UKCISA 2018 conference presentation, outlining preliminary findings from our STRIDE project https://strideresearch.wordpress.com/

1. STRIDE:
Social Transition Research into
International Doctoral
Experiences
@JLMittelmeier
Dr Jenna Mittelmeier (Open University)
Prof Divya Jindal-Snape (University of Dundee)
Prof Bart Rienties (Open University)

2. Half of doctoral
students were
found to experience
psychological
distress during their
studies
(Levecque, Anseel, De Beuckelaer,
Van der Heyden, & Gisle, 2017)
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3. Social networks
frequently identified as
key supports for
doctoral students
(Sala-Bubaré & Castelló, 2017; Janta et al., 2014; Stubb
et al., 2011; Pyhältö, Vekkaila, & Keskinen, 2015)
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4. What do we mean by social transition?
The on-going experience or process that students
undergo to adapt to the multifaceted changes in their
social support networks as a result of doctoral study
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5. Multiple types of social transitions
 Physical distance from existing social circles (friends, family, etc.)
 Cutting ties with previous support networks (previous jobs,
universities,
 New social relationships with fellow doctoral students
 Developing relationships with supervisors and staff
 New roles within the family or support network
 Transitioning dependents into new social communities
 Finding new communities (religious organisations, hobbies, etc.)
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6. Project aims
RQ1: How do postgraduate students build social support networks within
their university departments?
RQ2: What is the role of social networks outside of the university context in
supporting postgraduate students’ educational transitions?
RQ3: In what ways can institutional support mechanisms enable successful
transitions for postgraduate students?
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7. Research methods
Longitudinal reflective diaries (31 participants)
Social Network Analysis surveys (28 participants)
Interviews (21 participants)
Blog essays (17 participants) https://strideresearch.wordpress.com/
1
2
3
4
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8. Comparing the institutions
Institution 1
 28 full-time PhD students (about 2/3
international students)
 All PhD students were fully funded with a
stipend for living expenses
 PhD students were required to have regular
physical presence in the department
 Weekly trainings and events
 All PhD students had a desk to work in,
separated across several shared offices
Institution 2
 67 doctoral students – 20 full-time PhD
(mostly international) and 47 part-time
professional doctorate (mostly domestic UK)
 Most students were self-funded
 No requirements for physical presence in the
department
 Monthly departmental seminars, online
trainings, 2 weeks of skills trainings required at
students’ discretion
 Dedicated study room for full-time students
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9. The value of social communities
‘Having other students around was a bit of a lifesaver.’
(Interview Participant 5, Institution 1, International Student)
‘We are all facing similar challenges in balancing the study
with work commitments and this informal support is
invaluable and encouraging.’
(Longitudinal Diary Participant 17, Institution 2, Domestic Student)
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10. ‘I had a really difficult supervision meeting and then I went
out really frustrated and I wanted to quit the whole
PhD…So I discussed that with my fellow students and I had
some really positive feedback, both in a mental way and in a
more scientific way. They proposed to me some articles and
they shared with me their experiences as well. They said to
me this is normal, it happens all the time, you need to
familiarise yourself with that. That was a really positive
experience. They helped me overcome that barrier.’
(Interview Participant 4, Institution 1, International Student)
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11. Social network analysis example (Institution 1):

12. ‘Moving to London to live with my
husband three years ago was one of
the most critical social transitions I
have ever experienced.’
(Saman Rivzi, blog post)
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Factors that impacted social network development on
campus

13. Geographical
Identity
Family
EmotionalFinancial
Social and
cultural
Academic7 Dimensions of
Social Transition
Outlined by Lesley Boyd
in her blog post

