Info Day of PhD Studies

Dissertation flow

Monday 11 Feb 2019

Seminarium S212

9.15 Opening words (Paavo Leppänen)9.30 Information session (Satu Perälä-Littunen and Tiina Volanen)

Tiina: administrative issues and answers to frequently asked questionsSatu: ethics, transferable skills10.30 Dissertation flow

Taru Feldt – the psychological process of writing a doctoral dissertationSotiria Pappa - from experience perspective11.30-12.30 Lunch break (non-complimentary)12.30 My dissertation story (Sanna Moilanen)

12.45 Surviving through the dissertation journey - discussion in groups (Anna Rönkä, Päivi Häkkinen)

• Survival skills in dissertation process: time-management, stress, efficiency, free time, recovery, family

• What are your current biggest challenges?• What kind of solutions have you found?13.30 Common discussionTwo issues per group14.00 Coffee/ How to succeed in getting research funding?

-Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen (funder's perspective)-Piia Astikainen (applicant's perspective)15.00 Concluding remarks (Paavo Leppänen)

What is modern doctoral dissertation?https://www.jyu.fi/en/research/doctoral-studies/transferableskills

• Motivation ScienceAn exercise in learning to do scientific research – finding out

something significant

Dissertation can lead to different roads, careers, e.g. research leader

in academia but also increasingly often expertise positions outside

academia

Benefits for research community and society more widely

• Researcher is a team player – working togetherToday significant scientific findings not done alone, but in successful

teams critical mass, social network – a human endeavor

Responsible member of the community, research team but also more

widely the department/ faculty which enables their research

• Sharing of results, open science, ethical researchFor advancement of science, open data sharing is necessary

Global research ethics and responsibility for society

• A process – a journeyGoals and sub-goals, mistakes and success

Getting tired, getting satisfaction

Dissertation – preparing for professional life

• Supervision, peer support and team workDoctoral student – a bus driver, who invites the passengers

and need to think where they sit

Support to independently acquire further expertise

Benefit from the expertise – also of peers

Give to the team and receive from the team!

• Learning to endure criticismTakes strong self esteem

It’s not the person who is targeted, but the subject matter

(analyses, text > science)

Challenge to the supervisors and team members

• Learning to be an expert– with boldnessTraining for high expertise – leader for future science or some

other leader/responsible position

Expert in using tools, understanding science

Expert in communication, social skills

Professional researcher, professional expertSubmitting manuscripts and funding applications, getting rejections and

approvals

Dissertation process and publishing – may sometimes feel

frustrating

Steering, strategic goals, assessment

PSYTO – Doctoralprogramme in Psychology: Board

KASTO – Doctoralprogramme in Education: Board(OKL, KLA, FIER/KTL)

University graduate school: Science Council: Vice-Rector responsible for research and innovation, Coordinator, Research Vice Deans

KPTK Doctoral school: Board with representatives from the 3 three departments(OKL; KLA, PSY) and FIER/KTL

Faculty level strategy, development

Department level development, admissions, doctoral positions

FacultyCouncil

Dean

Decisionmaking

Department heads

• Vice dean – research, professor Paavo Leppänen (Chair of the board, Psychology)• Vice dean – education, professor Raimo Lappalainen (Psychology)(Deputy member:

Aarno Laitila)• Professor Taru Feldt (Chair of PSYTO, Psyhology) (Deputy member: Saija Mauno)• Professor Anna Rönkä (Chair of KASTO, Education)• Professor Kaisa Aunola (Psychology) (Deputy member: Dr Noona Kiuru)• Professor Miika Marttunen (Adult education and education)• Professor Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen (Teacher Education)• Professor Päivi Häkkinen (Finnish Insitute of Education Research)

Deputy members from programme board of the Doctoral programme in Education:• Senior researcher Terhi Nokkala (FIER)• University lecturer Markus Hähkiöniemi (Teacher Education)• Professor Hannu Savolainen (special education)• Associate professor Niina Rutanen (early childhood education)Secretaries of the board:• Dr Tiina Volanen (Coordinator of the Doctoral programme in Psychology)• Dr Satu Perälä-Littunen (Coordinator of the Doctoral programme in Education)

