A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF SIX DOCTORAL STUDENTS NEGOTIATING EARLY CANDIDATURE

This thesis describes a small-scale qualitative phenomenological study of the experiences of six doctoral students in the early part of candidature. The focus was on their learning to become researchers. In the study, the participants’ experiences of candidature were investigated in the context of their extended lives or Lifeworlds, with the goal of locating the meanings attributed to their experiences and how they negotiated their way through the early part of candidature, including how they deployed digital technologies as part of their strategies of coping and dealing with the complexities of life.