Research on Swedish doctoral education 2000-2020

Abstract

In this literature review we map research on Swedish doctoral education 2000–2020. Via the database Swepub we have identified licentiate theses, doctoral theses, and peer reviewed articles. We analysed the origin and cumulative development of these texts, their methodological orientation and content, and first authorships from a gender perspective. In total, 122 publications were found, including 14 theses from diverse disciplines at eight universities. The number of articles per year increased considerably with time, and articles were found in 71 different journals. Smaller case studies dominated, as did qualitative methodology (70%), and women as first authors (63 %). This gender difference increased among first authors who had published more than one publication within the field. Regarding content, six main lines could be differentiated from our inductive thematic analysis, where doctoral education had been approached as a (1) Pedagogical activity, (2) System and existence, (3) Non-traditional knowledge environment, (4) Gendered and cultural environment, (5) Career opportunity, or as (6) Scientific production. Overall, existing research generally lacks focus on international doctoral students, critical perspectives, and internationally comparative studies. Our results suggest an interest in conducting research on doctoral education, although it seems as if available resources have not allowed for larger studies based on solid research designs and methodologies.