The Programme Board of the Doctoral Programmes

Education/ KASTO• Professor Anna Rönkä (chairperson)• Associate professor Niina Rutanen (Early Childhood Education)• Professor Miika Marttunen ( Adult education and Education)• Professor Hannu Savolainen (Special Education)• Professor Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen (Teacher Training)• University lecturer Markus Hähkiöniemi (Teacher Training)• Professor Päivi Häkkinen (FIER)• Senior researcher Terhi Nokkala• Research coordinator Satu Perälä-Littunen (secretary of the board)

Psychology/ PSYTO• Professor Taru Feldt (chair), vice member university reseacher Saija Mauno• Professor Kaisa Aunola, vice member university reseacher Noona Kiuru• Dr. Piia Astikainen, vice member university reseacher Markku Penttonen• Professor Aarno Laitila, vice member professor Raimo Lappalainen• Professor Juha Holma (as the department head)• Tiina Volanen (senior planning officer, secretary of the board)

Faculty of Education and PsychologyKASTO: Research Coordinator Satu Perälä-Littunen PSYTO: Senior Planning Officer Tiina Volanen

Head of Student and Academic Affairs(processes related to studies) Riitta Kesonen

Dissertation flow:beginners and more advanced doctoral students

11.2.2019

Tiina Volanen: Administrative issues and answers to frequently asked questions

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Administrative levels of doctoral

studies at JYU

JYU graduate school for doctoral studieshttps://www.jyu.fi/en/research/doctoral-studies

Doctoral schools (faculty level), ours:

https://www.jyu.fi/edupsy/en/doctoral-school

Doctoral programmes (practice level)

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JYU graduate school for doctoral

studies, https://www.jyu.fi/en/research/doctoral-studies

• Guide for doctoral students (from application to

public defense): e.g. supervision document,

research ethics etc.

• Guide for supervisors: Basics of dissertation

supervision, Research ethical guidelines, Learning

materials, Development of guidance skills,

Administrative guidelines etc.

• Contact person: Tuula Oksanen

12.2.2019

Doctoral school in education and

psychology, https://www.jyu.fi/edupsy/en/doctoral-school

Doctoral programmes:

• KASTO, Doctoral

programme in

education:

• https://www.jyu.fi/edu

psy/en/doctoral-

school/doctoral-

programme-in-

education

• PSYTO, Doctoral

programme in

psychology:

• https://www.jyu.fi/edu

psy/en/doctoral-

school/doctoral-

programme-in-

psychology

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Things students must remember

• PSYTO:Within six months of acceptance the final doctoral study plan (use the form of your doctoral programme, altogether 40 ECTS in addition to the dissertation)

• Supervision document must be done on yearly basis starting 1 August (https://www.jyu.fi/en/research/doctoral-studies/guide/supervision-document)

• Registering as attending or non-attending each academic year (Doctoral students continuing their studies must register between 2 May and 31 July to avoid re-registration fee. Registration takes place in the OILI service)

• Follow-up group meetings, form available

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Good to know 1/3

• At the pages of Digital Services (Digipalvelut) https://www.jyu.fi/digipalvelut/en/digital-services you can find an information package for new students in frequently asked questions https://www.jyu.fi/digipalvelut/en/guides/tutorials/for-new-student/info-package-for-a-new-student

• Research and innovation services (tutkimus- ja innovaatiopalvelut) updates research funding calls also for doctoral students at https://www.jyu.fi/fi/tutkimus/tutkimuspalvelut/research-funding-calls#b_start=0&c0=Doctoral+student

• JYU International Office https://opiskelu.jyu.fi/en/international/internationalisation?set_language=en provides support services for degree students in starting out your studies

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Good to know 2/2

• International staff guide, https://www.jyu.fi/en/workwithus/international-staff-guide (useful also for people other than staff members)

• Campus map, https://opiskelu.jyu.fi/en/study/forms/campusmap/view

• Map of Jyväskylä, https://kartta.jkl.fi/IMS/en/Map

• Visit Jyväskylä, https://visitjyvaskyla.fi/en

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Good to know 3/3

• Publish your dissertation, https://kirjasto.jyu.fi/publish-and-buy/publishing-your-dissertation

• Väitöskirjojen julkaisu, https://kirjasto.jyu.fi/julkaisut/vaitoskirjojen-julkaisu

• Instructions for the final phases of the dissertation process, https://opiskelu.jyu.fi/en/instructions/doctoral-dissertation

• Väitöstilaisuus / ohjeet väittelijälle, https://opiskelu.jyu.fi/fi/ohjeet/vaitos

