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‘Science in action’: doctoral scientists and identity construction

Hancock Sally, University of York, UK 

Introduction

Across all disciplines, doctoral degrees have traditionally served as an apprenticeship for an

academic career. According to Lave and Wenger (11!, the apprenticeship model develops fromthe assumption that sustained participation  in a vocation facilitates the transition from novice to

e"pert. A threshold level of #no$ledge and s#ill must %e demonstrated for the individual to $in

recognition as an ‘e"pert’, at $hich point they %ecome a legitimate mem%er of the community of

 practice (&'!.

)ncreasingly, ho$ever, doctoral graduates assume non*academic careers. +his trend is true %oth in

the - and internationally (itae /011, /012 3arnacle and 4all’Al%a /011!. As a result, there is

ongoing de%ate as to ho$ $ell the contemporary h4 prepares its students for their varied future

tra5ectories (for e"ample, 6o%erts /00/2 ar# /007!.

+his paper focuses on doctoral students in science, mathematics, engineering and maths (the‘S+89’ disciplines!. )t shares the results of a t$o year study $hich e"plored doctoral scientists’

motivations, aspirations and values and, in turn, ho$ these aspects inform identity construction.

4octoral scientists are a particularly feted group in - higher education policy2 %oth policy*ma#ers

and industry e"pect that they $ill contri%ute in vital $ays to the gro$th of the #no$ledge*%ased

economy (Leitch /002 &3) /01!. )t has %een argued that the type of identity %est suited to the

#no$ledge economy is the ‘li;uid’ identity * $here traditionally strong influences of discipline and

academic norms are replaced %y an emphasis upon multi*disciplinarity, transfera%le s#ills and

fle"i%ility (3auman /0002 3arnett in +emple /011!

Method

- domiciled scientists at a research intensive university participated in a t$o*year study, including

focus groups, an online survey and depth*intervie$s. +he in;uiry focused on e"ploring the

motivations, values and am%itions of doctoral scientists, and ho$ these aspects shaped %oth their

daily lives and future plans. <ull ethical approval $as received %y the participating institution, and

 participation $as voluntary and fully informed throughout.

+hree initial focus groups $ere held, $ith eight students per session. 4octoral scientists relished the

opportunity to tal# a%out their values and science*in*conte"t, since they seldom have the

opportunity to do so in their everyday research. +he focus groups informed the content of the online

;uestionnaire, as is $idespread practice in educational research (&ohen et al. /0072 3urton et al.

/00=!.

+he online survey achieved a 1>? response rate (n @ 1>!, and $as follo$ed %y depth*intervie$s.

Si"ty*eight doctoral scientists (1? of the survey sample!  self*selected as $illing intervie$ees.

+$enty students, chosen to represent the range of demographic characteristics and attitudes evident

in the survey data, $ere intervie$ed. )ntervie$s follo$ed a semi*structured approach, addressing

salient themes from the survey.

All data $ere $ere analysed and coded using grounded theory techni;ues, namely: coding, memo

$riting and constant comparison (Strauss and &or%in, 1=!.

Findings

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Across the population of doctoral scientists, five identity types emerged, differentiated %y values,

motivations and am%itions. 9ost doctoral scientists aspired to a strong and permanent identity,

informed %y long*held values and am%itions.

Seventy per cent of doctoral scientists retained their original intentions for em%ar#ing upon the

doctorate, $hether that %e %ecoming an academic (0?!, $or#ing in industry (/0?!, or conducting

socially*oriented research (10?!. +he remaining 0? admitted to a shift in am%itions, occurringtypically after the first year of study. +his shift led to a more pragmatic position, in $hich multiple

 potential careers * and future identities * $ere imagined. 4octoral scientists $ho e"perienced this

transition, ho$ever, reported that opening their minds to other career tra5ectories and vocational

selves $as hugely challenging.

All doctoral scientists $ere revealed to have a preoccupation $ith the coherence of their identity:

 prior educational and $or# e"periences, motivations, values and future plans could not %e radically

at odds $ith one another. +he need for a coherent normative logic, together $ith an apparent

aversion to cognitive dissonance, led students to adopt a highly strategic approach to doctoral life2

ma#ing very specific choices regarding research topics, pu%lications, net$or#ing and career

 planning, to reinforce their chosen identity.

Discussion

4octoral scientists perceive an acute absence of community, and instead develop highly individual

and strategic responses in order to manage their personal preferences. +he conceptual value of &'

is therefore limited in this conte"t. articularly unsatisfactory is &'’s tendency to oversimplify the

comple" reality of contemporary academia and scientific research careers, and the outdated

assumption that the &' in $hich doctoral scientists train (the academy! is the same community

that they $ill enter as ‘e"perts’. 'ther assumptions inherent to &' * of compara%le individual

e"periences and an idealised linear tra5ectory * are also considered pro%lematic $hen applied to the

situation of doctoral scientists.

Bame theory is employed to offer a more accurate insight into ho$ doctoral scientists construct

identity. Bame theory analyses the strategic decisions and %ehaviours that an individual pursues in

order to heighten the chance of %ringing a desired outcome to fruition. 'riginally located in

mathematics, and developed through the $or# of von Ceumann (10*1>7! and later Cash (1/=*

 present!, game theory has %een applied to economics, evolutionary %iology and political science

(3inmore /007, !. +his endeavour of applying a game*theory informed analysis to a study of

identity construction is considered novel.

+hroughout the course of their h4, doctoral scientists’ are involved in a game, played in reference

to identity and desired career outcomes. Bame strategies are pervasive, informing doctoralscientists’ attitudes to: the immediate conte"t of the university2 pu%lications2 ris#2 freedom2

#no$ledge2 pu%lic engagement2 and, careers. +his paper $ill detail the five uni;ue game strategies

associated $ith each identity type.

Applied to this particular conte"t of doctoral scientists’ identity construction, the %enefits of the

game*theory analysis are four*fold:

•   it dra$s out the individual nature of, and importance of individual values to, the

doctoral 5ourney

•

  it emphasises the intensely competitive environment that doctoral scientists inha%it

•   it allo$s detailed e"amination of the  strategic decision-making processes $hich

ena%le doctoral scientists to construct a particular identity

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•   it reveals ho$ identity construction is informed %y calculations of risk and

 probability

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