Why start a higher degree by research? An exploratory factor analysis of motivations to undertake doctoral studies

References

• Auriol, L., Misu, M., & Freeman, R.A. (2013). Careers of doctorate holders: Analysis of labour market and mobility indicators (OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers, p. 62). Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
   Google Scholar
• Australian Postgraduate Research Experience Questionnaire. (2010). Retrieved July 9, 2013, from http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/research/start/agsoverview/ctags/preqo/
   Google Scholar
• Baker, V.L., & Lattuca, L.R. (2010). Developmental networks and learning: Toward an interdisciplinary perspective on identity development during doctoral study. Studies in Higher Education, 35(7), 807–827. doi: 10.1080/03075070903501887
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Barnacle, R., & Mewburn, I. (2010). Learning networks and the journey of ‘becoming doctor’. Studies in Higher Education, 35(4), 433–444. doi: 10.1080/03075070903131214
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bauer, K.W., & Bennett, J.S. (2003). Alumni perceptions used to assess undergraduate research experience. The Journal of Higher Education, 74(2), 210–230. doi: 10.1353/jhe.2003.0011
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Brailsford, I. (2010). Motives and aspirations for doctoral study: Career, personal, and inter-personal factors in the decision to embark on a History PhD. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 5, 15–27.
   Google Scholar
• Brew, A., Boud, D., & Namgung, S.U. (2011). Influences on the formation of academics: The role of the doctorate and structured development opportunities. Studies in Continuing Education, 33(1), 51–66. doi: 10.1080/0158037X.2010.515575
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Burgess, H., Weller, G., & Wellington, J. (2011). Tensions in the purpose and impact of professional doctorates. Work Based Learning e-Journal, 2(1), 1–20.
   Google Scholar
• Cattell, R.B. (1966). The Scree test for the number of factors. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 1(2), 245–276. doi: 10.1207/s15327906mbr0102_10
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Clark, L. (2007). Motivating factors for the professional development of a cohort of professional doctorate students in education. Unpublished thesis, Victoria University, Melbourne.
   Google Scholar
• Comrey, A.L., & Lee, H.B. (1992). A first course in factor analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.
   Google Scholar
• Cronbach, L.J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334. doi: 10.1007/BF02310555
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cyranoski, D., Gilbert, N., Ledford, H., Nayar, A., & Yahia, M. (2011). Education: The PhD factory. Nature, 472, 276–279. doi: 10.1038/472276a
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fabrigar, L.R., Wegener, D.T., MacCallum, R.C., & Strahan, E.J. (1999). Evaluating the use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological research. Psychological Methods, 4(3), 272–299. doi: 10.1037/1082-989X.4.3.272
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Foster Page, L.A., Thomson, W.M., Jokovic, A., & Locker, D. (2008). Epidemiological evaluation of short-form versions of the child perception questionnaire. European Journal of Oral Sciences, 116(6), 538–544. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0722.2008.00579.x
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gill, T.G., & Hoppe, U. (2009). The business professional doctorate as an informing channel: A survey and analysis. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 4, 27–57.
   Google Scholar
• Gliem, J.A., & Gliem, R.R. (2003). Calculating, interpreting, and reporting Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient for Likert-type scales. Midwest research-to-practice conference in adult, continuing, and community education. Retrieved July 9, 2013, from http://hdl.handle.net/1805/344
   Google Scholar
• Graham, J.M. (2006). Congeneric and (essentially) tau-equivalent estimates of score reliability: What they are and how to use them. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66(6), 930–944. doi: 10.1177/0013164406288165
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Group of Eight. (2013). The changing PhD: Discussion paper. Retrieved July 9, 2013, from http://www.go8.edu.au/university-staff/go8-policy-_and_-analysis/2013/the-changing-phd
   Google Scholar
• Guadagnoli, E., & Velicer, W.F. (1988). Relation of sample size to the stability of component patterns. Psychological Bulletin, 103(2), 265–275. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.103.2.265
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Guerin, C. (2013). Rhizomatic research cultures, writing groups and academic researcher identities. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 8, 137–150. Retrieved July 9, 2013, from http://ijds.org/Volume8/IJDSv8p137-150Guerin0400.pdf
   Google Scholar
• Guerin, C., & Ranashinge, D. (2010). Why I wanted more: Inspirational experiences of the teaching-research nexus for engineering undergraduates. Journal of University Learning and Teaching Practice, 7(2), Article 8. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1146&context=jutlp
   Google Scholar
• Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., & Anderson, R.E. (2009). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
   Google Scholar
• Hean, S., & Matthews, M. (2007, July). Applying work motivation theories to articulate the challenges of providing effective doctoral supervision. Enhancing higher education, theory and scholarship. Proceedings of the 30th HERDSA Annual Conference [CD-ROM], Adelaide.