14. Physical working and socialisation spaces
 Dedicated working spaces
specifically for PhD students
provided opportunities for social
communication
 Students most easily formed
social relationships with those
within their physical proximity
 Physical separations led to
artificial social barriers between
groups of students
CC Image courtesy of RedCraig on Flickr
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15. Attendance on campus
 Students who more frequently
worked in their own department on
campus reflected more positively
on their opportunities to develop
social relationships
 Students who more frequently
worked on campus also had more
opportunities to connect with staff
members
 A variety of factors impacted
students’ abilities to visit campus
and they reflected on few social
opportunities in absence
CC Image courtesy of The Open University on Flickr
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16. Training and supervision frequency
 Students who had more
frequent ‘reasons’ to visit
campus felt more connected
with their peers and staff
members
 When left to their own
devices, many doctoral
students chose to work from
home
CC Image courtesy of OIST on Flickr
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17. Support for social development
 Most students reflected on
limited social support from their
university
 Social opportunities were
typically student initiated.
However, this frequently led to
inequalities in access and
infrequencies in occurrences
 Dual desires: Needs for both
university-sponsored social
opportunities and student-
initiated communities
“It [the social community this week] is
not different from the norm in my
school. And that is to say that the
norm is quiet, not vibrant and probably
not in existence. However, it can be
improved if the department throws its
weight in. The department hasn't
shown enough interest at all. So in my
school, it is inactive and even most PhD
students don't even know their fellow
students in the same department. It's a
shame, but it can improve.”
(Longitudinal Diary Participant 19,
Institution 2, International Student)
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18. Students-only communication spaces
 Social media played an important
role in providing spaces for
students to communicate,
particularly at a distance
 Students desired spaces that
were owned and used only by
doctoral students
 However, there was inconsistency
in use and access to various
groups
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19. ‘I know we have our own WhatsApp group and I know that the first
years have their own WhatsApp group. For some reason we never
thought about merging these two WhatsApp groups. Even within
our cohort, we have four different subgroups. We have like the
group of extroverts, a group of quantitative. We have a group that
are doing a marathon together, so we have a group for that.’
(Interview Participant 8, Institution 1, International Student)
‘I know there are WhatsApp groups with students but I know I’m
not in a WhatsApp group. Like when I’ve discussions with others,
they’ll just say “Let’s just WhatsApp each other” and then I’m
thinking [sarcastic tone] alright, okay.’
(Interview Participant 2, Institution 1, Domestic Student)

20. Does everyone need a social community?
 Some students noted less (not no!) need for a social community of peers. These
tended to be domestic UK students already established in the local area and
part-time students.
‘I am unsure if there was any other kind of social event as I am a part
time student, working full time at the university and do not sit or
share a work space with other students…I live locally and do not
need 'social contact' in the traditional sense and do not feel part of
a student community at all.’
(Longitudinal Diary Participant 16, Institution 2, Domestic Student)
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21. ‘I don’t want to waste their
time because I know they’re
all busy.’
(Interview Participant 2, Institution 1, Domestic Student)
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Social relationship development with staff

22. Relationships with staff: Social network analysis example (Institution 1)

23. Relationships with staff
 Many doctoral students noted a lack of personal, social
relationships with their supervisors
‘I’d like them to know I’m not only a student. I am a human being. I
have perspectives about life. I have issues about life. I have different
views about life, about everything here. About the system, the
culture, the relations, about everything. This is what I am. Only a
small part is a student.’
(Interview Participant 14, Institution 2, International Student)
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24. Relationships with staff
 Many students noted that personal information was often limited
to passing comments and they knew little about their supervisors’
home lives or hobbies
‘Sometime there are some hidden messages in our formal
communications. For example, when [supervisor] says he’s busy
going to this country, but he says ‘oh I need to go and feed my cat
first.’ So it’s not something that’s like, ‘Oh I have a cat,’ but it’s just
something small that gives you the information.’
(Interview Participant 4, Institution 1, International Student)
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25. Relationships with staff
Students with stronger staff relationships tended to:
 Be frequently physically present on campus
 Work on research topics that required broader networking
 Work on ‘side projects’ within the department outside of the PhD (both as a
cause and effect)
 Have supervisors who initiated more informal social relationships with them
 Have an interest in developing personal and professional relationships to
progress their careers
 See less power distance between themselves and academic staff
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26. ‘He’s always supportive. He’s
always with us, even when
he’s away.’
(Interview Participant 15, Institution 2, International Student)
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Social support outside the university

27. Image produced by:
Vasudha Chaudhari
for her blog post

28. Person Type of Support
Partner Emotional support, pastoral support, perspective,
household help, proofreading, minor research tasks,
motivation, financial support
Parents (or other family members) Emotional support, perspective, financial support,
motivation
Children Motivation, emotional support, perspective,
household help
Friends who had done or were doing a
PhD
Academic support, emotional support
Friends who had not done a PhD Emotional support, perspective, taking a break
Peers from their country or culture Cultural adjustment support, emotional support,
taking a break
Neighbours or housemates Social adjustment, acts of kindness
Different types of support

29. Different types of support
 Those outside of the university gave important forms of emotional support, but
were often labelled as ‘clueless’ when it came to really understanding their
experiences
‘My family…if I said I had a job at a checkout at Aldi, they’d have
more understanding of what that entails….Honestly, they haven’t got
a clue. Nobody’s been to university. If I said I’d landed on the moon,
they’d have more idea, right?’
(Interview Participant 11, Institution 1, Domestic Student)
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30. Implications for practice
 Provide doctoral students inclusive physical spaces for working and
socialising
 Encourage regular on-campus attendance (when possible!)
 Identify and support doctoral community leaders in the social network
 Develop regular programming that explicitly focuses on social
networking
 Support the development of inclusive students-only communication
spaces
 Include students’ wider support network in the process
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31. More information
Jenna Mittelmeier
jenna.mittelmeier@open.ac.uk
Our project blog:
https://strideresearch.wordpress.com/
@JLMittelmeier