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Factors affecting the well-being of PhD students at Imperial

Factors affecting the well-being of PhD students at Imperial. Elaine Walsh Graduate Schools. Background. Graduate Schools’ remit includes: “to disseminate best practice in postgraduate training and education ”. PRES(2008, n=953) showed 90% of PGRs would recommend Imperial to others.

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Factors affecting the well-being of PhD students at Imperial

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  1. Factors affecting the well-being of PhD students at Imperial Elaine Walsh Graduate Schools

  2. Background Graduate Schools’ remit includes: “to disseminate best practice in postgraduate training and education”. PRES(2008, n=953) showed 90% of PGRs would recommend Imperial to others. We were looking for a deeper insight into the issues contributing to dissatisfaction. 2 2

  3. Well-being • The well-being of employees has been shown to impact upon the individual and overall performance of organisations. • No one had looked at well-being specifically for a PhD population before. • Consistent with efforts to improve the student experience.

  4. Definition of construct “That part of a researcher’s overall well-being that is primarily influenced by their PhD position and which can be influenced by college-based interventions” 4

  5. Development of the instrument Item Generation Phase Focus Groups, many interviews with staff and students Student union endorsement “The Graduate Schools really hit the nail on the head with their PhD Wellbeing Survey. I could identify nearly every question as something I had experienced, seen or heard about and it will be a tremendously useful project for improving the experience of postgraduate researchers.” 5 5

  6. Well-Being Scores • Based on mean score • Data distribution normal (skewness within acceptable limits) • Range 1 – 5: 1 = Did not experience/Not a problem at all 2 = A bit important and bothersome 3 = Moderately important and bothersome 4 = Very important and bothersome 5 = Extremely important and bothersome

  7. Results and Statistical Analysis Questionnaire completed online May 2009 1202 responses (close to 50%) 229 free text comments Impact Analysis Frequency x Importance = Impact Final results comprise 58 discrete items grouped within 7 domains 7 7

  8. Well-being overall – 1.90 8

  9. Research Domain (2.13)

  10. Research Domain “Transfer report is too early to have any decent results so depressing to try and make hard work so far look meaningful” “The transition from 'top of the class' to 'bad researcher' is a pretty tough cookie to swallow.”

  11. Health and Home Domain (2.07)

  12. Health and Home Domain “At the start Imperial should be teaching students how to cope with stress rather than let them get into the situation so many find themselves in”

  13. Supervisor Domain (1.75)

  14. Well-Being Overall – Top 10 14

  15. Other Items 15

  16. What does this mean from an educational point of view? • Research is inherently difficult. Student concerns included: • No direct relationship between work done and results achieved • Making unfavourable comparisons with peers • Not feeling good enough – “imposter syndrome” • Institutional culture “work must be perfect!” • Concerns about fairness • Loss of effectiveness due to unnecessary worries?

  17. What can we do as supervisors? • Remember what it is like to be a novice researcher • Offer appropriate support • Encourage open communication of difficulties • Help student to distinguish between lack of progress and lack of ability • Aim to build confidence of PhD students

  18. Within the research group.. • Encourage formation of good working and social relationships • Review the norms of working hours / taking holidays, breaks, etc • Be proactive about spotting and managing stress • Clarify expectations about standards of work • Share key knowledge e.g. about admin procedures

  19. Within the university • Make students aware of resources such as Careers Service, Counselling Service, Graduate Schools, Student Advisor, Student Union, Clubs and Societies, Chaplaincy, etc. • “Even PhDs are not heads on sticks”…

  20. Significant differences - gender

  21. Significant differences – stage of study

  22. Significant differences – fee status

  23. Significant differences - campus

  24. Largest Responding Departments

  25. Departments (collapsed from 25 to 5)

  26. Significant differences - department

  27. Positive experience - 1 70% agree

  28. Positive experience - 2 49% agree

  29. Key Drivers of a PhD Positive Experience Relative importance of each Driver 25% Supervisor 25% Research 51% 14% Social PhD Experience 14% Development 9% University 7% Health & Home 7% Facilities Total impact of all drivers. Dominance analysis of comparing importance of predictors in multiple regression

  30. For copies of summary documents for students and supervisors… • Please go to my pwp • www.imperial.ac.uk/people/elaine.walsh • And download from the main page. Thank you for your attention

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