THE CHALLENGES OF GATHERING DATA FOR A PH.D. PROGRAM: A NIGERIAN PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

It takes perseverance, devotion, commitment, and paying attention to the supervisor's remarks and suggestions to 
complete a Ph.D. degree. Doctoral degree holders are highly valued by society for their contributions to knowledge 
or for providing answers to issues, and this degree is considered crucial for the higher education industry. However, 
most Ph.D. students encounter numerous obstacles in achieving this outstanding academic feat. In this essay, I 
discussed the difficulties I faced while conducting fieldwork for my doctoral program at the University of 
Johannesburg (UJ) in South Africa (SA) between 2010 and 2015, as well as how I overcame each of those 
difficulties. Specifically, there were obstacles with getting the study approved, access to the participants and site, my 
fears, worries, and anxiety, as an international student, and restrictions and frustrations in conducting the research. 
Other difficulties included dealing with issues with school calendars, interview dates, locations, and the culture of 
secrecy in Nigerian public schools. Additionally, the 2011 general election violence in Nigeria, and the political 
altercations between Nigeria and SA.  Above all, there was difficulty in adapting to the South African culture, 
weather, and food in comparison to Nigeria. I used several case studies to demonstrate how participants' narratives 
on the topic of the study interacted and connected with those of teachers, principals, vice-principals, and the district 
official using semi-structured interviews, and documentary analysis, to gather data and used content analysis to 
analyze the data. Students should be encouraged to pursue a Ph.D. to achieve this academic goal. To improve 
positive outcomes, these problems should be met with maturity, an open mind, patience, and adaptability. The 
knowledge I gained from my research experience improved my academic standing and gave me a better 
understanding of what it means to "hold a Ph.D." in the academic community.