4. Psychological Processes of Doctoral Students' Understanding Academic Identity
The understanding of academic identity by doctoral students is a process in which they perceive, evaluate, feel, and reflect upon their academic selves in their academic situation and interactions. This process encompasses three psychological operations: situation recognition, psychological interaction, and reflective positioning.
4.1 Situation Recognition
Situation recognition is the initial step in doctoral students' understanding of academic identity. They recognize role transition, action transition, and relational transition in current academic situations.
In terms of their roles, doctoral students believe that they must fulfill the dual role expectations of being a learner and a researcher, and that they need to transition from being a learner to being a researcher. As NS-10 (Chemistry, male) describes, "Pursuing a PhD degree is a processing phase: it transforms you from an undergraduate to a highly mature researcher". Only after experiencing those role transitions can doctoral students achieve a sense of identity as researchers. EN-20 (Computer Science, male) states, "When I just started my program, I still saw myself as a student, and felt the need to understand and learn about my chosen field. However, midway through my research, my role shifted to a researcher".
In regard to the action transitions associated with situation recognition, doctoral students perceive a shift in their primary task: moving from acquiring knowledge and skills, to producing knowledge. In the early stages of their doctoral training, students are required to complete a rigorous course load and establish the foundational knowledge necessary for their research. As NS-1 (Physics, male) notes, "The breadth and depth of knowledge can greatly promote research work". The process of learning how to produce knowledge signifies a transitional stage for doctoral students, one that sees them moving from a pure learning phase to a phase of knowledge production. This transition necessitates that doctoral students not only master professional knowledge, but also learn how to apply this knowledge, understand research paradigms, and develop research abilities. Being directly involved in knowledge production represents a crowning task for doctoral students, where their educational and research experiences converge. As NS-10 (Chemistry, male) realizes, "My research life is essentially synonymous with my life as a doctoral student".
In terms of interpersonal relationships within the academic situation, doctoral students perceive a transition from dependence to independence, particularly in their relationships with academic support groups, especially their supervisors. At the early stages of the program, doctoral students rely heavily on their supervisors. This is noted by EN-7 (Computer Science, male) who observes, "As a novice in the field, I still need guidance". Meanwhile, EN-9 (Engineering, female) attributes a loss of academic interest to the lack of early guidance from a supervisor, stating, "A master leads the way, and apprentices cultivate themselves. But I never had anyone guide me in research, and as a result, pursuing a PhD was exhausting. For me, the research was not going well, and eventually, I no longer enjoyed it". Doctoral students realize they have to transition from relying on their academic support group to being able to conduct research independently. As SS-4 (Education, female) states, "Getting a PhD is indeed different from earning a master's or bachelor's degree. For supervisor doesn’t hold your hand and teach you how to do things. Most of it, you have to explore on your own".
4.2 sychological Interaction
Situation recognition leads to psychological interaction between doctoral students and their environment. This interaction includes perceiving, evaluating, and feeling their academic selves in different situations, through which doctoral students enhance their understanding of academic identity.
Doctoral students perceive their academic selves in the context of their interaction with the environment. Their self-perception varies at different stages of their program, depending on their actual work content. For example, doctoral students at the initial research stage perceive themselves as "learners of research", with "immature" or "inexperi-enced" academic abilities (EN-21, Environmental Engineering, female). Doctoral student EN-20 (Computer Science, male), who is deeply engaged in knowledge production, views himself as an explorer of the unknown, and collaborates with his supervisor as a competent research partner.
In several instances, some doctoral students in the STEM field perceive themselves as academic employees and inheritors of knowledge. The former perspective is evident as these students interpret the material incentives provided by their supervisors as "compensation" for their labor (EN-7, Computer Science, male). On the other hand, the latter perspective is revealed in the transfer of tacit knowledge from doctoral students at ad- vanced stages to those at earlier stages (NS-6, Biology, female). For example, EN-7 perceives himself as operating in the capacity of an employee while working on research projects for his supervisor, "I call my supervisor 'boss', and he pays me". NS-6 views it as her responsibility to guide the juniors, "my supervisor assigned a junior student to me, and I had to impart the basic skills and knowledge to him".
