FOCUS GROUP FORM

Your Opportunity to Share Your Thoughts and Have Your Voice Heard

Your Voice is Important

Thank you for contributing your thoughts. This form is completely anonymous. Your responses will help us understand the lived experience of PhD students and how we can improve belonging, support, and equity in academic life.

Please share openly and honestly.

You do not need to answer every question.

Every contribution is valued.

Please practice self-care and compassion at all times. Know your boundaries and respect them. If you want to explore or talk through any issues outside of your institution, BARDO Inclusive recommends Helen Pope Counselling. Alternatively, your EDI department and the Support and Report Tool are good places to seek advice and guidance.

Helen Pope Counselling

Support and Report Tool

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Anonymity & Confidentiality

Your thoughts will remain completely anonymous. The form does not collect your name, email, or any identifying details. Responses will only be read by BARDO Inclusive consultant and will be used to spot patterns and themes — not to single out individuals.

Being identified

We do not track names, emails, or IP addresses. We want your insights, not your name.

Impact on your studies or career

Your responses will never be shared with supervisors, examiners, or the institution in a way that could affect you.

Sensitive experiences

You are welcome to share only what you feel comfortable with. Every response is valued, whether brief or detailed.

The aim is better to understand the challenges and strengths of the PhD experience so we can recommend positive, practical changes.

Focus Group Themes and Questions

Theme 1: Belonging in Academia – Who feels visible, safe, and valued?

1. When have you felt a strong sense of belonging (or not) in your department or research community?

2. What factors or behaviours have you witnessed or experienced that make people feel excluded or invisible?

3. What would help women and underrepresented groups feel they belong?

Theme 2: Supervision & Department Culture – Power, feedback, trust, flexibility

1. How would you describe your relationship with your supervisor(s)?

2. Do you feel able to challenge or question decisions?

3. What aspects of your department’s culture help or hinder trust and flexibility?

Theme 3: Mental Health & Isolation – Supports and challenges to resilience, location

1. What have been the main challenges for your mental health during your PhD?

2. How does location (labs, home, fieldwork, hybrid) affect your sense of connection or isolation?

3. What support has been most helpful to you, and what’s missing?

Theme 4: Imposter Syndrome & Recognition – How confidence is built or undermined

1. Do you experience imposter syndrome, and if so, in what situations?

2. What recognition or feedback helps build your confidence?

3. What kinds of behaviours or practices undermine it?

Theme 5: Moments of Joy – What’s working well

1. What moments or experiences have given you joy in your PhD journey?

2. Which practices/events/initiatives should definitely be kept or expanded?

Theme 6: Dreaming Forward – Redesigning the PhD experience

1. If you could redesign the PhD experience, what would you change to make it more inclusive and supportive?

2. How might hybrid working be structured to balance lab and team presence with different life experiences like, caring responsibilities, economic challenges, location, mental wellbeing and equity?

3. What would a thriving, future-ready PhD culture look like?

Experience Markers

If you are comfortable disclosing some identity markers to help us determine any patterns, discrimination, and experiencial differences this would be helpful. However, we completely understand if you wish to leave this blank.

Gender (self-describe)

Race (self-describe)

Different Ability (self-describe)

Other (self-describe)

Any other comments or thoughts?

Please share any other comments or thoughts that you would like heard.