PAPER PUBLICATIONS AND WORK STRESS AMONG PHD. RESEARCH SCHOLARS- A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY

EDUCATION

Paper publication is a mandatory process in a PhD journey and plays a crucial role in a PhD student's life. Publishing journals allows PhD students to contribute original research to their field adding to existing knowledge. Furthermore, the publication also adds quality, validation, career advancement, networking, and collaboration and the publication is mandatory for finishing the process towards the completion of the degree. Publishing research papers not only gives knowledge but also aids in an individual’s academic and professional growth. However, many universities in India (Tamil Nadu) possess stringent publishing criteria including publishing Scopus and Web of Science-indexed journals which have time constraints and publishing becomes competitive rather than focusing on knowledge, skills, and writing proficiency. However, overcoming and publishing articles requires resilience, dedication, and mentorship. This pressure sometimes builds up and creates work pressure and stress among research scholars. They experience higher levels of stress, which can cause psychological issues including anxiety, depression, cardiac issues, schizophrenia, and paranoia. In a 2017 study, 12% of scholars acknowledged that they had sought treatment for depression or anxiousness-connected issues. In India, it is noted that many capable research scholars belonging to prestigious institutions are committing suicide because of the depression that was caused by excessive work pressure. Significantly, it was discovered that inadequate supervision negatively impacted the mental health of Ph.D. candidates. The present study aims to survey Tamil Nadu research scholars to analyze work stress. The obtained data will be analyzed using SPSS tests like reliability, validity, descriptive statistics, frequency test, ANOVA, and Regression. The dependent variables of the study are work stress, and the independent variables are factors influencing work stress like publication requirements, problems faced in mentorship, writing fluency, and time constraints. The study thus aims to analyze the factors contributing to work stress among PhD research scholars. The study aims to analyze the influence of independent variables on work stress. Prior studies reveal that Stress levels could be alleviated, and mental health could be improved with less performance pressure and a reasonable workload with fewer tasks in addition to the PhD project. The outcomes of this research are expected to facilitate the development of practical strategies for promoting Ph.D. candidates' mental health.

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