Walter, Lori
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Item Graduate transitions: Canadian master's and PhD writing experiences(Canadian Association for the Study of Discourse and Writing, 2020-10-21) Stouck, Jordan; Walter, LoriThis exploratory study researches the experiences of Canadian graduate students as they pursue writing tasks for their degree. A better understanding of the difficulties Canadian graduate students experience in completing key components of their programs, as well as of the supports both existing and needed, could enable supervisors, administrators, and graduate students themselves to more expediently overcome barriers to timely degree completion. The research uses a case study design based on qualitative focus group interviews to provide detailed information regarding both interdisciplinary and single discipline Master’s and PhD students’ perceived experiences with their academic writing tasks and available supports. The approach is informed by academic literacy theory. Graduate students who participated in this study identified transitions related to the pressure to publish and professionalize, and to the misalignments between their own and supervisory and institutional expectations, which resulted in some interrogation of institutional norms. They utilized Writing Centre, online and supervisory supports, but called for additional ongoing and peer support. The study has implications for the development of new, collaborative, and peer-based writing supports, as well as identifying future research areas related to interdisciplinary degrees and continuing stages of transition.Item Writing the literature review: Graduate student experiences(Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2020-06-30) Walter, Lori; Stouck, JordanDifficulties with academic writing tasks, such as the literature review, impact students’ timely completion of graduate degrees. A better understanding of graduate students’ perceptions of writing the literature review could enable supervisors, administrators, service providers, and graduate students themselves to overcome these difficulties. This paper presents a case study of graduate students at a secondary campus of a Canadian research university. It describes survey data and results from focus groups conducted between 2014 and 2015 by communications faculty, writing centre staff, and librarians. The focus group participants were Master’s and Doctoral students, including students situated within one discipline and those in interdisciplinary programs. The questions focused on the students’ experiences of writing the literature review as well as the supports both accessed and desired. Data analysis revealed four themes: (a) literature review as a new and fundamental genre; (b) literature review for multiple purposes, in multiple forms, and during multiple stages of a graduate program; (c) difficulties with managing large amounts of information; and (d) various approaches and tools are used for research and writing. Using an academic literacies approach, the paper addresses implications for campus program development and writing centre interventions and furthers research into graduate students’ experiences of writing literature reviews.