ABSTRACT

This qualitative study focuses on critical incidents identified by three U.S. PhD students as they reflected on the process of writing qualifying examinations. This study is couched in sociocultural conceptions of literacy, which view the qualifying exam as a social practice. Extending previous research of doctoral student writing and utilising a form of critical incident analysis, we found that navigating (1) the writing process, (2) claims to authority, and (3) relationships with mediational agents were important factors in participants’ successful academic writing and advanced disciplinary belonging. Practical implications suggested by this study include exploring the genres that lead to and support qualifying exams, providing conversational workshops with doctoral students and faculty about the academic writing process, and explicitly supporting students’ identity development through the writing process. This project also supports the value of critical incident analysis as a tool for studying conceptual transformations in academic writers as they transition from doctoral students to candidates to professionals in higher education.

摘要

这项定性研究的重点是三名美国博士生在撰写资格考试的过程中发现的重大事件。这项研究以扫盲的社会文化观念为基础，这些观念将资格考试视为一种社会实践。扩展博士生写作的先前研究并利用严重事件分析的形式，我们发现，导航（1）写作过程，（2）要求权威以及（3）与中介的关系是参与者成功学习的重要因素写作和高级学科归属。这项研究提出的实际意义包括探索导致和支持资格考试的体裁，与博士生和教职员工提供有关学术写作过程的对话研讨会，在写作过程中明确支持学生的身份发展。该项目还支持关键事件分析作为研究学术作家从博士生到应聘者再到高等教育专业人士的观念转变的工具的价值。