Analyzing the Doctoral Candidates’ Level of Efforts to ‘Leapfrog’ Their Dissertation Accomplishment Needs

Completing a doctoral program is a significant challenge faced by many doctoral candidates worldwide. This multi-case study explores the level of effort demonstrated by doctoral candidates in overcoming challenges to complete their dissertations as one of the scientific writing works, which must be accomplished to achieve their doctoral degrees. The six doctoral candidates who were in process of finishing their dissertations, were involved in this study. In this case, three persons studied at an Indonesian state university while the three others studied at overseas universities. One of the six doctoral candidates is Malaysian while the five others are Indonesian. In-depth observations during their dissertation writing process were conducted to gather the data purposively. The gathered data were analyzed descriptively using member checking. This study revealed three key aspects of doctoral success. First, intrinsic motivation and strong intrinsic motivation (67%-87%) among five participants supported sustained effort, while low intrinsic motivation (37%) hindered progress. Second, concerning goals and study periods, clear goals and shorter timelines (e.g., four years) facilitated completion, whereas low goal focus and extended periods (over seven years) impeded progress. Third, concerning strategies for success, effective practices included goal-setting, persistence, and community engagement. Resilience was evident in some participants despite extended timelines, while lack of intervention strategies contributed to failure. These findings offer valuable insights for improving doctoral education practices. However, future studies are recommended to involve more participants and employ other scoring-rubrics to measure doctoral candidates level of effort.