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Courses offered by 1/2

• Methodology Centre for Human Sciences

(Ihmistieteiden metodikeskus IHME),

https://www.jyu.fi/edupsy/fi/tutkimus/ihme/en

(courses on theory of science, research

ethics, qualitative and quantitative methods)

• Language Centre (Kielikeskus),

https://kielikeskus.jyu.fi/en/courses/doctoral

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Courses offered by 2/2

• Doctoral students of education, FinEd – The

Finnish Multidisciplinary Doctoral Training

Network on Educational Sciences,

http://www.fined.fi/en/fined-2/

• Doctoral students of psychology: You can

attend courses by DOPSY (doctoral training

network in psychology) that you can find at

http://www.psykonet.fi/doctoral

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Some practicalities of today

• Lunch places: Libri (university library, 1st

floor), Tilia (building T), Belvedere (café in

main building C, only soup lunch), Lozzi

(building P)

• Complimentary coffee/tea & sweet buns at

14.00

• Please stay until the end of the day when

you get a certificate of your attendance

12.2.2019

Contact information

Tiina Volanen

Senior planning officer, D.Soc.Sc.

Coordinator of the doctoral

programme in psychology

Email: tiina.m.volanen@jyu.fi

Office: Ruusupuisto building,

Alvar Aallon katu 9, RUU B223.3

Tel. 040 805 3106

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Some thoughts on

transferable skills

Satu Perälä-Littunen

Research coordinator , PhD, docent (adjunct

professor)

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THINK already now

• Personal study plan =>

• What would you like to do as doctors?

And what is needed to take you there?

• One of the changes facing doctoral

students today is the change in career

opportunities available to doctorate

holders.

• Besides academic skills =>

transferable skills, generic skills

• https://www.jyu.fi/en/research/doctoral-

studies/guide/workinglife

What kind of skills you need?

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“Transferable skills studies may be included in the doctoral

training offered by the faculties or doctoral programs and

many transferable skills may be trained outside the

academia for example in leisure activities, social

interactions and working life.”

https://www.jyu.fi/en/research/doctoral-studies/guide/study-

plan/transferable-skills-studies

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Which skills help PhD graduates further their

careers? –alumni views of a university in Finland

NB!“work in progress”

• small-scale, qualitative research

• which skills helped PhD graduates further their careers,

what was learnt during doctoral studies, what during

postdoctoral research and what should have been learnt.

• 12 thematic interviews of alumni of a Finnish university in

December 2018 and January 2019

• various disciplines

• doctoral degrees after 2000.

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The very first impressions (one interview

transcribed!)

• Flexibility and daring

• Multidisciplinarity

• Project management

• Ability to use new technologies

• Time management skills

• Ability to work together with others

• To know how to describe your strenghts

• The discipline matters

12.2.2019

New in doctoral training – related to research ethics

Satu Perälä-Littunen

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Data Protection and Scientific Research:

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)• Personal data as part of your research

• https://eugdpr.org/

• https://uno.jyu.fi/fi/ohjeet/turvallisuus-tietoturva-ja-tietosuoja/tietosuoja (in Finnish)

• https://uno.jyu.fi/fi/ohjeet/turvallisuus-tietoturva-ja-tietosuoja/tietosuoja/koulutukset/koulutukset-ja-koulutusvideot (in Finnish)

• A course which should be taken:

• In Finnish: https://uno.jyu.fi/fi/ohjeet/turvallisuus-tietoturva-ja-tietosuoja/tietosuoja/henkilotietojen-kasittely-tieteellisessa-tutkimuksessa/suorita-koulutus

• In English: forthcoming

• Templates for agreements https://moodle.jyu.fi/login/jyulogin.php?lang=en

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Turnitin –plagarism detection service

• https://www.jyu.fi/digipalvelut/en/guides/turnitin/turnitin-

info-in-english

• New programme to be used instead of Urkund (check for

plagarism)

• Access through Moodle or Koppa

• The procedures of how we use Turnitin will be agreed

shortly

12.2.2019

Contact information

Satu Perälä-Littunen

Research coordinator , PhD, docent (adjunct

professor)

Doctoral programme in education

Email: satu.perala-littunen@jyu.fi

Office: Ruusupuisto building, Alvar Aallon

katu 9, RUU C 221

Tel. 040 8053770

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Tips for a successful

PhD process

Taru Feldt

Research Vice Head of Department of Psychology

1. Make a psychological contract

with your supervisor

Schedule of the PhD:

Is your schedule realistic?

