Characteristics of Ph.D. students: a systematic review based on Kitchinham and Charter's model.

پژوهشنامه کتابداری و اطلاع رسانی

Article 8, Volume 14, Issue 1 - Serial Number 27, June 2024, Pages 177-200   

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: 10.22067/infosci.2024.86520.1194

Authors

Mahdi Mohammadi^{* 1}; Mohammad Reza Nasiri²; Raheleh Karimian³; Bentol-Hoda Khabazan⁴

¹Knowledge and Information Department, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.

²Ph. D student in Knowledge and Information Science. University of Qom, Qom, Iran.

³PhD student, Knowledge and Information Science, Qom University, Qom, Iran.

⁴Ph. D student in Knowledge and Information Science, University of Qom, Qom. Iran.

Abstract

Purpose: Human capital is recognized as the most important asset of any organization, and employee training is crucial for improving their productivity. Doctoral programs play a pivotal role in training skilled and specialized manpower by providing specialized training in various fields. PhD students can play a role as skilled manpower in organizations by acquiring certain characteristics and help to increase their productivity. The purpose of the present study is to systematically review the research which was conducted on the characteristics of Ph.D. students to identify these characteristics and determine the status of the research as well as their research gap.

Methods: A systematic method was used to conduct this research. First, after searching from reliable databases, 1045 studies were identified. During the three stages of monitoring (monitoring based on the title, abstract and full text), duplicate articles without the necessary criteria were removed, and finally, 135 research (92 foreign research titles and 43 domestic titles), including articles published in journals, articles presented in Conferences and theses were identified.

Findings: After studying the research line by line, the characteristics were classified into 4 categories: "personal characteristics", "research characteristics", "educational characteristics" and "professional characteristics". "Personal characteristics" were divided into three subcategories: "behavioral characteristics", "psychological characteristics" and "morality". "Research characteristics" were divided into two subcategories: "research ethics" and "focusing on a specific research area". "Educational characteristics" were divided into two subcategories: "teaching" and "learning". And "Professional characteristics" were also categorized into two subcategories "Professional skills" and "Professional interactions". In each of the categories, their important features are introduced by mentioning their related document.

Conclusion: The findings showed that educational characteristics, despite their importance in the Ph.D. course, have received less attention from researchers and there is a need for more research. Research gaps are also visible in all main categories and some subcategories of research.

Keywords

Ph.D. students"; Systematic study"; Personal characteristics"; Research characteristics"; Educational characteristics"; Professional characteristics"; "; Human resources"; Postgraduate education"; . "; Ph.D. courses"; &emsp

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