Allyson Holbrook
Biographic Data
| ID | 234118 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Allyson Holbrook |
| GIVEN NAMES | Allyson |
| FAMILY NAME | Holbrook |
| SIGNATURE | HOLBROOK A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Newcastle Australia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3371-4187 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 69 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1991 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Learning From Failure for Doctoral Education
Failure in doctoral education is a taboo topic for many supervisors and doctoral candidates. Failure in thesis doctoral examination is hard to admit to or explain and has not been deeply investigated. We aim to disrupt the silence around failure in the doctoral context and generate new discussions relevant to doctoral education. We conduct a theoretical integrative review (TIR), which allows for the inclusion of primary research studies, along wi…
Linguistic diversity and doctoral assessment
Overseas students who have learned English as a second or foreign language (L2) form a prominent subgroup of research students in Australian universities. However, there is a paucity of research exploring the linguistic experiences of this population in connection with thesis examination and in comparison with first language users of English (L1). Drawing on a two-phase design, we utilised an archived corpus of de-identified PhD examiner reports …
Supervisor perspectives on the ‘end-stage’ of the doctoral examination process
There has been substantial research on doctoral supervision and examination, yet rarely a focus on what happens at the end-stage of the process when examiner feedback is received and addressed. This article reports survey findings (n = 262) from a study investigating supervisor perceptions about Australian end-stage doctoral examination processes. In general, supervisors believed that existing university processes were satisfactory, with the cave…
Oral defence as a feedback mechanism in doctoral development and examination
Variability in prescription medication coverage for children and youth across Canada
Variation in the prescription drugs covered by health systems across high-income countries
BACKGROUND: Because not all medicines are equally safe, effective, and affordable, health systems often use formularies to define explicitly which medicines will be included and excluded from coverage. OBJECTIVE: We sought to synthesize methods and findings from published studies of formulary variation across health systems in high-income countries. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed research papers published from 2000 to …
Experimental Methods in Survey Research
Vignettes are short descriptions of real‐life situations that are employed in a survey to assess attitudes and intentions. In many studies, intentions are considered as approximations to actual behavior in real‐life situations. What different applications of vignettes have in common is the effort to adjust the vignettes to the reality of everyday life. Because of this closeness to reality, it is assumed that vignettes are less prone to socially d…
Connection to the Natural Environment and Well-Being in Middle Childhood
Though the positive association between a connection to the natural environment and well-being is well established, few studies have examined this association in children, and none have explored whether this relationship remains when accounting for other factors that affect well-being, such as social supports, attention, and empathic skills. The current study aims to address this gap. Data are drawn from the New South Wales Child Development Stud…
Doctoral candidates as learners
A national cohort of doctoral students (n = 1390) completed a suite of metacognitive questionnaires indicating management of affective, intellectual and contingency demands in learning. Responses to the questionnaires were analysed for evidence of individual differences in reported metacognitive behaviours. Three patterns of metacognitive response to doctoral learning were identified through cluster analysis: Constructive Engagement, Struggling t…
Research Ethics in the Assessment of PhD Theses
Understanding the patient experience of cost-related non-adherence to prescription medications through typology development and application
Culture Moderates the Relation Between Perceived Stress, Social Support, and Mental and Physical Health
Cultural differences in the relations between perceived stress and mental and physical health, and the role of social support in buffering these relations, are examined in a survey of multiple U.S. cultural/ethnic groups. Findings from a health survey of N = 603 adults comprising approximately equal numbers of non-Hispanic Whites, Mexican Americans, Korean Americans, and African Americans show that perceived stress is negatively correlated with o…
The focus and substance of formative comment provided by PhD examiners
In practice and process PhD examination is distinctive, reflecting the high expectations of students whose learning has been directed to their becoming researchers. This article builds on previous research on the examination of Australian theses that revealed that examiners in Science (n = 542) and Education (n = 241) provide a substantial proportion of formative comment in their reports, much of which is constructed in a way that anticipates ref…
Examining PhD and research masters theses
The examination of research theses has only relatively recently attracted research interest that has focused on what examiners do and how consistent they are. The research questions in this study address firstly whether PhD and research masters theses were treated by examiners as qualitatively different on 12 indicators of importance across the areas: contribution of the thesis, the literature review, approach and methodology, analyses and result…