Are your supervisor’s expectations for you realistic in

light of your own resources?

Who continues your supervision if your

supervisor retires during your PhD studies?

Goals of your research:

How many articles?

The language of dissertation?

Risks and how to avoid them?

Funding

The use of data

Possibilities to analyze data of the ongoing projects?

How long you can analyze the data?

Expectationsand

possibilities

Expectations and

possibilities

2. Remember 3 Ws:

Write, Write, and Write some more

Your worst enemies:• White paper

Start writing asap!

• Secret paperWhen working on a collaborative projects,

researchers challenge each other, share ideas, and creatsolutions to

the existing problems TOGETHER.

3. Make time for writing

Plan your weekly schedules

Find a routine that works for you

Be selective when choosing courses

Integrate courses to your long-term plan

Remember: Time flies!

4. Go to scientific seminars and

conferences

• Conferences are eye-openers!

Places to see ”gurus” in live

Places to get feedback from your research

Places to get your face and name out

Places where you can make friends within the research

community on your topic

A good way to receive credits (typically 1-3)

5. Teach and supervise students

• Teaching helps you to gain a broader perspective of your

research field

• Learning by teaching is fun and rewarding!

• A good way to get credits

• Teaching looks good in your cv

6. Don’t risk your health and well-being

• It’s a PhD, not a Nobel prize!

• Make time for recovery

Psychological detachment from work after working days and

during leisure time

Take micro-breaks during the days

Don’t forget lunch breaks

Don’t risk your health and

well-being…continues

• Don’t be a lonely rider

Share your happy moments with others:

e.g., after each submission, Go and Enjoy life!

If you feel overloaded, share your worries

with others:

- You are part of a team!

Make time for your friends and family

- They are what truly matters in the end

• Get a hobby (if you already don’t have)

Kiitos! Thank you!

Have a wonderful PhD Journey!

International doctoral students of Education in Finland:

Stress and scholarly identity negotiation

Sotiria Pappa

Mailis Elomaa

Satu Perälä-Littunen

University of Jyväskylä, Finland

KPTK1001 Dissertation flow

Beginners and more advanced

doctoral students

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Background of the study

• Interest in doctoral education amidst academic discourse.

• Technical aspects - the personal experiences of the PhD (Amran & Ibrahim, 2012)

- challenges of doctoral research and supervision have been addressed (Baptista, 2011)

- affective and metacognitive management (Cantwell, Scevak, Bourke & Holbrook, 2012)

- retrospective reflections on the cognitive and psychosocial gains from their doctoral education (Figueiredo, Hueta &

Pinheiro, 2012)

- motivation

• Canada and the United States where the doctoral attrition rate is as high as 40% (Litalien, Guay & Morin, 2015).

• PhD students have been acknowledged as a group particularly susceptible to stress and precariousness (Haaga,

Shankland, Osin, Boujut, Cazalis, Bruno, Vrignaud & Gay 2018).

• Mental health problems (organizational policies, work-life imbalance, job demands, and career prospects outside

academia) (Levecque, Anseel, Beuckelaer, Van der Heyden & Gisle, 2017).

• Strong dissatisfaction with the program and the supervisory relationship = stronger intent to leave the doctoral

program? (Volkert, Candela & Bernacki, 2018).

• Family support and significant others (Volkert, Candela & Bernacki, 2018).

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Finland

• European models and regulations (e.g., Bologna Process)

• Reforms within the last decades => European Higher Education Area, comparable to other European ones.

• Internationality = quality? (Ministry of Culture and Education, 2015).

• Internationalization and enhanced possibilities for participation in education for international doctoral students (e.g., Aittola, 2017; Peura & Jauhiainen, 2018).

• 72 students in 2007 to 138 students in 2017 (Vipunen, Education statistics Finland 2017).

• The core funding model of universities in Finland up to 2017 favored doctoral degrees by international students (OKM, 2015).

• Quota of completed doctoral degrees for the universities => funding

• The work by doctoral students forms a considerable part of research in universities (e.g., Hakala, 2009)

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Key concepts

• Professional identity - an individual’s understanding of themselves as professional subjects (Eteläpelto, Vähäsantanen, Hökka, & Paloniemi, 2014):

- personal and professional trajectories

- workplace and interpersonal settings

- personally held value systems

- ethical standards

- beliefs

- interests

• Scholarly identity - central to doctoral students’ training, as it strongly engages their overall learning, aspirations, desires, and personally held views of themselves as young academics … a bidirectional process (Cotterall, 2015).

