Surviving publication pressure collaboratively? Peer co-authorship habitus and capital formation among Chinese doctoral students in humanities and social sciences

Despite growing research interest in humanities and social sciences (HSS) doctoral students’ publishing practices, little is known about how they navigate peer co-authorship practices in the context of Chinese competitive academic field. Grounded in Bourdieu’s thinking tools, this exploratory qualitative study draws on interviews with 29 HSS doctoral students to explore how peer co-authorship serves as a strategy for different types of capital accumulation. Findings reveal that co-authorship is not merely a response to publication pressure; it reflects institutionalized doxa, field hierarchies, and internalized academic habitus. Driven by utilitarian and humanistic motivations, three strategic logics emerge: 1) partnering with like-minded and complementary peers; 2) collaborating with peers with prestigious affiliations and strong publication profiles to enhance symbolic capital and prestige economy; and 3) internalizing the distinctions between international and domestic writing practices. Academic conferences enable them to recognize collaborators and strengthen professional interactions with domestic editors. Doctoral students expand social and scientific capital while also gaining emotional support and resilience through co-authorship. Thus, peer co-authorship becomes a key approach to accumulate and convert different forms of capital, thereby helping students advance trajectories within Chinese academic field.