Student experience of final-year undergraduate research projects
During this past decade the level of interest in building research capacity has intensified in Australia and internationally, with a particular emphasis on the development of postgraduate research students, but also extending to undergraduate research experience. This study investigated the student experience across a diverse range of fourth-year undergraduate research programs in one Australian university, and explored how this prepared students…
From rupture to resonance
This article focuses on the phenomenon of ‘rupture’ identified in student narratives of uncertainty and scholarship experienced during the course of Fine Art research degrees in two Australian universities. Rupture captures the phenomenon of severe disruption or discontinuity in existing knowledge and typically signifies epistemological rift for the students. On one level candidates become anxious and directionless; on another they adapt and reso…
Acculturation and Health Survey Question Comprehension Among Latino Respondents in the US
The rise of 'professional staff' and demise of the 'non-academic
Concerns regarding the nomenclature of university administration in Australia and the UK have featured in the higher education literature for over a decade. In response, a significant nomenclature shift is occurring, with Australian universities replacing the term 'General Staff' to describe all administrative and technical staff, in favour of 'Professional Staff'. Following nomenclature trends in the UK, this change has been in gestation for som…
Examiner comment on the literature review in Ph.D. theses
The review of literature, so central to scholarly work and disciplined inquiry, is expected of the Ph.D. student, but how far along the road are they expected to travel? This article investigates the expectations of ‘the literature’ in research and scholarship at Ph.D. level from the examiner and assessment perspective. The analysis draws on the examiner report data for 501 candidates (1310 reports) across five Australian universities. On average…
The Impact of Question and Respondent Characteristics on Comprehension and Mapping Difficulties
Behavior coding is one technique researchers use to detect problems in survey questions, but it has been primarily explored as a practical tool rather than a source of insight into the theoretical understanding of the cognitive processes by which respondents answer survey questions. The latter is the focus of the current investigation. Using data from a large study in which face-to-face interviews were taped and extensive behavior coding was done…
Assessment Practice in Fine Art Higher Degrees
The study reported in this paper investigates the examination of fine art doctorates, and specifically how fine art examiners convey their assessment of the exegesis and exhibition in their written reports, drawing on 42 PhD fine art reports. Fine art examiners provided significant amounts of negative appraisal overall, little formative comment, and frequently wrote about the process of examination. Poor candidate engagement with relevant literat…
PhD Theses at the Margin
It is rare for a PhD candidate rvho submits a rhesis for cxemin:rrion to fail outright..lf a thesis exhibits significar.rtflaws thc candidate may bc rcquited to make major rcvisions and rc- submit the work io, r..-.xrn-ti.ation'The writtcn comments of examincrs before and after rcsubmission can provide important insights into the Process of examination and the tlualities .*"fii,.r.r, identilyin a marginal thesis' Drawing on 101 of the most rcccnt…
Pressure to train and pressed into training
(1993). Pressure to train and pressed into training?: The outcomes of the 1937 Victorian youth employment survey and subsequent training initiatives. Journal of Australian Studies: Vol. 17, No. 39, pp. 37-54
Appraisal of school principals in an Australian department of education
The aims of this study were, first, to consider from a theoretical perspective performance appraisal as a concept and as practised in 1991 in the Hunter Region of the NSW Department of School Education. Second, perceptions of the functioning of performance appraisal held by school principals in the Hunter Region were sought by questionnaire. Opinions of the principals on several dimensions of the appraisal process were measured, and appropriate s…
The Impact of Question and Respondent Characteristics on Comprehension and Mapping Difficulties
Behavior coding is one technique researchers use to detect problems in survey questions, but it has been primarily explored as a practical tool rather than a source of insight into the theoretical understanding of the cognitive processes by which respondents answer survey questions. The latter is the focus of the current investigation. Using data from a large study in which face-to-face interviews were taped and extensive behavior coding was done…
The rise of 'professional staff' and demise of the 'non-academic
Concerns regarding the nomenclature of university administration in Australia and the UK have featured in the higher education literature for over a decade. In response, a significant nomenclature shift is occurring, with Australian universities replacing the term 'General Staff' to describe all administrative and technical staff, in favour of 'Professional Staff'. Following nomenclature trends in the UK, this change has been in gestation for som…
Culture Moderates the Relation Between Perceived Stress, Social Support, and Mental and Physical Health
