The novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has already had a staggering impact on global education. This includes the higher education sector in the UK, and elsewhere around the world which is expected to change in previously unimaginable ways. The role of online learning may increase, recruitment methods may have to change, and many more students may decide to study closer to home. The likely decreasing numbers of international students will have an enormous impact on universities in the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, which have heavily relied on the tuition fee income, particularly that from Chinese students (see for example Dennis, 2020; Lewis, 2020; Martel, 2020). The long-term effect on the sector remains to be seen, but the pandemic has already affected not only students, but also staff – research and administrative – working at universities around the world.
Results from a recent study in Australia (the earliest to our knowledge) indicated that the pandemic has also already resulted in ‘multiple and wide-ranging impacts on the lives and research capacities’ of doctoral students there (Kariotis, 2020). The purpose of this current study is to establish the impact of the pandemic on doctoral researchers in the UK, and to ascertain what are the early responses from higher education providers around the country, aimed at supporting them. It has been designed as a mapping exercise with a view of making sure doctoral students' voices and experiences are not overlooked at this time. We believe that our research can be used to inform institutional policies for meeting doctoral students' needs during the current and future public health crises.
The survey should take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete, depending on your responses. You will be asked a mixture of closed and open-ended questions about the impact of the current crisis on your research, supervision, finances and general wellbeing. We will also ask you about your institution's actions to support doctoral research students thus far.
All of the data collected for this study will be anonymous. We will not ask for your name or any other identifying information.
If you are happy to help, please answer the survey below.
Survey