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<p>Research collaboration is important for STEM doctoral students’ academic socialization, research productivity, and career development. However, existing research has paid limited attention to its dynamic evolution over the doctoral journey. This study explored how research collaboration developed among Chinese STEM doctoral students by integrating institutional logics theory with a temporal network analysis. Drawing on longitudinal data from 20 final-stage STEM doctoral students at two top research universities in China, the study identified three cumulative phases in their collaboration networks: dependency, diversification, and realignment. The findings showed that these students’ research collaboration was a temporally embedded and institutionally mediated practice, shaped by shifting institutional logics of academic training, research production, and career development across different stages of doctoral study. Moreover, students’ ability to diversify and realign their networks was unevenly shaped by the nature and extent of support provided by supervisors and institutions. The study recommends that hierarchical doctoral programs should foster equitable collaboration by offering stage-specific support, encouraging diversified mentorship, and adopting inclusive evaluation policies. While situated in the Chinese context, this study offers a novel temporal institutional logics perspective that enhances our understanding of the evolution of doctoral research collaboration internationally.</p>

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From dependency to realignment: the dynamic evolution of research collaboration among STEM doctoral students

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月28日

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  • Yan Li,
  • Jia Jiang,
  • Yang Dai

摘要

Research collaboration is important for STEM doctoral students’ academic socialization, research productivity, and career development. However, existing research has paid limited attention to its dynamic evolution over the doctoral journey. This study explored how research collaboration developed among Chinese STEM doctoral students by integrating institutional logics theory with a temporal network analysis. Drawing on longitudinal data from 20 final-stage STEM doctoral students at two top research universities in China, the study identified three cumulative phases in their collaboration networks: dependency, diversification, and realignment. The findings showed that these students’ research collaboration was a temporally embedded and institutionally mediated practice, shaped by shifting institutional logics of academic training, research production, and career development across different stages of doctoral study. Moreover, students’ ability to diversify and realign their networks was unevenly shaped by the nature and extent of support provided by supervisors and institutions. The study recommends that hierarchical doctoral programs should foster equitable collaboration by offering stage-specific support, encouraging diversified mentorship, and adopting inclusive evaluation policies. While situated in the Chinese context, this study offers a novel temporal institutional logics perspective that enhances our understanding of the evolution of doctoral research collaboration internationally.