Digital technologies for doctoral dialogues at a distance

The paper addresses the problem of engaging part-time PhD students studying at a distance in a community of students. It reports on a longitudinal survey of part-time Computing PhD students´ use of digital technologies to support them in engaging in formal and informal doctoral dialogues, documenting and reflecting on their research, engaging with the community, and keeping themselves informed. It considers `what works´ in students´ deployment of technologies and highlights both changes in use and persistent phenomena.