Higher Education
Firouzeh Asghari; Mohammad Ali Nemati
Abstract
One of the most important objectives of academic research is to meet the scientific needs of society. The important factor that contributes to the establishment of trust and values with in order to provide stakeholders with academic research and its results is the scientific quality of research. PhD ...
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One of the most important objectives of academic research is to meet the scientific needs of society. The important factor that contributes to the establishment of trust and values with in order to provide stakeholders with academic research and its results is the scientific quality of research. PhD thesis, carried out by students and requiring a lot of time and money, constitute a considerable percentage of the research conducted at universities. The present study aims to identify the challenges of “the quality of PhD thesis” in Iran from the viewpoint of professors and students, as two major components in doing research in doctoral programs. This is a phenomenological research study, and the data collected through interviews with professors and students in doctoral programs is analyzed on the concept of “value chain”. The findings of the study indicate that the challenge of the quality of PhD thesis involves a multiple, multilayered interconnection of elements (students, professors, managers and policy-makers), organizational structure, procedures, rules and other environmental actors. In addition, a powerful and fast-moving current has developed between these layers, which is both affecting them and affected by them. There are instances of un-academic behaviors that have marred the scientific identity of universities and turned into a major challenge to the quality of doctoral thesis in Iran.
