Riding the emotional rollercoaster? Emotions in online doctoral studies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21458698 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kyungmee Lee (0000-0002-9580-9026, Fylde College, Lancaster University, corresponding author), Francesca M M Citron (0000-0002-2859-5224, Fylde College, Lancaster University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 379-402 |
| Publication date | 2025-05-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Continuing Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0158-037X • E-ISSN: 1470-126X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0158037x.2024.2366291 |
| OpenAlex | W4399717325 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 64 |
This multi-year mixed-method research explores the first-year online doctoral students’ emotional experiences. Forty-eight students who embarked on a fully online doctoral programme between 2018 and 2022 completed a questionnaire four times across the first six months – the most critical period for students to decide whether to continue their studies. The questionnaire quantitatively measured the intensity of 36 different emotions felt by each student in two contexts, respectively related to ‘doctoral studies’ and ‘life in general’. Participants also qualitatively recorded their responses to the most intense emotions, detailing reasons for such experiences. Based on quantitative data, a principal component analysis extracted five meaningful clusters: Positive emotions, Negative cognitive emotions, Negative gut reactions, Isolation, and Intrigued. Repeated-measures ANOVAs with each cluster as dependent variable showed meaningful patterns and changes depending on context and across the four time points. The qualitative data was analysed using a constant comparative method, providing deeper insights into online doctoral students’ emotional experiences. The results highlight that, although students undergo many negative emotions, those emotions do not always lead to negative experiences. Engaging with new academic challenges and other doctoral students with similar aspirations makes them feel much more positive and less isolated in their studies than in their general lives
Cognition · Computer-assisted web interviewing · Developmental psychology · Doctoral Education Challenges and Solutions · Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout · Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
Factors that influence PhD candidates’ success
Emotional presence, learning, and the online learning environment
Students’ emotions and academic engagement
Basic Emotions
Minimum Sample Size Recommendations for Conducting Factor Analyses
Calculating and reporting effect sizes to facilitate cumulative science
G*Power 3
The Control-Value Theory of Achievement Emotions
The Emotional Wellbeing of Doctoral Students Conducting Qualitative Research with Vulnerable Populations
Does It Feel the Same? Danish and Finnish Social Science and Humanities Doctoral Students’ Academic Emotions
Doctoral capital and well-being amongst Australian PhD students
Where’s the validation? Role of emotion work and validation for doctoral students
A systematic literature review on technology in online doctoral education
Exploring doctoral students’ emotions in feedback on academic writing
Calling it quits
Constructing radical community
In-Betweenness, Mother Guilt, and Juggling Roles
The Multivariate Social Scientist
New Communication Practices, Identity and the Psychological Gap
Doctoral candidates as learners
Autoethnography as an Authentic Learning Activity in Online Doctoral Education
Mapping the emotional journey of the doctoral ‘hero’
The Emotional Wellbeing of Doctoral Students Conducting Qualitative Research with Vulnerable Populations
Darwin and emotion expression
When [inter]personal becomes transformational
Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 1969
Universals and cultural differences in the judgments of facial expressions of emotion
What are emotions? And how can they be measured
The Emotional Geographies of Being Stranded Due to Covid-19
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |