Information Behaviours of Ghanaian PhD Students

And the final speaker in this morning session at IAMCR 2023 is Mavis Amo-Mensah, whose interest is in doctoral students’ research self-awareness following their thesis proposal defence. Most existing studies of such students focus mainly on their information-seeking behaviours and relationships with their supervisors, independent of discipline or location; the present study focussed instead specifically on communication students in Ghana, examining their research activities.

The study followed some nine PhD students from the University of Education in Winneba, Ghana, conducting in-depth interviews and observations and drawing on field notes. Research behaviours turned out to be anchored in boundary theory: participants displayed notice rather than expert research behaviours, worked through self-contested epistemological and axiological research positions, and exhibited self-efficacy and self-handicapping behaviours. These findings may help in transforming the doctoral training and research curriculum.