Study title

Young Researchers' Perceptions of Expertise 2018

Dataset ID Number

FSD3309

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3309

Data Type

Qualitative

Authors

• Matikainen, Minni (University of Jyväskylä)
• Piironen, Anni (University of Jyväskylä)

Abstract

The study charted young researchers' experiences on the development of their own academic expertise in the early stages of their research careers. The respondents were asked to describe the opportunities and challenges they had faced and whether they had received help and support for their work and from where. The data include 51 informal writings, of which 16 are written in English and 35 in Finnish.

Some respondents had just begun their academic careers while others recalled their early careers. Many respondents discussed their experiences of doctoral education and doctoral dissertation work. Aspects relating to research grants and financial circumstances, networking and the reflection of the respondent's own status in the working community emerged as central themes in the writings. The respondents described their individual experiences of the development of their own academic expertise and related feelings. In the invitation to write about their experiences, the respondents were asked to consider whether, for example, gender, age, ethnic background or position in the academia were connected to their experiences in the scientific community.

Background information included the respondent's age and gender, language used to write and information on how long and in what field the writer had worked in. The data were organised into an easy to use HTML version at FSD.

The dataset is only available in the original languages (Finnish and English).

Keywords

career; equal opportunity; research grants; research workers; tertiary education (second stage)

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Higher and further education (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Working conditions (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Equality, inequality and social exclusion (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Matikainen, Minni (University of Jyväskylä)
• Piironen, Anni (University of Jyväskylä)

Collection Dates

2018-09-18 – 2018-10-21

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Persons studying for a doctoral degree in Finland

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Availability

The invitation to write was distributed to contact persons in the Finnish Doctoral Training Network in all Finnish universities. The contact persons forwarded the invitation to the mailing lists for doctoral students in their universities.

Collection Mode

Self-administered writings and/or diaries: Web-based (Penna textual data collection tool)

Research Instrument

Data collection guidelines: Self-administered writings guide

Data Files

51 writings in separate text files. The data are accessible in both TXT and HTML format.

Data File Language

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: English, Finnish and multilingual.

Qualitative data are available in their original language only and are not translated.

Data Version

2.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

To prevent identification of individuals, direct identifiers were removed from the data and research fields were coarsened. Additionally, detailed information, such as university names, were removed from seven writings. The changes were marked with [square brackets].

56 persons responded to the invitation to write, and 52 of them gave permission for archiving. One writing was completely removed from the data during archiving, because it did not contain any content, only a single headline.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Matikainen, Minni (University of Jyväskylä) & Piironen, Anni (University of Jyväskylä): Young Researchers' Perceptions of Expertise 2018 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2020-02-19). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3309

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Piironen, Anni & Matikainen, Minni & Maunula, Minna (2022). Väitöskirjatutkijat akateemisessa maailmassa. Kultapoikia, "huijareita", haamututkijoita ja lannistuneita. Vol 42 Nro 3 (2022): Aikuiskasvatus. Sivut 198-212. https://doi.org/10.33336/aik.122022