• Stress serves as a mediational process in which stressors (or demands) trigger an attempt at adaptation or resolution that results in individual distress if the organism is unsuccessful in satisfying the demands (Linden, 2005)

- manifests on physiological, behavioral, and cognitive levels

- environmental demands (most common factors causing the stress)

• Eustress – positive psychological response to academic stressors that are percieved as a challenge (Mesurado et al. 2016)

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Research questions

1) What sources of stress do international doctoral candidates of education in Finland

perceive during their doctoral training?

2) How does the perceived stress influence the negotiation of their scholarly identity?

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Data and analysis

12.2.2019

• 11 international doctoral students (stage: 5 early, 3

middle, 3 final)

• Department of Education, six Finnish universities

• FinEd

• March and April 2018, in person and via Skype

• Semi-structured interviews; open-ended questions:

- How do you see yourself as a doctoral student?

- What are your views on life as a researcher?

- How would you describe the presence of stress in your

life? In your doctoral studies?

- How would you describe your relationship with your

supervisor?

• Recorded and transcribed verbatim

- Calibri, font 11, single-line spacing, break between

speaking turns

- 42:27 minutes

- 9,5 pages

• Thematic Analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006)

- scholarly identity

- stress

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Interpersonal regulation

• expectations of themselves, becoming skilled at a particular

field or method, investing more time than anticipated into one’s

doctoral studies

• determining one’s own place (doctoral student, young

researcher, in-between position?)

making sense of how they themselves might be in the future as

researchers

employing personal resources (e.g., learning and career goals,

professional values, passion, motivation, and self-discipline)

self-regulation, sense-making, and being merciful toward

oneself helped participants view stress as a motivational force

in their studies

12.2.2019

Doing research

• research practicalities (e.g., finding participants,

publishing, presenting one’s work, diversity of

tasks)

• pondering the reasons behind doing research

• impact on health and emotional well-being,

accentuating feelings of inadequacy and

frustration.

viewing doctoral training as a process (e.g.,

process, journey, development) that can be

creative and rewarding

deeper self-awareness and learning how to

think like a researcher

realization that learning to become a researcher

is a slow and long process requiring milestones

and skill development along the way

maintaining balance between personal and

academic life

Main sources of perceived stress and its negotiation in light of scholarly identity

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Main sources of perceived stress and its negotiation in light of scholarly identity

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Practical challenges

• funding, office space at the university, future prospects =

demotivation

• comparison to others = a belief that being a scholar is not

as socially valid as doing other ‘real’ jobs; potential

discrepancies between those whose research is and is not

financially recognized; professional values

• doubts, reservations, and uncertainty as inherent to being

a researcher

• questioning the significance of their study for educational

contexts and the validity of what they were doing and their

skillset

accepting the stress coming from uncertainty; yet, the

uncertainty itself can deprive scholarly identity of a positive

outlook regarding future prospects and the legitimacy of

one’s research interests

regarding being a researcher as not merely a job one

does, but a means of personal development

using others as reference for who one aims to become as

a scholar and the purposes one identifies with doing

research in the world

appreciation of one’s post as doctoral students and

positioning oneself as a developing scholar in relation to

perceived orientations in the academic world

Lack of supportive networks

• autonomy, but also loneliness and individualism = the

belief that learning to be a researcher is an

individualistic and lonely process, which may not

necessarily be attached to a wider, meaningful view of

the research field

• social networks are short-lived and energy-intensive,

especially concerning relationships between peers of

international background = internationalizing scholarly

identity, but also a sense of futility

• language barrier to communication and insufficient

circulation of information

communication and collaboration, connecting through

research, building a researchers’ community, and

sharing knowledge

the exchange of ideas or feedback, but also the sharing

and validation of stress in doctoral studies

supervisor-doctoral student’s professional and personal

relationship enhancing a sense of responsibility and

motivation

nurturing a sense of belonging involved actively seeking

and providing a supportive social network. Commitment

to an academic career might be enhanced by the

perceived presence of an international community at

the university.

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Conclusions

• Eustress and challenge, rather than stress.

• The process of becoming a researcher is a long one, demanding constant development of skills, more profound

thinking, and increasing independence: scholarly identity as a process, not static.

• Social infrastructures (communication and collaboration) – circulation of information, using one another to share

experiences and knowledge, and being involved in a project with others: scholarly identity shaped through beliefs,

membership, seeing the bigger picture, exchange of ideas, and influencing ways of thinking.

