Research Initiation: Mapping Identity Development in Doctoral Engineering Students

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A multitude of factors affect the ability of individuals to become effective professionals in their chosen field of work. Identity, the sense of self and belonging, is one critical factor receiving heightened emphasis in society. The engineering profession is not immune to the angst, inquiry and opportunity that this “evaluation of self,” both at the individual and collective whole, has created. Understanding “researcher identity,” the personal identification with the critical knowledge and responsibilities associated with the role of being a successful researcher, is important focal point in both the education and management of engineering doctoral students. Yet knowledge of the process by which doctoral students develop their professional identity is limited. This study addresses, evaluates, and digests several critical areas of concern regarding professional identity formation, including professional experiences, gender, ethnoracial background, identity formation process, and critical “self-referential” identifiers. The findings can assist educators in the development of researcher identity of individuals that are new to the engineering research endeavor, and may help improve student mental health, attrition rates, and bridge the gender and ethnoracial gaps in graduation rates. Of particular interest are three key gaps: 1) the limited existing longitudinal research on the topic of researcher identity development; 2) the limited existing research on researcher identity development in doctoral students, and 3) the limited existing research on the process of researcher identity development. Further, no previous research has addressed potential differences in identity development between on-campus and online doctoral students. With the growing popularity of online graduate engineering education, and opportunities to further expand access through additional online engineering doctoral programs, examination of researcher identity in online doctoral students is of particular interest. In pursuing these aims, this research will create great benefit for students, educators, researchers.The project will address current research gaps in the process of engineering doctoral student identity development by implementing a longitudinal study at a large state university. It will explore the application of user experience (UX) methods as a novel research approach to generate new insights on the process/processes through which engineering doctoral students develop (or fail to develop) their identities, specifically as researchers. It uses phenomenological data analysis as its analytical framework. Four research questions provide the focus for this research: 1) What is the process of developing engineering identity in doctoral students (primarily, researcher identity)? 2) What differences, if any, exist in the process of identity development for on campus (usually full-time, usually traditional) vs. online (distance, usually part-time, usually non-traditional) doctoral engineering students? 3) What factors (e.g., gender, ethnoracial background, previous professional experience, etc.) influence the identity development process for doctoral engineering students? 4) How can the insights generated from longitudinal user experience (UX) methods, such as journey mapping, and other insights, inform doctoral program design and assessment? In addition to providing the findings on the process of researcher identity development in doctoral students, the project validates the utility of UX methods in this context for the purposes of future research. By illuminating the processes of engineering doctoral student identity development, this research impacts the way engineering doctoral programs are designed and how this design may improve student mental health, attrition rates, and bridge the gender and ethnoracial gaps in graduation rates, making doctoral education a more viable career path. Given the growing popularity of online graduate engineering education, and opportunities to further expand access through additional online engineering doctoral programs, examination of researcher identity in online doctoral students is of particular interest. In pursuing these aims, this research will create significant benefit for students, educators, researchers, and society as a whole.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.