Conceptualising space in doctoral education: a meta-ethnographic analysis of research spaces and their impact

Despite evidence suggesting that campus space plays a role in shaping the experiences of doctoral researchers (DRs), space as a concept is typically overlooked in the literature. This oversight is particularly significant given Higher Education’s (HE’s) evolving spatial landscape post-pandemic, where increasing digitisation and hybrid work have altered how DRs engage with their research. This meta-ethnography synthesises qualitative research to explore space in doctoral education, resulting in an overarching higher-order concept: ‘Research spaces are environments where social, cultural and environmental dynamics interact with academic identity and well-being, negotiated through social and spatial mechanisms’. A new conceptual spatial model is presented, underscoring the relationship between the social, cultural, and environmental factors that impact DR’s well-being and academic identity and how these are negotiated through social and spatial mechanisms.