Chinese Doctoral Students' Conceptions of Research in Applied Linguistics: A Sociocultural Perspective

ABSTRACT Although Conceptions of Research (CoR) fundamentally shape doctoral students' research practices, longitudinal understandings of how early‐stage doctoral students dynamically construct and develop their CoR remain scarce. Grounded in sociocultural theory (SCT), this qualitative case study examined the CoR development of two Chinese doctoral students in applied linguistics over one semester. Data from journals and interviews revealed that the students' CoR evolved across two intertwined dimensions: their conception of research's nature shifted from being perceived as formulaic, through demanding, to ultimately dialogic, while its purpose transitioned from personal interests, through publication‐oriented survival, toward a socially responsible practice. Moving beyond static cognitive typologies, this evolution emerged as a dynamic, contradictory, and socially mediated process driven by object‐, other‐, and self‐mediation, progressing from initial internalization to agentic appropriation. Crucially, although both participants shared these overarching themes, their actual developmental pathways were individualized. Perezhivanie accounts for how identical research conditions are subjectively experienced and contributes to different developmental pathways. These findings offer multilevel implications, emphasizing the need to foster students' epistemological awareness, enhance dialogic mentorship, and reform institutional evaluation frameworks to move beyond survival‐driven publication metrics.