• Stress is viewed as a natural component of becoming a researcher, which can be discussed and countered by peers’

insights. However, doctoral candidates might not be good at taking initiative to organize informal gatherings, thus

contributing to a lack of peer supportive networks within and beyond the university.

• Supervisors as mentors in learning and individuals in their own right: providing support in matters that do not directly

concern research, enhancing commitment to studies, and exemplifying professional conduct.

• More experienced colleagues serve as catalysts and guides for contemplation of not only one’s work and

professional relationships, but also the nature and meaning of doing research.

• Setting priorities (family vs./and studies): setting limits to scholarly identity.

• Short-term relationships and the international community: internationalization of scholarly identity and issues of well-

being

• Financial and career uncertainty: legitimacy of scholarly identity and one’s future potential as a researcher.

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References• Aittola, H. (2017). Doctoral education reform in Finland – institutionalized and individualized doctoral studies within European framework. European Journal of Higher Education, 7(3), 309–321.

https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2017.1290883

• Amran, N. N., & Ibrahim, R. (2012). Academic rites of passage: Reflection on a PhD journey. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 59, 528–534. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.310

• Baptista, A. V. (2011). Challenges to doctoral research and supervision quality: A theoretical approach. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 15, 3576–3581. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.04.338

• Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/ 1478088706qp063oa

• Cantwell, R. H., Scevak, J. J., Bourke, S., & Holbrook, A. (2012). Identifying individual differences among doctoral candidates: A framework for understanding problematic candidature. International Journal of Educational Research,

53, 68–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2012.02.001

• Cotterall, S. (2015). The rich get richer: International doctoral candidates and scholarly identity. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 52(4), 360–370. https://doi.org/The rich get richer: international

doctora10.1080/14703297.2013.839124

• Finnish Ministry of Culture and Education (n.d.). Policy and development in higher education and science. Retrieved October 30, 2018, from https://minedu.fi/en/policy-and-development-in-higher-education-and-science

• Finnish Ministry of Culture and Education (2015). Ehdotus yliopistojen rahoitusmalliksi 2017 alkaen. Retrieved from http://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/75157/tr19.pdf

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Learning (pp. 645–672). Dordrecht: Springer.

• Figueiredo, C., Huet, I., & Pinheiro, M. do R. (2012). Construction of scientific knowledge and meaning: perceptions of Portuguese doctoral students. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 69, 755–762.

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.11.470

• Haaga, P., Shankland, R., Osin, E., Boujut, É., Cazalis, F., Bruno, A.-S., … Gay, M.-C. (2018). Stress percu et santé physique des doctorants dansles universités francaises (Perceived stress and physical health among French

university PhD students). Practiques Psychologiques. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prps.2017.04.005

• Hakala, J. (2009). The future of the academic calling? Junior researchers in the entrepreneurial university. Higher Education, 52(7), 173–190. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/40269115%0D

• Levecque, K., Anseel, F., De Beuckelaer, A., Van der Heyden, J., & Gisle, L. (2017). Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students. Research Policy, 46, 868–879.

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2017.02.008

• Litalien, D., Guay, F., & Morin, A. J. S. (2015). Motivation for PhD studies: Scale development and validation. Learning and Individual Differences, 41, 1–13. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2015.05.006

• Mesurado, B., Richaud, M. C., & Mateo, N. J. (2016). Engagement, flow, self-efficacy, and eustress of university students: A cross-national comparison between the Philippines and Argentina. The Journal of Psychology, 150(3),

281–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2015.1024595

• Peura, M., & Jauhiainen, A. (2018). Tohtoriopintojen monet merkitykset suomalaisille ja ulkomaalaisille jatko-opiskelijoille [The many meanings of doctoral studies for Finnish and foreign doctoral students]. Aikuiskasvatus, 3, 223–

236.

• Vipunen, Education Statistics Finland. (2017). Retrieved from https://vipunen.fi/en-gb/_layouts/15/xlviewer.aspx?id=/en-gb/Reports/Yliopistokoulutuksen tutkinnot-näkökulma-vuosi_EN.xlsb

• Volkert, D., Candela, L., & Bernacki, M. (2018). Student motivation, stressors, and intent to leave nursing doctoral study: A national study using path analysis. Nurse Education Today, 61, 210–215.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2017.11.033

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• sotiria.s.pappa@jyu.fi

• mailis.m.elomaa@jyu.fi

• satu.perala-

littunen@jyu.fi

12.2.2019

Thank you for your attention!

