), qualitative research is best learned by doing, involving making decisions, mistakes, and having the patience for understanding to clarify with time and practice. Consistently, Ersoy (2015) uncovered that graduate students discovered their identities as qualitative researchers by doing and experiencing, focusing on being open-minded, striving to understand the phenomena and being patient during the research process.…”

Evaluation of the Relationship between Life Science Curriculum Gains and Root Values

“…Doküman analizi yöntemi araştırmaya konu olan olay ve olgular hakkında bilgilerin yer aldığı yazılı ve görsel materyallerin incelenmesidir (Yıldırım ve Şimşek, 2013). McMillan (2004) göre analitik araştırmalarda araştırmanın materyali olan belgelerin, kayıtların ve dokümanların içeriği; olaylara, kavramlara, görüşlere, düşüncelere ve eserlere göre analiz edilir (akt, Ersoy, 2015). Öğretim programları eğitim bilimleri alanında yapılan araştırmalarda araştırmanın dokümanı olarak kullanılabilir (Şimşek, 2009).…”

An Investigation of Student Satisfaction with an Applied Linguistics Graduate Programme

“…Doctoral degree programmes aim at equipping candidates with intellectual autonomy to produce new scientific knowledge. Holders of a PhD degree are supposed to conduct independent research for responding to demands regarding economic and technological growth (Anderson, Cutright, & Anderson, 2013;Ersoy, 2015;Özmen & Güç, 2013, Varış, 1972.…”