Feelings perceived by students during the phases of accounting dissertation guidance

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand how students graduating from accounting master’s courses perceived the feelings experienced in the different dissertation guidance phases. This investigation enables us to identify which stages generate negative feelings and to thus propose actions to improve the affective relationship between the advisor and student, considering that the feelings substantially affect the potential of the scientific works originating from that relationship. The advisor-student relationship and the feelings involved in it are among the main factors that positively or negatively affect the conclusion of the academic work, and understanding it is important in order to improve this interaction process. One of the implications of the research relates to the importance of stricto sensu programs monitoring the guidance process and somehow searching for mechanisms that promote harmony in the guidance process, as the experiences during the dissertation guidance process can affect the student’s likelihood of continuing on their academic journey. For the data collection, a survey was conducted in which the participants used emojis to represent the feelings experienced in their relationship with the advisor during the construction of their master’s dissertation. In addition, semi-structured interviews were carried out, which enabled the elaboration of a collective subject discourse regarding the feelings experienced during the dissertation guidance process. The 88 responses and eight interviews enabled the identification of feelings such as anxiety, fear, and insecurity in the first phases of the dissertation building. Abandonment, confusion, and frustration were felt in the last phases of the relationship with the advisor. Regarding the positive feelings, there are indications of joy, satisfaction, and calm, presenting greater frequency in the last stages of the dissertation. The collective subject discourses also indicated that the relationship with the advisor affected the quality of the scientific research and the student’s academic trajectory.