Summative Content Analysis in the Study of Russian Graduates' Decision Making on Getting PhD Degree

This research paper is devoted to the application of summative content analysis in the study of decision-making on getting a PhD degree in the context of career and educational trajectory. Summative content analysis is considered as a strategy for mixed research methods of text analysis (qualitative and quantitative). Summative content analysis is used to determine the reasons and factors for choosing a PhD trajectory. This research is based on an empirical base of 22 interviews with graduates of the HSE ICEF faculty. All methodological procedures for qualitative and quantitative content analysis were methodically combined into 7 consecutive stages of summative content analysis. In this paper, a preliminary conceptual scheme of the study was constructed. This diagram graphically displays all the categories, sub-categories, and selected codes. The final result of the study of interview texts was a constructed analytical scheme and its interpretation. As a result of the analysis, the possibilities and limitations of the summative content analysis method were highlighted in relation to the study of decision-making on getting a PhD degree.