Through their interaction with the environment, doctoral students evaluate the value of their academic selves. There are two perspectives for evaluating academics: instrumental evaluation and intrinsic evaluation. Instrumental evaluation refers to students' assessment of academia based on its utility and interests, while intrinsic evaluation prioritizes the inherent value of academia and disregards other external value and purposes. The evaluation of academic selves by doctoral students encompasses both instrumental and intrinsic evaluation. On the one hand, they appreciate the role of academic research in generating practical benefits and enhancing their job prospects. On the other hand, they believe that academic research promotes knowledge accumulation and the satisfaction of curiosity. For example, EN-7 (Computer Science, male), embraces an instrumental evaluation perspective, believing that his doctoral academic training could position him to contribute to cutting-edge projects in corporations, consequently earning considerably more than those with a master's degree. Conversely, HU-11 (Philosophy, male), from an intrinsic evaluation perspective, believes that his engagement in research within his discipline is driven by his interest and ambition in academia.
Doctoral students undergo a range of emotional experiences through their interactions with the environment. The sense of academic meaning refers to the feeling of meaning and satisfaction that doctoral students experience when engaging in academic activities. This sense is typically bolstered by positive feedback from the external environment as well as the student's internal motivation. These feedback experiences often occur when doctoral students recognize the substantive impact of academic research, receive validation from important others, achieve academic accomplishments, and strive toward self-actualization. For example, SS-3 (Education, male) experiences a strong sense of academic meaning when he realizes the impact his research has on others. The sense of academic efficacy refers to the student's belief in their capacity to accomplish specific academic tasks. Positive evaluations of one's capabilities, both from external environment and through personal self-assessment, can lead to an enhanced sense of academic efficacy. These experiences potentially extend from assessments of academic talents based on past experiences, self-evaluations of one's academic capability when engaging in scholastic activities, feedback from important others in their academic life, and increases in academic engagement. For instance, SS-14 (International Relations, female) expresses confidence in her research skills, stating, "Doing research is not particularly challenging; I seem to have a bit more talent in this area than most people".
4.3 Reflective Positioning
After situation recognition and psychological interaction with their environment, doctoral students reflect on whether they are researchers and whether they belong to the academic community. This study reveals that not all doctoral students at Chinese research universities manage to establish a strong academic identity, as the students approach self- reflection differently. Those students who view themselves as researchers have effectively incorporated the concept of academic identity into their self-image, suggesting that aca- demic identity has been successfully transformed from an institutional identity authorized by higher education institutions [42] into a part of their self-identity. For example, EN-7 (Computer Science, male) identifies himself as a researcher following the production of original research outcomes. Similarly, SS-13 (Management, male) feels that he is embodying the role of a researcher due to his developed inquisitiveness.
The development of academic identity is notably influenced by a doctoral student’s progression within their program. Doctoral students in the academic training stage recog- nize themselves as participating in research but do not yet see themselves as independent or mature researchers. SS-3 (Education, male) points out that "when it comes to writing papers, I view myself as a researcher, but not as an independent, mature researcher, instead, I'm more of a 'novice researcher'". These still-developing researchers are in a transitional phase, shifting from being students to becoming researchers. Doctoral students with such self-position often believe that they will eventually mature into full-fledged researchers.
There are some participants in this study who do not possess a defined academic identity. Instead, they identify themselves as students or exist in a state of uncertainty about pursuing a career as researchers. Doubts also arise regarding their ability to independently complete academic tasks. For example, NS-6 (Biology, female) feels that she still lacks the ability to conduct independent scientific research and requires further experience and assistance. Therefore, she identifies herself as "still a student". Some doctoral students exhibit a negative attitude toward engaging in academic activities and display a weak inclination toward choosing academia as a career, given their hesitation about becoming researchers. For instance, HU-16 (Archaeology, female) considers herself a non-researcher due to her perception that academic research lacks meaningful essence.