PhD prepared: research skill development across the undergraduate years

Purpose Many countries are looking for ways to enable students to engage more effectively with PhD study. This paper aims to consider the effects of explicit discipline-specific research skill development embedded in multiple semesters of an undergraduate degree on PhD preparedness. Design/methodology/approach This case study of one Bachelor of Health Science programme determined the effectiveness of the implementation of a conceptual model, the Researcher Skill Development framework, across the undergraduate degree programme. Data were gathered through interviews of 9 academic staff and 14 students in their fourth year of undergraduate study, which is a research-focused year. Findings All students and academics stated the benefits of the use of the Researcher Skill Development framework in undergraduate study including: deepening metacognition of research processes; assisting students toward acting and thinking like researchers; and the research-capacity building of the school. While all academics and all but one student recommended that the framework be used early in the degree programme, a number of interviewees specified problems with the existing implementation of the framework. Research limitations/implications While the results are not generalisable, the approach is worth studying in other degree programme-wide contexts to determine its broader capacity to enable students to be more research ready for PhD study when compared to current practice. Practical implications When adapted to the context, whole-of-degree research skill development may enable developing countries to have more students and developed countries to better prepared students commencing PhD studies. Originality/value No studies currently provide results for explicit research skill development across a degree programme, or of the benefits of this approach for PhD preparation.

[1]  Tova Michalsky,et al.  Shaping self-regulation in science teachers' professional growth: Inquiry skills , 2012 .

[2]  M. Miles,et al.  Constructive alignment and the Research Skills Development Framework: using theory to practically align graduate attributes, learning experiences, and assessment tasks in undergraduate midwifery , 2013 .

[3]  C. Kardash,et al.  Evaluation of an Undergraduate Research Experience: Perceptions of Undergraduate Interns and Their Faculty Mentors. , 2000 .

[4]  Demand evidence and think critically: Building research excellence in tomorrow’s scientists , 2014 .

[5]  Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development,et al.  Organisation for economic cooperation and development , 1998 .

[6]  D. Sadler.  The futility of attempting to codify academic achievement standards , 2014 .

[7]  N. Subramaniam,et al.  Students’ Experience of The Honours’ Supervisory Relationship: A Preliminary Investigation: Discussion Paper No 113 , 2002 .

[8]  J. Willison,et al.  When academics integrate research skill development in the curriculum , 2012 .

[9]  A. Feldman,et al.  Becoming Researchers: The Participation of Undergraduate and Graduate Students in Scientific Research Groups , 2013 .

[10]  Margaret M. Lloyd,et al.  Course cohesion : an elusive goal for tertiary education , 2011 .

[11]  Ruth Pilkington,et al.  Developing undergraduate research and inquiry , 2010 .

[12]  Michelle Picard,et al.  Collaborating equals: Engaging faculties through teaching-led research , 2009 .

[13]  Jennifer Osborn.  The National Year of Reading: Celebrating the Role of Literature in an Academic Culture , 2012 .

[14]  John Willison,et al.  Commonly known, commonly not known, totally unknown: a framework for students becoming researchers , 2007 .

[15]  L. Atkins,et al.  What Students Say Versus What They Do Regarding Scientific Inquiry , 2014 .

[16]  S. B. Chaplin,et al.  Guided development of independent inquiry in an anatomy/physiology laboratory. , 2003, Advances in physiology education.

[17]  Tom Wengraf.  Qualitative Research Interviewing: Biographic Narrative and Semi-Structured Methods , 2001 .

[18]  D. Lopatto.  Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE): first findings. , 2004, Cell biology education.

[19]  D. Royce Sadler,et al.  Indeterminacy in the use of preset criteria for assessment and grading , 2009 .

[20]  Jackie Venning,et al.  Integrating assessment matrices in feedback loops to promote research skill development in postgraduate research projects , 2013 .

[21]  A. Adcroft.  The mythology of feedback , 2011 .

[22]  P. N. Mafenya.  Challenges Faced by Higher Education Institutions in Research Skills Development: A South African Open and Distance Learning Case Study , 2014 .

[23]  Steven Goh,et al.  An investigation into the application of research strategies in the final-year undergraduate engineering and surveying projects , 2009 .

[24]  P. Sainsbury,et al.  Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. , 2007, International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care.

[25]  Tom Wengraf,et al.  Qualitative Research Interviewing , 2001 .

[26]  D. Allchin,et al.  Complementary Approaches to Teaching Nature of Science: Integrating Student Inquiry, Historical Cases, and Contemporary Cases in Classroom Practice , 2014 .

[27]  C. P. Matas.  Doctoral Education and Skills Development: an international perspective , 2012 .

[28]  Exploring the experience of ten Australian Honours students , 2011 .

[29]  M. Ricci,et al.  Towards student autonomy in literature and field research , 2009 .

[30]  Sarah D. Loznak,et al.  Infusion of collaborative inquiry throughout a biology curriculum increases student learning: a four-year study of "Teams and Streams". , 2004, Advances in physiology education.

[31]  Anne-Barrie Hunter,et al.  Becoming a scientist: The role of undergraduate research in students' cognitive, personal, and professional development , 2007 .