PhD students

Purpose : The aim of present research was identifying the effective components on managing the challenges of thesis writing based on the lived experiences of PhD students in Islamic Azad University. Methodology : This study in terms of purpose was applied and in terms of implementation method was phenomenological from type of qualitative. The research population was students and graduates of the PhD period of humanities fields at the Islamic Azad University in 2020-21 academic years. The research sample according to the principle of theoretical saturation was determined 12 people which were selected by purposive sampling method. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews whose validity by 15 professors was obtained by the relative content validity coefficient method 0.866 and its reliability by the Holsti coefficient method was obtained 0.865. Finally, the data were analyzed by open, axial and selective coding method in MAXQDA-18 software. Findings : The results showed that for managing the challenges of thesis writing based on the lived experiences of PhD students were identified 67 indicators in 13 sub-components and 3 main components. The main components were included administrative-organizational solutions (with three sub-components of maximum use of virtual systems, modification of the thesis doing process and financial assistance), solutions (with three sub-components of increase study, proper planning and strengthening skills) and educational strategies Conclusion : The results of this study have practical implications for graduate officials and planners, and they can use the identified components to properly manage the challenges of thesis writing and improve them in the higher education system.