Industrial & Organizational Psychology

College of Doctoral Studies

PSY-804 Interview Data

The question you were asked to address in the Module 2 assignment was presented to several individuals outside of this course. They were presented the question as follows:

The experience of being a doctoral learner is unique to the individual, although it is also a shared experience. In as much detail as possible, describe a time since starting your doctoral program when you experienced your identity as a doctoral learner.

Below are three unedited, anonymous responses to the above interview question.

Participant 1

It took me an entire year to believe this phase of my life was for real. I honestly felt like an imposter going through the motions of thinking I might become a doctor some day, but I had no personal connection to that identity—until my last class. The class was special in that the professor treated us as doctoral students and invested in us through open discussions of DQ's, ethical issues, and topics we were considering for our research. Each class was a continuation of the last where we all shared, interacted, gave suggestions, and helped each other tweak ideas. In short, we felt like we were investing in ourselves, our ideas, and each other. The professor poured into us his belief of us by listening to our ideas, while also challenging us to dig deeper into them, and ourselves. During these discussions he often offered his perspectives on dissertation topics and pushed us hard to THINK! It was his belief the search for a dissertation topic is both an extrinsic process of important testable questions based on identifiable populations and an intrinsic process of self-discovery. This hit me right between the eyes with truth! He proposed that getting clarity about what we want from this PhD, where we are going after, and why we want it, are very important questions to answer. I could not agree more! After many discussions and much reflection and a lot of academic and emotional stress that helped me grow into knowing what is important, I finally believe I am capable of, and fully understand my purpose for achieving my doctorate. Things are crystal clear! The little stuff (doing those darn DQ’s) no longer stresses me out, and working on the bigger picture (reading for my dissertation) has become my focus and daily work. Of course I still do the very best I can to complete the basic requirements for every course, but now the greater portion of my time is spent preparing for the end result—the dissertation (and networking for jobs afterward). Before I gained clarity of what I wanted and why I wanted it, I was just going through the motions of being a student. I now proudly identify myself as a doctoral student who will achieve the honor of sporting those three letters “PhD” behind my name by October of 2017!

Participant 2

“I was about half way through the PhD program when I made the decision to truly realize that the journey is part of the process. This is a process of transformation but mostly a process of self- actualization. In my line of work, I listen to the stories of individuals that have persisted through challenging situations and are looking to transform their lives for the better. So, I knew I wanted to study the notion of goal attainment. What factors lead people to persist through challenging situations? We already know there are recipes for success like possessing grit, resilience and psychological hardiness. Yet, where do those traits come from? How do we acquire them? I needed more answers, so I started communicating more with terminal degree holders at conferences, symposiums and meetings. I decided to confront my fear of failure and email my dissertation ideas to a professor and doctoral chair. I got feedback.. a lot of feedback, much needed feedback. That feedback was invaluable. It really made me think. I am eternally grateful for being pushed to think so deeply. I researched even more. I soul searched even more. I spent numerous days revising my 10 Key Strategic Points with probably about 5 versions. Yet at the same time, I was called smart and my professors were seemingly approving my drafted dissertation deliverables. After some months went by, I was at a conference on higher education. I went back to the hotel and ordered my regular seared ahi salad, sat back and realized that the data I was seeking was being spoken to me. I then discovered that listening to people share their stories was almost therapeutic for them, like a reframing experience. Was I helping people make sense of their experience? I liked that idea of helping other people, it made me feel good. I was in my 8th course. I realized I must abandon the notion of quantitative research. Numbers are not going to give me what I am seeking to bring to light. I had a fire lit beneath me... to truly understand qualitative research. I needed to connect, to become a part of the study, I found my identity- to become a qualitative researcher. Did my experiences as a therapist, counselor and business developer all led me to this point? Perhaps. I had always listened to people, built rapport, helped people find their potential. Now I can go fourth with greater confidence.”

Participant 3

When I first started my journey as a doctoral learner I didn’t actually tell anyone (except my husband). I even kept it a secret from my parents. I think I was nervous that I would quit and I was waiting until I felt “official” in some capacity before I told anyone. The point of feeling official for me really came at my first residency. The reality of needing to take off a week of work, explain to people I would be staying at a hotel, etc really solidified my identity as a doctoral learner. At that point in the journey there wasn’t really any turning back. I had committed. I was at residency. Done and done.

I can actually pinpoint a time during residency as well where I felt “wow, I think I got this. I have something I actually want to study.” This for me, happened when I found the “gap” and my instructor agreed with me on it. It made me officially feel a part of the doctoral community and that I did have something to contribute. Perhaps it was that I had completed a residency. Perhaps it was that I finally had a topic to tell people about if they discovered I was doing my doctorate. Or perhaps it was just being in a room full of other learners in my same boat. Regardless, residency was definitely my “official” notch in this journey.