   Google Scholar
• Henson, R.K. (2006). Use of exploratory factor analysis in published research: Common errors and some comment on improved practice. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66(3), 393–416. doi: 10.1177/0013164405282485
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hinkin, T.R. (1998). A brief tutorial on the development of measures for use in survey questionnaires. Organizational Research Methods, 1(1), 104–121. doi: 10.1177/109442819800100106
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Horn, J.L. (1965). A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis. Psychometrika, 30(2), 179–185. doi: 10.1007/BF02289447
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Jablonski, A.M. (2001). Doctoral studies as professional development of educators in the United States. European Journal of Teacher Education, 24(2), 215–221. doi: 10.1080/02619760120095606
   Google Scholar
• Jepsen, D.M., & Neumann, R. (2010). Undergraduate student intentions for postgraduate study. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 32(5), 455–466. doi: 10.1080/1360080X.2010.511118
   Google Scholar
• Johnson, L., Lee, A., & Green, B. (2000). The PhD and the autonomous self: Gender, rationality and postgraduate pedagogy. Studies in Higher Education, 25(2), 135–147. doi: 10.1080/713696141
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kaiser, H.F. (1960). The application of electronic computers to factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20(1), 141–151. doi: 10.1177/001316446002000116
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kot, F.C., & Hendel, D.D. (2012). Emergence and growth of professional doctorates in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia: A comparative analysis. Studies in Higher Education, 37(3), 345–364. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2010.516356
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lance, C.E. (2006). The sources of four commonly reported cutoff criteria: What did they really say? Organizational Research Methods, 9(2), 202–220. doi: 10.1177/1094428105284919
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Leonard, D., Becker, R., & Coate, K. (2005). ‘To prove myself at the highest level’: The benefits of doctoral study. Higher Education Research & Development, 24(2), 135–149. doi: 10.1080/07294360500062904
   Google Scholar
• Loewenthal, K.M. (2001). An introduction to psychological tests and scales. Abingdon: Psychology Press.
   Google Scholar
• Maslen, G. (2013, April 3). The changing PhD – Turning out millions of doctorates. University World News. Retrieved July 9, 2013, from http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20130403121244660&query=phd
   Google Scholar
• Mewburn, I. (2011). Troubling talk: Assembling the PhD candidate. Studies in Continuing Education, 33(3), 321–332. doi: 10.1080/0158037X.2011.585151
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mokhtar, M. (2012). Intentions and expectations of female PhD students in engineering at one university in Malaysia. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 56, 204–212. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.647
   Google Scholar
• Nunnally, J.C., & Bernstein, I.H. (1994). Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
   Google Scholar
• O'Connor, B.P. (2000). SPSS and SAS programs for determining the number of components using parallel analysis and velicer's MAP test. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers: Journal of the Psychonomic Society, 32(3), 396–402. doi: 10.3758/BF03200807
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Osborne, J.W., & Costello, A.B. (2004). Sample size and subject to item ratio in principal components analysis. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 9(11). Retrieved July 9, 2013, from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=9&n=11
   Google Scholar
• Petersen, E.B. (2007). Negotiating academicity: Postgraduate research supervision as category boundary work. Studies in Higher Education, 32(4), 475–487. doi: 10.1080/03075070701476167
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pett, M.A., Lackey, N.R., & Sullivan, J.J. (2003). Making sense of factor analysis: The use of factor analysis for instrument development in health care research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
   Google Scholar
• Ruscio, J., & Roche, B. (2012). Determining the number of factors to retain in an exploratory factor analysis using comparison data of known factorial structure. Psychological Assessment, 24(2), 282–292. doi: 10.1037/a0025697
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sharma, Y. (2012, October 28). Concern over too many postgraduates as fewer find jobs. University World News. Retrieved July 9, 2013, from http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20121025111620913
   Google Scholar
• Siwinska, B. (2013, June 29). Challenges facing doctoral education. University World News. Retrieved July 9, 2013, from http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20130626142521335
   Google Scholar
• Stiber, G.F. (2000). Characterizing the decision process leading to enrollment in doctoral programs: Theory, application, and practice. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 10(1), 13–26. doi: 10.1300/J050v10n01_02
   Google Scholar
• Sweeney, A.E., Vaidyanathan, P., & Seal, S. (2006). Undergraduate research and education in nanotechnology. International Journal of Engineering Education, 22(1), 157–170.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Tabachnick, B.G., & Fidell, L.S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
   Google Scholar
• Tavakol, M., & Dennick, R. (2011). Making sense of Cronbach's alpha. International Journal of Medical Education, 2, 53–55. doi: 10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Wellington, J., & Sikes, P. (2006). ‘A doctorate in a tight compartment’: Why do students choose a professional doctorate and what impact does it have on their personal and professional lives? Studies in Higher Education, 31(6), 723–734. doi: 10.1080/03075070601004358
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Williams, B., Brown, T., & Onsman, A. (2012). Exploratory factor analysis: A five-step guide for novices. Australasian Journal of Paramedicine, 8(3), Article 1. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1373&context=jephc
   Google Scholar
• Zydney, A.L., Bennett, J.S., Shahid, A., & Bauer, K.W. (2002). Impact of undergraduate research experience in engineering. Journal of Engineering Education, 91(2), 151–157. doi: 10.1002/j.2168-9830.2002.tb00687.x
   Google Scholar