The Perceptions of the Masters’ Students About Postgraduate Research Supervision

Abstract

Introduction: Postgraduate degrees cause stress and tension for master’s students. Many postgraduate masters’ students face anxiety and ambiguity when carrying out the research. If these anxieties and ambiguities are not managed well, it could adversely influence the process and the standard of research. Many postgraduate masters’ students discontinue their studies or do not finish their postgraduate degrees within the specified time. The type of supervision the student gets is the most significant aspect which determines the timely completion of postgraduate research. The study on the perception of postgraduate master’s students can help them to improve the research work in postgraduate studies. It will address many issues of the postgraduate master students.
Objective: This study explores the perceptions of postgraduate masters’ students about research supervision.
Method: This study was conducted using a qualitative approach. Eight postgraduate masters’ students were selected using homogenous purposive sampling. The data was gathered by open-ended questions. Thematic analysis was done by framework analysis. An inductive approach was used. The obtained codes were categorized following themes.
Results: Findings from postgraduate masters’ students have merged into the following three themes: knowledge, support and guidance, and availability. The first theme is knowledge. According to students, the supervisor should be knowledgeable and interested in students’ projects. The second theme is support and guidance. Different approaches of supervision are required for different postgraduate students. Effective communication of the supervisor with students and timely and thorough feedback can provide students with
intellectual and psychological assistance. The third theme is the availability of the supervisor which should be as per the requirement of the students.
Conclusion: Supervisors can assist students in reducing their ambiguity and anxiety in the initial phases of the research journey by helping them in the selection of feasible research topics and by providing the required intellectual and psychological assistance. There is a need for regular communication between the student and supervisor. Feedback should be constructive, timely, and according to the requirements of the students.

KEYWORDS: Postgraduate research supervision, master’s supervision, uncertainties, perceptions, effective supervision, timely completion