The doctoral quest as an alternative metaphoric narrative for doctoral research education

Abstract

Earlier research on doctoral education had pointed to different conceptions of doctoral research education and scholarship. In particular, the 'journey' narrative, whereby doctoral studies are typically described as articulated research journeys and point to existential issues and dilemmas in the formation of research identities, proved to be useful. Research into processes that assist doctoral candidates to change from a position of dependency to independency also provides a useful way to explore research education.However, such researcher autonomy frameworks typically draw on the commonality of research learning journeys as well as notions of symbolic control and identity change. While the conceptions of research journeys and research autonomy represents a continuum of researcher development, such conceptions also have their limitations. A possible richer narrative may be needed to describe the doctoral research education process and take account of the fundamental nature of the doctorate. This would include its complexity, the uncertainty involved, the extent to which research addresses the unknown, the roles of multiple actors and the emotions often accompanying the research experience. With less rich narratives candidates and supervisors often recognise that research is mostly a non-linear process and sometimes accompanied by uncertainty, isolation and motivational challenges. The article addresses the metaphoric narrative of the 'quest' as it relates to doctoral research education to enrich the well-known 'journey' narrative in promoting research independence. The 'quest' narrative offers a nuanced account which includes at least six metaphoric elements: the desired object, the lengthy journey, the hero, several tests, the guardians and the helpers. Hereby 'quest' as metaphor offers a vehicle for a better understanding of the doctoral research education process - not only to doctoral candidates, but also to their supervisors. In addition, it implies a potentially useful thinking frame for facilitating development programmes for doctoral research candidates.