Cultural differences in the relations between perceived stress and mental and physical health, and the role of social support in buffering these relations, are examined in a survey of multiple U.S. cultural/ethnic groups. Findings from a health survey of N = 603 adults comprising approximately equal numbers of non-Hispanic Whites, Mexican Americans, Korean Americans, and African Americans show that perceived stress is negatively correlated with o…
Understanding the patient experience of cost-related non-adherence to prescription medications through typology development and application
The focus and substance of formative comment provided by PhD examiners
In practice and process PhD examination is distinctive, reflecting the high expectations of students whose learning has been directed to their becoming researchers. This article builds on previous research on the examination of Australian theses that revealed that examiners in Science (n = 542) and Education (n = 241) provide a substantial proportion of formative comment in their reports, much of which is constructed in a way that anticipates ref…
Acculturation and Health Survey Question Comprehension Among Latino Respondents in the US
Assessment Practice in Fine Art Higher Degrees
The study reported in this paper investigates the examination of fine art doctorates, and specifically how fine art examiners convey their assessment of the exegesis and exhibition in their written reports, drawing on 42 PhD fine art reports. Fine art examiners provided significant amounts of negative appraisal overall, little formative comment, and frequently wrote about the process of examination. Poor candidate engagement with relevant literat…
Appraisal of school principals in an Australian department of education
The aims of this study were, first, to consider from a theoretical perspective performance appraisal as a concept and as practised in 1991 in the Hunter Region of the NSW Department of School Education. Second, perceptions of the functioning of performance appraisal held by school principals in the Hunter Region were sought by questionnaire. Opinions of the principals on several dimensions of the appraisal process were measured, and appropriate s…
Pressure to train and pressed into training
(1993). Pressure to train and pressed into training?: The outcomes of the 1937 Victorian youth employment survey and subsequent training initiatives. Journal of Australian Studies: Vol. 17, No. 39, pp. 37-54
PhD Theses at the Margin
It is rare for a PhD candidate rvho submits a rhesis for cxemin:rrion to fail outright..lf a thesis exhibits significar.rtflaws thc candidate may bc rcquited to make major rcvisions and rc- submit the work io, r..-.xrn-ti.ation'The writtcn comments of examincrs before and after rcsubmission can provide important insights into the Process of examination and the tlualities .*"fii,.r.r, identilyin a marginal thesis' Drawing on 101 of the most rcccnt…
The Impact of Question and Respondent Characteristics on Comprehension and Mapping Difficulties
Behavior coding is one technique researchers use to detect problems in survey questions, but it has been primarily explored as a practical tool rather than a source of insight into the theoretical understanding of the cognitive processes by which respondents answer survey questions. The latter is the focus of the current investigation. Using data from a large study in which face-to-face interviews were taped and extensive behavior coding was done…
Assessment Practice in Fine Art Higher Degrees
The study reported in this paper investigates the examination of fine art doctorates, and specifically how fine art examiners convey their assessment of the exegesis and exhibition in their written reports, drawing on 42 PhD fine art reports. Fine art examiners provided significant amounts of negative appraisal overall, little formative comment, and frequently wrote about the process of examination. Poor candidate engagement with relevant literat…
Examiner comment on the literature review in Ph.D. theses
The review of literature, so central to scholarly work and disciplined inquiry, is expected of the Ph.D. student, but how far along the road are they expected to travel? This article investigates the expectations of ‘the literature’ in research and scholarship at Ph.D. level from the examiner and assessment perspective. The analysis draws on the examiner report data for 501 candidates (1310 reports) across five Australian universities. On average…
From rupture to resonance
This article focuses on the phenomenon of ‘rupture’ identified in student narratives of uncertainty and scholarship experienced during the course of Fine Art research degrees in two Australian universities. Rupture captures the phenomenon of severe disruption or discontinuity in existing knowledge and typically signifies epistemological rift for the students. On one level candidates become anxious and directionless; on another they adapt and reso…
Acculturation and Health Survey Question Comprehension Among Latino Respondents in the US
The rise of 'professional staff' and demise of the 'non-academic
Concerns regarding the nomenclature of university administration in Australia and the UK have featured in the higher education literature for over a decade. In response, a significant nomenclature shift is occurring, with Australian universities replacing the term 'General Staff' to describe all administrative and technical staff, in favour of 'Professional Staff'. Following nomenclature trends in the UK, this change has been in gestation for som…
Examining PhD and research masters theses
The examination of research theses has only relatively recently attracted research interest that has focused on what examiners do and how consistent they are. The research questions in this study address firstly whether PhD and research masters theses were treated by examiners as qualitatively different on 12 indicators of importance across the areas: contribution of the thesis, the literature review, approach and methodology, analyses and result…
