Karri A. Holley

“Those invisible barriers are real”: The Progression of First-Generation Students Through Doctoral Education

Using the conceptual framework of social capital, this study outlines the experiences of 20 first-generation students currently enrolled in doctoral degree programs. The framework highlights those structures and processes that offer tacit knowledge to students about how to pursue higher education. For students who are the first in their families to attend college, this knowledge is often elusive. Through individual interviews, data were collected to understand student isolation, financial challenges, and sources of support. Implications for institutions are offered.

Rethinking Texts: Narrative and the Construction of Qualitative Research

This article outlines how a theory of narrative can be used to deconstruct qualitative research texts. Although research texts are a distinct genre in comparison with works of fiction, the basic components of literary activity are similar. Researchers structure and emphasize data and participants in various ways to tell a logical story. Narrative analysis offers a specific framework and terminology that researchers can use to construct texts. Ultimately, such tools can prepare qualitative researchers to make intentional choices in regard to writing. The authors define the narratological concepts of character, plot, story, and focalization. They discuss how these concepts can be used to teach qualitative research methods.

Animal research practices and doctoral student identity development in a scientific community

This article examines doctoral student identity development in regard to engagement with research practices. Using animal research as a contextual lens, it considers how students develop an identity congruent to their perception of the community which facilitates their social and cognitive activities. The shared, interpretive understanding among members of a community legitimizes group activities. Students demonstrate conflicting responses to the act of animal research: first, as an emotional, empathic layperson and second, as a detached scientist. Tension exists in regard to these dualistic responses as the students move through their degree program. Not only did the skillful mastery of such research practices facilitate a student’s socialization to the field, but it also serves as a mechanism to foster integration within the larger scientific community.

A Cultural Repertoire of Practices in Doctoral Education

Culture is frequently characterized as a concept with which students must contend to succeed in college as well as a distinct, consistent characteristic of the institution. This article focuses on culture as an active repertoire of behaviors, beliefs, and actions that include symbols of meaning and cultural practices selectively used by group members. Using the example of doctoral student socialization, the study considers how students organize and interpret culture, rather than simply how culture organizes individuals. Implications for future thematic research regarding culture are discussed.

Doctoral Education and the Development of an Interdisciplinary Identity.

Higher education is challenged to produce innovative, collaborative and interdisciplinary knowledge in response to increasing social demands. Faculty are often ill-prepared to engage in such work, raising questions as to the balance between disciplinary identity and interdisciplinary engagement. This article examines the experiences of 40 students enrolled in an interdisciplinary PhD programme. How might scholars embarking on their academic career develop an interdisciplinary identity? The data suggest the importance of a strong disciplinary foundation, an understanding of the integrative process, the recognition of interdisciplinary outcomes and the ability to participate in collaborative research. The conclusions offer insight into how faculty and doctoral students might conceptualise interdisciplinary education.

Inside Pasteur's quadrant: knowledge production in a profession

In this paper, we examine the current state of educational research through the framework of “use‐inspired” knowledge. Previous discussions regarding the nature of educational research have disproportionately focused on the soft/applied nature of knowledge in the discipline or a need for methodological priority. After acknowledging these arguments, we consider the role of education as a professional discipline in American colleges and universities, and explore the inherent relationship between researchers and practitioners. Use‐inspired knowledge prioritises practice, encourages translational research, fosters interdisciplinarity and dissolves rigid educational structures.

Under Construction: How Narrative Elements Shape Qualitative Research.

This article considers how narrative constructs could be used to strengthen the writing process. The authors outline the narratological devices of plot, point of view, authorial distance, and character, and examine how these concepts can be used when writing with qualitative data. Narratological tools equip the researcher to selectively manage the presentation of data to tell an appropriate story. As part of the research process, scholars should consider what kind of story they seek to tell through the data.

Universities as Anchor Institutions: Economic and Social Potential for Urban Development

While non-U.S. scholars and academic disciplines other than higher education have given great consideration to the relationships among universities, cities, and economic development, research in the U.S. often fails to consider the potential and significance of higher education for fostering city development. In this chapter, we review the concept of anchor institutions and discuss its potential in terms of understanding the relationship between universities and cities. Anchor institutions serve an integral role in the local culture, providing employment, purchasing power, and real estate stability. These institutions are well-suited to engage with local stakeholders to foster activities of shared value. We examine the influence of anchor institutions related to knowledge networks, economic competitiveness, and economic geography. The conclusion offers methodological insights and future research questions for higher education scholars interested in advancing work in this area.

The Longitudinal Career Experiences of Interdisciplinary Neuroscience PhD Recipients

ABSTRACT Interest in interdisciplinary programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related fields at the graduate-degree level is widespread across American higher education. Using longitudinal qualitative interviews, this article considers the early career experiences of scholars who hold an interdisciplinary PhD in neuroscience. The scholars were interviewed first as doctoral students and then 6 years later. The findings illustrate the challenges of marketability, professional development, and balancing personal and career demands for interdisciplinary PhD recipients in STEM-related fields.

Intelligent Design and the Attack on Scientific Inquiry

This article considers the question of intelligent design in relation to the principles of scientific inquiry and academic freedom. The authors examine the structure of research as a task of events to advance knowledge; an individual, interpretive process; and a social/public discourse. Using this framework, they consider how the advancement of intelligent design has occurred outside the traditional structure of knowledge production in the academy. They consider the influence on ideology as well as the public role in scientific knowledge. By enabling ideologies to operate outside of the balance of scientific inquiry and peer review, the process of knowledge production is reduced to a biased power struggle manipulated by personal agendas.