Seeking “better ways”: early career faculty researcher development
Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education
ISSN: 2398-4686
Article publication date: 16 November 2018
Issue publication date: 16 November 2018
Abstract
Purpose
Researcher development is an important but underexplored topic with implications for knowledge production, graduate education, faculty development and equity in higher education. The purpose of this constructivist instrumental case study was to understand how the process of writing and publishing from qualitative dissertations sparked researcher development among two pre-tenure faculty members in higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
Two researchers and seven data sources (i.e. six essays and one dialogue transcript) were used to construct the case. Researchers first inductively and independently coded the data sources. Researchers then collectively used the constant comparative technique (Charmaz, 2014) for data analysis.
Findings
Data analysis uncovered an iterative, three-phase process of seeking “better ways” (Evans, 2011) to translate dissertations into publications. This process included (1) recognizing one or more issues in the research design or conveyance of data, (2) rallying in a multitude of ways to seek better ways to address the issue(s) and (3) resolving the issue(s) by following internal voices and finding “better ways”.
Originality/value
Findings offer implications for faculty members’ approaches to mentoring and graduate preparation, and for postdoctoral and early career scholars’ agentic approaches to publishing, teaching and reflecting on one’s own researcher development.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper was initially presented as part of a roundtable sponsored by Doctoral Education across the Disciplines (SIG 168) at the 2017 American Educational Research Association Annual Conference in San Antonio, TX. The authors would like to thank Jennifer M. Johnson and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful feedback and Cheryl L. Montgomery for her research assistance.
Citation
Robbins, C.K. and LePeau, L.A. (2018), "Seeking “better ways”: early career faculty researcher development", Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 113-126. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-D-17-00029
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited