PhD Students’ Motivational Profiles and their Associations with the Academic Supervision Style and Publication Activity

Abstract

Background. In recent years, Russian PhD students have demonstrated a low level of thesis defense. The authors consider motivation to be an important psychological factor, and academic supervision style to be an essential interpersonal factor of PhD students' success and completion of PhD studies.

Objective. The study had its purpose to identify the specific PhD students' motivational profiles and to reveal their differences in three indicators of motivating academic supervision styles, supporting the PhD students' basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Study Participants. The study participants were 151 PhD students from Russian universities (M = 26.7 y.o.; SD = 4.17).

Methods. To assess intrinsic, various types of extrinsic motivation and amotivation of scientific activity the "Universal perceived locus of causality scales" (UPLOC) were used. To assess academic supervision styles the "Doctorate-related Need Support Scale" (D-N2S) was used. The analysis also included the indicators of publication activity, intentions to complete PhD studies, and satisfaction with them. The methods of statistical data processing included correlation and dispersion analysis, latent profile analysis, and calculation of the scale reliability indicators.

Results. The study allowed to identify four PhD students' motivational profiles: autonomous (54%), introjected (13%), external (18%), and amotivated (15%). It is shown that these four PhD students' groups differ significantly in the perceived academic supervision styles (autonomy support, structure and involvement), satisfaction with PhD studies and, partially, publication activity. The autonomous type, characterized by the dominance of intrinsic and identified motivation for working on the thesis, demonstrates the best indicators of success and satisfaction.

Conclusions. Motivational profiles reflecting dominant motives demonstrate expected associations with academic supervision styles, satisfaction with PhD studies, intentions to complete them, and publication activity of PhD students, with only half of them revealing an optimal motivation profile for writing a thesis. Consequently, academic supervision practices that promote PhD students' autonomous motivation related to their satisfaction with their PhD studies and publication activity can be a target when organizing advanced training for academic supervisors in universities.

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