Student experience of final-year undergraduate research projects
During this past decade the level of interest in building research capacity has intensified in Australia and internationally, with a particular emphasis on the development of postgraduate research students, but also extending to undergraduate research experience. This study investigated the student experience across a diverse range of fourth-year undergraduate research programs in one Australian university, and explored how this prepared students…
The focus and substance of formative comment provided by PhD examiners
In practice and process PhD examination is distinctive, reflecting the high expectations of students whose learning has been directed to their becoming researchers. This article builds on previous research on the examination of Australian theses that revealed that examiners in Science (n = 542) and Education (n = 241) provide a substantial proportion of formative comment in their reports, much of which is constructed in a way that anticipates ref…
Culture Moderates the Relation Between Perceived Stress, Social Support, and Mental and Physical Health
Cultural differences in the relations between perceived stress and mental and physical health, and the role of social support in buffering these relations, are examined in a survey of multiple U.S. cultural/ethnic groups. Findings from a health survey of N = 603 adults comprising approximately equal numbers of non-Hispanic Whites, Mexican Americans, Korean Americans, and African Americans show that perceived stress is negatively correlated with o…
Doctoral candidates as learners
A national cohort of doctoral students (n = 1390) completed a suite of metacognitive questionnaires indicating management of affective, intellectual and contingency demands in learning. Responses to the questionnaires were analysed for evidence of individual differences in reported metacognitive behaviours. Three patterns of metacognitive response to doctoral learning were identified through cluster analysis: Constructive Engagement, Struggling t…
Research Ethics in the Assessment of PhD Theses
Understanding the patient experience of cost-related non-adherence to prescription medications through typology development and application
Connection to the Natural Environment and Well-Being in Middle Childhood
Though the positive association between a connection to the natural environment and well-being is well established, few studies have examined this association in children, and none have explored whether this relationship remains when accounting for other factors that affect well-being, such as social supports, attention, and empathic skills. The current study aims to address this gap. Data are drawn from the New South Wales Child Development Stud…
Experimental Methods in Survey Research
Vignettes are short descriptions of real‐life situations that are employed in a survey to assess attitudes and intentions. In many studies, intentions are considered as approximations to actual behavior in real‐life situations. What different applications of vignettes have in common is the effort to adjust the vignettes to the reality of everyday life. Because of this closeness to reality, it is assumed that vignettes are less prone to socially d…
Variation in the prescription drugs covered by health systems across high-income countries
BACKGROUND: Because not all medicines are equally safe, effective, and affordable, health systems often use formularies to define explicitly which medicines will be included and excluded from coverage. OBJECTIVE: We sought to synthesize methods and findings from published studies of formulary variation across health systems in high-income countries. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed research papers published from 2000 to …
Linguistic diversity and doctoral assessment
Overseas students who have learned English as a second or foreign language (L2) form a prominent subgroup of research students in Australian universities. However, there is a paucity of research exploring the linguistic experiences of this population in connection with thesis examination and in comparison with first language users of English (L1). Drawing on a two-phase design, we utilised an archived corpus of de-identified PhD examiner reports …
Supervisor perspectives on the ‘end-stage’ of the doctoral examination process
There has been substantial research on doctoral supervision and examination, yet rarely a focus on what happens at the end-stage of the process when examiner feedback is received and addressed. This article reports survey findings (n = 262) from a study investigating supervisor perceptions about Australian end-stage doctoral examination processes. In general, supervisors believed that existing university processes were satisfactory, with the cave…
Oral defence as a feedback mechanism in doctoral development and examination
Variability in prescription medication coverage for children and youth across Canada
Learning From Failure for Doctoral Education
Failure in doctoral education is a taboo topic for many supervisors and doctoral candidates. Failure in thesis doctoral examination is hard to admit to or explain and has not been deeply investigated. We aim to disrupt the silence around failure in the doctoral context and generate new discussions relevant to doctoral education. We conduct a theoretical integrative review (TIR), which allows for the inclusion of primary research studies, along wi…
Psychology (19 works) · Medicine (15 works) · Political science (15 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Doctoral Education Challenges and Solutions (9 works) · Medical education (9 works) · Computer Science (8 works) · Pedagogy (7 works) · Higher education (6 works) · Evaluation of Teaching Practices (5 works)