A7 - Field Notes Interviews

General Information Questions

Date

Month: Day: Year:

Time

Start time: End time:

Location

(If face-to-face; leave blank if via videoconferencing)

Method

(E.g., face-to-face or through Skype videoconferencing)

Your Name

Your Email

Participant Demographics

Current Age

Gender

Race/Ethnicity

Occupation

Full or Part time

Degree Earned

(E.g., PhD in Psychology; or Ed.D in Community Counseling)

Time to degree Completion

(Length of time from entering to defending dissertation)

Type of Program

(E.g., Fully online; fully residential/on campus; blended/hybrid)

Full or Part time Student

Financial Assistance

(E.g., scholarship, fellowship, assistantship, etc.)

Year Completed

Interview Questions

Below each question, transcribe the participant responses verbatim. If you feel the need, ask clarifying or probing questions to elicit more depth or understanding of the issue (e.g., “Can you provide an example?” Or, “Can you tell me a little more about that experience?”).

Entry and Coursework:

1. Why did you decide to pursue a doctoral degree?

2. What challenges, if at all, did you experience during the coursework phase of your doctoral degree?

3. How did you address these challenges?

Beginning the Dissertation:

4. Please describe your transition from the coursework stage of your doctoral degree to the dissertation stage.

5. How does the dissertation phase of the degree differ from coursework?

6. How did you select your dissertation topic and method?

7. What advice do you have for doctoral students with regard to choosing a topic and method?

8. What advice do you have for doctoral students with regard to entering the dissertation phase?

Chair and Committee:

9. Please describe how you identified your dissertation chair and committee.

10. Please describe your relationship with your chair and committee members during your dissertation and your relationship with them now.

11. Please describe the mentorship or support you received from your chair and committee.

12. What advice do you have for doctoral students with regard to selecting and working with a chair and committee?

Dissertation Proposal:

13. Please describe your experience in the proposal development stage of your dissertation.

14. What challenges did you face while developing your proposal and how did you address them?

15. Please describe your experiences applying for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval to conduct your research.

16. What advice do you have with regard to the IRB?

Data Collection and Analysis:

17. If applicable, please describe your experiences collecting and analyzing data for your dissertation.

18. What advice do you have with regard to preparing for data collection and analysis?

Final Defense:

19. Please describe how you prepared for your final defense.

20. Please describe your final dissertation defense.

21. To what do you attribute your persistence to complete your doctorate?

Summary:

22. Looking back across you whole doctoral journey, what were your greatest challenges?

23. What supports or strategies do you attribute to your success?

24. Please describe the role(s) of your family and peers during the doctoral process.

25. What can individuals do to ensure they are able to persist to completion?

26. What can institutions do to foster persistence in doctoral students?

27. What final words of advice do you have for individuals contemplating beginning a doctoral degree with regard to persisting through coursework and the dissertation?

28. Is there anything else related to this topic you would like to add?

Reflective Notes

Please write out your thoughts and observations while conducting this interview. What surprised you? What responses could you personally identify with? Track your running thoughts and observations by typing them in the box below.

General Information Questions

Date

Month: Day: Year:

Time

Start time: End time:

Location

(If face-to-face; leave blank if via videoconferencing)

Method

(E.g., face-to-face or through Skype videoconferencing)

Your Name

Your Email

Participant Demographics

Current Age

Gender

Race/Ethnicity

Occupation

Full or Part time

Degree Earned

(E.g., PhD in Psychology; or Ed.D in Community Counseling)

Time to degree Completion

(Length of time from entering to defending dissertation)

Type of Program

(E.g., Fully online; fully residential/on campus; blended/hybrid)

Full or Part time Student

Financial Assistance

(E.g., scholarship, fellowship, assistantship, etc.)

Year Completed

Interview Questions

Below each question, transcribe the participant responses verbatim. If you feel the need, ask clarifying or probing questions to elicit more depth or understanding of the issue (e.g., “Can you provide an example?” Or, “Can you tell me a little more about that experience?”).

Entry and Coursework:

1. Why did you decide to pursue a doctoral degree?

2. What challenges, if at all, did you experience during the coursework phase of your doctoral degree?

3. How did you address these challenges?

Beginning the Dissertation:

4. Please describe your transition from the coursework stage of your doctoral degree to the dissertation stage.

5. How does the dissertation phase of the degree differ from coursework?

6. How did you select your dissertation topic and method?

7. What advice do you have for doctoral students with regard to choosing a topic and method?

8. What advice do you have for doctoral students with regard to entering the dissertation phase?

Chair and Committee:

9. Please describe how you identified your dissertation chair and committee.

10. Please describe your relationship with your chair and committee members during your dissertation and your relationship with them now.

11. Please describe the mentorship or support you received from your chair and committee.

12. What advice do you have for doctoral students with regard to selecting and working with a chair and committee?

Dissertation Proposal:

13. Please describe your experience in the proposal development stage of your dissertation.

14. What challenges did you face while developing your proposal and how did you address them?

15. Please describe your experiences applying for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval to conduct your research.

16. What advice do you have with regard to the IRB?

Data Collection and Analysis:

17. If applicable, please describe your experiences collecting and analyzing data for your dissertation.

18. What advice do you have with regard to preparing for data collection and analysis?

Final Defense:

19. Please describe how you prepared for your final defense.

20. Please describe your final dissertation defense.

21. To what do you attribute your persistence to complete your doctorate?

Summary:

22. Looking back across you whole doctoral journey, what were your greatest challenges?

23. What supports or strategies do you attribute to your success?

24. Please describe the role(s) of your family and peers during the doctoral process.

25. What can individuals do to ensure they are able to persist to completion?

26. What can institutions do to foster persistence in doctoral students?

27. What final words of advice do you have for individuals contemplating beginning a doctoral degree with regard to persisting through coursework and the dissertation?

28. Is there anything else related to this topic that you would like to add?

Reflective Notes

Please write out your thoughts and observations while conducting this interview. What surprised you? What responses could you personally identify with? Track your running thoughts and observations by typing them in the box below.