Starting an academic research project is an exciting journey which students approach with high zeal, excitement and passion. Eventually, the excitement reduces; very few complete on time, a sizable number abandon their studies and others drag on for long beyond the allowable academic time. In fact, most of the students end up applying for extension of time before they are deregistered. On estimate, only 10% of those who begin their PhD journey are able to complete in an average 4 years’ time. This paper analyzed the dilemmas students go through in their research process and the challenges supervisors meet in handling doctoral research projects. The study employed an exploratory design. Self-administered questionnaires were used on 42 respondents who included; PhD students on a research project, PhD student supervisors and PhD holders who had undertaken a research project. Data analysis was done concurrently with data gathering using content analysis method. The study findings indicated that supervisor challenges are mainly institutional constructed, while students recounted lack of clear guidance and orientation on the research process, attributed to both the institution and supervisor. Mutually, there is a tendency to assume that both parties have a clear familiarity with the study process. The study recommends the need for attention in; planning, design and orientation of both students and supervisors in managing academic research projects specifically, outlining expected milestones at each level. The study designed a triad supervisory model that can be adopted by institutions of higher learning in Africa to improve graduate rates, solve the student-supervisor challenges and improve PhD quality of research.
| Published in | Higher Education Research (Volume 5, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.her.20200502.11 |
| Page(s) | 37-43 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group |
PhD Studies, Academic Research, Supervision Dilemmas
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APA Style
Kanyesigye Rullonga Monicah. (2020). Lethargic Research Projects: Student-supervisor’s Dilemmas in Managing Research Projects. Higher Education Research, 5(2), 37-43. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20200502.11
ACS Style
Kanyesigye Rullonga Monicah. Lethargic Research Projects: Student-supervisor’s Dilemmas in Managing Research Projects. High. Educ. Res. 2020, 5(2), 37-43. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20200502.11
AMA Style
Kanyesigye Rullonga Monicah. Lethargic Research Projects: Student-supervisor’s Dilemmas in Managing Research Projects. High Educ Res. 2020;5(2):37-43. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20200502.11
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Download@article{10.11648/j.her.20200502.11,
author = {Kanyesigye Rullonga Monicah},
title = {Lethargic Research Projects: Student-supervisor’s Dilemmas in Managing Research Projects},
journal = {Higher Education Research},
volume = {5},
number = {2},
pages = {37-43},
doi = {10.11648/j.her.20200502.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20200502.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.her.20200502.11},
abstract = {Starting an academic research project is an exciting journey which students approach with high zeal, excitement and passion. Eventually, the excitement reduces; very few complete on time, a sizable number abandon their studies and others drag on for long beyond the allowable academic time. In fact, most of the students end up applying for extension of time before they are deregistered. On estimate, only 10% of those who begin their PhD journey are able to complete in an average 4 years’ time. This paper analyzed the dilemmas students go through in their research process and the challenges supervisors meet in handling doctoral research projects. The study employed an exploratory design. Self-administered questionnaires were used on 42 respondents who included; PhD students on a research project, PhD student supervisors and PhD holders who had undertaken a research project. Data analysis was done concurrently with data gathering using content analysis method. The study findings indicated that supervisor challenges are mainly institutional constructed, while students recounted lack of clear guidance and orientation on the research process, attributed to both the institution and supervisor. Mutually, there is a tendency to assume that both parties have a clear familiarity with the study process. The study recommends the need for attention in; planning, design and orientation of both students and supervisors in managing academic research projects specifically, outlining expected milestones at each level. The study designed a triad supervisory model that can be adopted by institutions of higher learning in Africa to improve graduate rates, solve the student-supervisor challenges and improve PhD quality of research.},
year = {2020}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Lethargic Research Projects: Student-supervisor’s Dilemmas in Managing Research Projects AU - Kanyesigye Rullonga Monicah Y1 - 2020/03/10 PY - 2020 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20200502.11 DO - 10.11648/j.her.20200502.11 T2 - Higher Education Research JF - Higher Education Research JO - Higher Education Research SP - 37 EP - 43 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2578-935X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20200502.11 AB - Starting an academic research project is an exciting journey which students approach with high zeal, excitement and passion. Eventually, the excitement reduces; very few complete on time, a sizable number abandon their studies and others drag on for long beyond the allowable academic time. In fact, most of the students end up applying for extension of time before they are deregistered. On estimate, only 10% of those who begin their PhD journey are able to complete in an average 4 years’ time. This paper analyzed the dilemmas students go through in their research process and the challenges supervisors meet in handling doctoral research projects. The study employed an exploratory design. Self-administered questionnaires were used on 42 respondents who included; PhD students on a research project, PhD student supervisors and PhD holders who had undertaken a research project. Data analysis was done concurrently with data gathering using content analysis method. The study findings indicated that supervisor challenges are mainly institutional constructed, while students recounted lack of clear guidance and orientation on the research process, attributed to both the institution and supervisor. Mutually, there is a tendency to assume that both parties have a clear familiarity with the study process. The study recommends the need for attention in; planning, design and orientation of both students and supervisors in managing academic research projects specifically, outlining expected milestones at each level. The study designed a triad supervisory model that can be adopted by institutions of higher learning in Africa to improve graduate rates, solve the student-supervisor challenges and improve PhD quality of research. VL - 5 IS - 2 ER -
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