'Nip This Crap in the Bud': Using Social Media to Understand Bullying in Graduate School

Graduate school experience is regarded as a "period of professional infancy" in which graduate students rely on a successful socialization process to help them develop a professional identity within the profession. Unfortunately, the socialization process has also emerged as a hotbed of academic bullying. In this study, 621 online public social media written posts were analyzed to further understand graduate students' experiences of academic bullying. Based on a thematic analysis, three themes emerged -- "mental gymnastics," hammering on all sides, and "nip this crap in the bud." Implications for academic leaders will be discussed. [For the full proceedings, see ED648717.]