Determinants of doctoral students’ research productivity

Abstract

The modern doctoral studies in the international educational area are considered as a tool for increasing the productivity of research and a source of innovation. However, the problem of low research productivity has been acute in Kazakhstani doctoral studies over the past decade. The aim of the article is to summarize the foreign studies results about influence of certain determinants on the research productivity of doctoral students and analyze them in the Kazakh context. The search for scientific sources on the studied problem was carried out in the Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science databases. The traditional approach was used to analyze the content. As a result of the conducted research, the problems of evaluating research productivity are considered. Three groups of determinants of research productivity are identified: individual (demographic data, mental properties and qualities of personality, academic achievements), institutional (resources, administrative factors, financial support) and social (supervisor, fellow students, support). Criteria, types of determinants and evaluation parameters have been systematized. An analysis of these determinants in the aspect of Kazakhstani doctoral studies demonstrated the probable reasons for the low research productivity of doctoral students. We propose the useful ideas for the national policy development for increasing the research productivity of doctoral students. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that the directions for the discussion on increasing the research productivity of doctoral students are identified.

Key words: research productivity, research, doctoral studies, scientific publications, dissertation, doctoral students.