In this article, we explore the extent to which 42 newer researchers, in the academic sub-field of higher education, were aware of, responded to and negotiated their careers in relation to higher education policies. Participants, who were mainly from European countries, tended to divide into two similarly sized groups: one that engaged with and…

Becoming a researcher is one of the roads travelled in the emotional, social, and intellectual process of PhD journeys. As such, developing a researcher identity during doctoral study is a social undertaking. This paper explores instances and practices where doctoral students identify as becoming researchers. Based on interviews with 30 PhD…

This article analyses the determinants of job satisfaction amongst Spanish academics, paying particular attention to the impact of research productivity and differences across graduation cohorts. Research productivity is a very relevant factor in explaining job satisfaction in academics in different stages of their career. Interesting differences…

The educational doctorate (EdD) is being re-envisioned as a distinct professional degree. Today's EdD graduates are envisioned as scholarly practitioners. Given this it may be reasoned these individuals have unique identities comprised of several layers. In this study, we examined how 18 entering students and 17 graduating students from an EdD…

This study reports on experiences of doctoral students in educational administration at a time when the effectiveness of programs preparing practitioners and academics in this field are being questioned. Concerns related to how students in educational administration developed knowledge about research and identity as researchers were closely…

As part of their journey of learning to research, doctoral candidates need to become members of their research community. In part, this involves coming to be aware of their field in ways that are shared amongst longer-term members of the research community. One aspect of candidates' experience we need to understand, therefore, involves how they…

What it is like to be an academic working in a "new" university in the 2000s depends upon specific contexts and individual biographies. Even so, it is the case that change, contingent upon local and national policy initiatives, is endemic in the higher education sector and has had some impact upon most people working there. This article explores…

Contract researchers constitute a marginal occupational group within the UK higher education system, and they manifest a high degree of turnover, in terms of leaving employment and returning to it. This article, which is based on qualitative interviews, examines some of the informal work which social science contract researchers engage in as they…