The Role of Situated Talk in Developing Doctoral Students’ Researcher Identities

DONAGHUE, Helen and ADAMS, Gill (2023). The Role of Situated Talk in Developing Doctoral Students’ Researcher Identities. Studies in Continuing Education.

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Abstract

It is widely recognised that an important aspect of doctoral study is the development of a researcher identity. However, little is known about how to support this. Although previous research has highlighted the importance of discursive engagement for researcher identity development, no studies examine talk or discuss how identities are constructed through interaction. This article examines how doctoral students’ researcher identities develop during tutorials on a professional doctorate in education. Analysis reveals how researcher identities are constructed and accomplished, turn by turn, during study-based talk. Researcher identities are co-constructed with and confirmed by peers, and verified by a tutor who validates students’ actions and describes experiencing similar, often difficult, processes herself. Knowledge and understanding facilitated by discussion prompts identity development and tutorial talk builds a sense of belonging and confidence, acculturating students into the research community. The article makes an original contribution to research by analysing situated talk to show identity accomplishment in action. The article also makes recommendations for both practice and further research which include setting up opportunities for doctoral students to talk and share experiences, and close analysis of doctoral interactional events such as supervision meetings and peer support groups.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1301 Education Systems; Education; 3903 Education systems
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2023.2274925
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Elements
Depositing User:	Symplectic Elements
Date Deposited:	16 Oct 2023 14:08
Last Modified:	31 Oct 2023 13:18
URI:	https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/32559

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