Surviving through the dissertation journey: from

challenges to solutions and good practices

Convenors Anna Rönkä & Päivi Häkkinen

12.45 -13.30 Discussion in groups of 5-6:

• What are your current biggest challenges relating to dissertation process (e.g. time-management, stress, balancing between studies and personal life, recovery, etc.)

• What kind of solutions/good practices have you found (personally with your own survival skills or with other people)

• Identify the most important challenge and choose best solution to solve it. Express it in the form of Motto for phd students and write ordraw it down

Please use the white big paper for notes (red post it-challenge; greenpost it for solutions, blue paper for Mottos

13.30-14.00 Common discussion: sharing mottos/good practices

How to succeed in getting

research funding?

Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen

Department of Teacher Education

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What kind of funding you’ll need?

• Funding for your salary?

• Funding for your conference expenses?

• Funding for your mobility?

• Funding for research costs?

• Funding for something else?

Discuss your fundraising options with your supervisor,

who is in charge of assisting you in the application process.

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Funding for your salary

1. Grants from foundations

2. Doctoral student positions or grant from JYU / Faculty /

Department:

Doctoral student position: a fixed-term employment relationship with

JYU with a monthly salary. The Faculty provides a yearly application

period for doctoral student positions.

Grant is a scholarship. Its available only for a doctoral student who has

not been previously employed at the JYU.

Number of both funding is based on budget received for this purpose.

3. Project funding:

Refers to funding granted to research projects of supervisor.

A doctoral student is in an employment relationship with the JYU.

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Grant from foundation

• Number of foundations support research in a variety of fields.

• Each of which has its own criteria and application process.

• Foundations often wish to support young researchers that are

capable of coming up with results, and whose research may

have a positive influence or impact to the society.

• The length of grant: vary from a couple of months to 3 years.

• More applications you send to different foundations,

higher the chances are for obtaining a grant.

• Open calls and lists of foundations see:

http://www.aurora-tietokanta.fi/

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Examples of foundations

• The Finnish Cultural Foundation: grants from

a central fund (Application period: 1.10. -

31.10.2019) and

• 17 regional funds (for example, Central

Finland Regional Fund, Application period:

10.1.-8.2.2019).

• The Emil Aaltonen Foundation (Application

period: 15.1.-15.2.)

• The Ellen and Artturi Nyyssönen Foundation

(Deadline at 28.2.2019)

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Applying

• Read the instructions of the foundation very carefully!!!

Funder’s mission, intention or rules

• Good to examine the financier’s earlier funding decisions,

based on which you can consider

For what purposes you can apply funding?

Evaluation criteria and process

How much funding you can apply for?

• Doctoral students who have obtained a favourable

funding decision from a particular financier can give you

good advice.

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Application and appendices

• Check the details of the application and its appendices.

• Depending on the financier, either free-form or very

strictly standardised appendices are required.

Application (usually electronic form)

Research plan (number of pages may be limited)

CV

Statement(s) by the dissertation supervisor.

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Application

• Application should be tailored to suit financier’s needs.

• Write for “wider public”

Reader needs to easily see the core aspects of your

research plan.

The foundation representatives are not necessarily

specialists in your field, and he/she receives hundreds of

applications.

The recipient wishes to understand in a limited timeframe to

whom he/she believes the money should be given.

• Show your progress to the date and assure that you can

progress swiftly with your research and will complete your

dissertation (for example, listing your publications so far).

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Research plan

• The research plan is the most important appendix to the

application.

• Target the description of your research to fit the criteria of

a foundation.

• Do not write overly scientific.

Write so that even a non-expert evaluator will understand the

significance of the topic and its contribution to science, society

and environment.

Describe the benefits and results as clearly as possible.

• Pay attention to clarity and readability!!!

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Research plan

• Check the financier’s instructions for headlining and length of research plan.

• You may need to slightly modify your research plan for different foundations,

including the focus and length of your plan.

• Research plan can include:

Abstract or Summary (add to the electronic form)

Introduction: describe the subject matter of your research, and who

benefits of your work (target foundation specifically)

Research questions, methods, etc.

Description of the current state and future progress of your research

Description of the realisation of your research and potential results

Schedule for your research

Description of financing your research (other grants, or other finance)

Your existing publications if any (as an evidence that you do get the work

done).

