Master's students' decisions on whether to continue doctoral education or not and the factors affecting these decisions

This research aims to reveal the decisions of master's students whether to continue their doctoral education or not and the factors affecting these decisions. The participants of this research, in which the basic qualitative research design was used, consisting of 28 students (19 female and 9 male) studying at Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Graduate Education Institute in the 2021-2022 academic year. In order to reflect different views on the study, a maximum variety sampling method was used and the participants were diversified in terms of their age, gender, marital status, whether they work in any job, their profession, the department from which they received master's education, the stage of their master's education, and the time elapsed between starting master's education after graduation. In order to gather the data from the participants, a semi-structured interview form prepared by the researchers was used. Using the form, the participants were asked whether they plan to continue their doctoral education after their master's education or not, what factors were effective when making these decisions, whether they knew about doctoral education, the reasons why they started their master's education, how they would evaluate their experience in master's education, and whether the master's education played a role in their decision to continue to doctoral education or not. The participants' answers were analyzed with content analysis technique and categorized under the main themes of personal, professional and academic. The majority of the participants stated that they wanted to continue their doctoral education and they had several reasons for this decision: to be an academician, for self-development, to become competent in the field, and to be beneficial to the people around them. On the other hand, the participants, who stated that they did not want to continue their doctoral education, focused on problems such as not being able to have enough time or not knowing a foreign language and also having children. Very few of the participants stated that they knew about doctoral education. Similarly, the majority of the participants stated that they did not receive information about doctoral education during their master's education, while most of those who had knowledge stated that they obtained the information they gained through their own effort. It was also concluded that the participants' reasons why they want to continue their doctoral education were similar to the reasons for starting their master's education. Self-development, completing professional development, being competent in their field, making an academic career and continuing doctoral education were the most repeated codes of the participants' reasons to receive a master's education. When asked about their views on master's education, some participants talked about positive things while others talked about negatives. Those who expressed positive opinions stated that master's education supported them in such ways as improving themselves, having a different perspective, and learning new teaching methods/techniques, especially with the support of instructors and advisors. On the other hand, those who expressed negative opinions stated such reasons as they had a lack of readiness or time, difficulty in adapting and they had problems arising from the instructors or their families. They also stated that they had difficulties in their master's education due to the reasons as having an education and working at the same time. In addition to all of these, as a result of the study, it was revealed that the master's education has both positive and negative effects on participants' decisions of whether to continue their doctoral education or not.