Arguments against starting a PhD (qualitative analysis)

Notes on section 5.4 of the paper "Why do women pursue a PhD in Computer Science?"

Arguments against starting a PhD

We identified the following themes in the answers to the question:

• Q56. Do you have any insights on what discourages students from starting a PhD in computer science?

Distribution of answers over themes identified in a qualitative analysis of the insights on discouraging factors for starting a PhD.

Table 10 presents the identified themes, their explanation, and sample comments from our participants.

Selected quotes:

P47 - “I don’t think someone with a master’s in computer science would be averse to getting a PhD just because of gender imbalance. They already have a master’s, they’ve experienced it before.”