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Letters of recommendation

• Do ask your supervisor(s) to write a recommendation

letter(s).

• Each foundation has they own rules how to do this (e.g.,

the Online Reference Service, Forms, Letter) and how

and when to send it.

• Recommendations have a significant role when deciding

who gets the grants.

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Evaluation

• Funding decisions are based on evaluation.

• Useful to consider the content and approach from the

perspective of the evaluator.

The evaluators usually have to read a large number of

applications and rank them on the basis of data collected from

the applications and their appendices.

• As a rule, all the questions in the application form should

be answered and all requested appendices included.

• Applications that do not comply with the requirements as

regards content, length or format may be disqualified just

because instructions have not been followed.

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What are they looking for?

• Innovativeness, ambitiousness, scientific interest?

• Topical questions, societal impact?

• Research foci of the department and the university?

• Clear objectives and justified hypotheses

• Strong and well managed datasets, appropriate and up-

to-date methods

• A realistic plan for risk management

• Dealing of ethical issues

• High gain, low risk

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• Independence and expertise of the applicant

• Support from an experienced research environment –

advisory group, collaborators, methodological support

• Publication plan (also open access)

• A strong national and international network

• How will each of the collaborators contribute to the

study?

• How would the study advance your competence as a

researcher?

• If needed mobility plan: What do you plan to achieve

during your visits/mobility periods?

Doctoral thesis is a project you would be leading:

Convince them that you can do it!

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CONVERIS

• Discuss with the head of department if you like to work at

the department

• Create a project announcement to JYU CONVERIS

system before submitting an application for external

funding.

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Next try

• There is a high chance you do not succeed at your first

try.

• All research funding is highly competitive, and in all

applications there is some room for improvement.

Show your text to someone when you are trying to

improve the application for next try.

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See: www.jyu.fi/en/research/doctoral-studies/guide/funding

Good luck!

Piia AstikainenDepartment of PsychologyUniversity of Jyväskylä

11 Feb,2019

To be able to work continuously as a researcher

To get more resources to support your work – Research in universities is nowadays heavily dependent on external funding

To be able to get post-doctoral position and continue in research career

To be able to establish your own research group – and get people to help you

The earlier the better,because“money goes to money”

APPLY,APPLY,APPLY

AND DON’T GIVE UP

- Set your goal.

Mine is more than 10 grant applications / y

Prepare one high-quality proposal per year and send it to different foundations and other financiers

Search for other than obvious sources as well

You need to invest your time for this work – but it willcome back!

PhD students need their supervisors help in writing thegrant applications and they also need their supervisors to write a supporting statement

They need to read hundreds of pages in a short time (during evenings and weekends)

They don’t necessarily know your field or standard methods in it

They necessarily need to reject many applications (sometimes over 90%),they think“Why I should fund this group/lab,project, individual?”

You are also an important target of evaluation

Use your picture in your CV,explain your history

Document trainings,skills,merits and career breaks

Prepare high quality web pages and update them

Have a blog,volunteer for interviews etc.

Be super clear (this is no place to show that you know fancy novel terms;short sentences,figures)

Don’t try to cover pages;be as concise as possible

Whatever the instructions are,start with a description of what you will do / what is the aim of the project,especially if there is no abstract in the beginning

Use figures (even the laziest reviewer will check them):work flow,methods,timetable etc.

Convince:why you,your team and this approach is the best for the project

- Novelty (gap in the literature),theory background,explain methods,show preliminary data,remember numbers (power calculations etc.),your skills,ethics,research environment

Your topic should be interesting and important (“Expected results and their importance”)

Don’t repeat old work,be innovative,think big

improve methods

Highlight the impact

Don’t assume that the reviewer will get to the conclusion without explicitly saying it

Think impact widely:impact on science (basic research can have a great impact!),education,clinical applications,product development etc.

Risk analysis

Show that you recognize the risks and have a plan to deal with these

Remember that the rejection rate is high!

Learn from the reviewers’comments and criticism if you get feedback

But sometimes there is nothing to learn,they were simply wrong

Find good company (many others have got rejections also),concentrate on positive things outside the work for one day

Try again as soon as possible

Ability to tolerate failures is one of the most important qualities of a successful researcher

Concluding remarksPaavo Leppänen

Sisu /persistance of workingwith the dissertation thesis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enx1rQIUkdk

All the best, make the best of your dissertation work!