A multi-phase mixed-method study defining dissertation writing enjoyment and comparing PhD students writing in the company of others to those writing alone

To overcome the assumption that dissertation writing is an anxiety-provoking process, this multi-phase mixed-method research aimed to develop a comprehensive picture of writing enjoyment in the context of doctoral studies, as well as to understand if and how writing in the company of others can enhance dissertation writing enjoyment. Firstly, we interviewed 30 PhD students to conceptualize writing enjoyment. These qualitative results revealed that dissertation writing enjoyment represents a moment of clarity when doctoral students’ ideas are easily extracted from the mind to be written as a tangible text perceived to be of high quality. Then, based on a pre-experimental design, a T-test was used to compare the scores of writing enjoyment and sense of writing community for two equivalent groups in terms of sociodemographic and academic profiles: 59 PhD students participating in writing retreats (experimental group) and 59 PhD students writing alone (control group). Overall, the experimental group shows higher writing enjoyment. Lastly, 15 PhD students participating in writing retreats were interviewed to understand how writing in the company of others seems to enhance writing enjoyment, that is, by way of social flow. Finally, this article provides empirical evidence for reforming pedagogical practices to foster PhD students’ positive emotions.