Factors Influencing Students’ Research Self-Efficacy: A Case Study of University Students in Malaysia

Poh, Racheal; Abdullah, Abdul Ghani Bin Kanesan

doi:10.14689/ejer.2019.82.8

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…However, despite the importance of research productivity to the growth and development of a nation in general and the sustainability of scholarship in particular, studies have established that doctoral students often encounter low research productivity manifesting in high attrition rate, unusually prolonged doctoral education, stagnation, frustration, and underdeveloped strategies for thesis writing, leading to academic roadblocks and even suicide (Chesnut et al, 2015;Niehaus et al, 2018;Obaseki & Agu, 2019;Pelemo et al, 2020;Poh et al, 2019;Rooij et al, 2019;Sevim & Sarikaya, 2020;Ulibarri et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Poh et al (2019) as well asNiehaus et al (2018), which reported low research productivity among a cohort of doctoral students in Malaysia and the United States, with the majority of the participants struggling to complete their thesis. Specifically,McGaskey (2015) found that despite their rising numbers, Black doctoral students exhibited low research productivity in terms of presentation, submission, and publication output, with stage in doctoral program playing a significant role in students' research output, where those at the dissertation stage were found to have presented, submitted, and published more than those still taking courses.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Information Literacy, Research Self-Efficacy, and Research Productivity of Doctoral Students in Universities in Ogun State, Nigeria

Adesola

Madukoma

2022

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: The main purpose of the study was to find out the influence of information literacy and research self-efficacy on the research productivity of doctoral students in universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. Background: The prosperity of any nation is inextricably tied to its research productivity in both quality and quantity. Hence, doctoral education, among others, is meant to sustain research productivity by training students that will possibly assume the role of researchers in the future. However, despite the importance of research productivity to the prosperity of a nation and the sustenance of scholarship, evidence from the literature has shown that doctoral students globally and in the study’s locale do experience low research productivity, manifested as low publication count, underdeveloped strategies for thesis writing, and unusually prolonged doctoral education. This study, therefore, examined the influence of information literacy and research self-efficacy on research productivity of doctoral students in universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. Methodology: The study used a survey research design. The population of the study was 1,418 doctoral students from six universities in Ogun State already undertaking doctoral programs out of nine licensed by the National Universities Commission (NUC). The Research Advisor’s table was used to select a sample size of 306. A structured and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient for the constructs ranged from 0.72 to 0.98. The response rate was 92%. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential (simple and multiple regression) statistics. Contribution: To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, this is the only study that has combined information literacy with research self-efficacy as predictors of doctoral students’ research productivity. Therefore, it has added to the existing literature on information literacy, research self-efficacy, and research productivity by shedding light on the influence of information literacy and research self-efficacy on research productivity. Findings: The findings of this paper are the following. 1. Research productivity of doctoral students in universities in Ogun State, Nigeria was low as majority of the respondents scored below the criterion mean in all the measured items. 2. This low research productivity was notable in publication count, presentations at conferences and thesis writing, leading to unusually prolonged doctoral education for most of the respondents. 3. The study showed that doctoral students in universities in Ogun State, Nigeria possessed a high level of information literacy. 4. There was a positive and significant relationship between information literacy and research productivity (R2= 0.076, F(1,282) = 4.582, p <0.05) of doctoral students in universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. 5. There was a positive and significant relationship between research self-efficacy and research productivity (R2= 0.060, F (1, 282) = 17.218, p<0.05) of doctoral students in universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. 6. Findings revealed that the level of research self-efficacy of doctoral students in universities in Ogun State, Nigeria was high Recommendations for Practitioners: Faculty should ensure that every doctoral student have access to a faculty advisor or mentor who is approachable and accessible. This will provide doctoral students with a roadmap for practice and constructive feedback. By strengthening doctoral students-faculty relationships, more opportunities arise for aspiring researchers to learn the general practices and procedures for conducting and designing studies, collecting, and analyzing data, and writing a well-organized manuscript. Recommendation for Researchers: The resultant model could be adopted by researchers to undergird related studies. Moreover, subsequent research can build on the findings of the empirical study to broaden the scope of research productivity of scholars Impact on Society: The study has accentuated the primacy of research and its continued production to the growth and development of every stratum of the nation. Consequently, it has become incumbent for the government and other stakeholders to promote its continued productivity by creating an enabling environment for doctoral students in Nigeria. Future Research: To further broaden this area of research, the following are suggested for fur-ther studies. Qualitative/focus group investigation of information literacy, research self-efficacy and research productivity of doctoral students. This may reveal more in-depth data not captured in the current study. The study can also be replicated in other states of the nation and other parts of the world as research productivity and its predictors cut across nations. Further studies can investigate other combinations of research productivity predictors.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Information Literacy, Research Self-Efficacy, and Research Productivity of Doctoral Students in Universities in Ogun State, Nigeria

Adesola

Madukoma

2022

IJDS

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“…Regarding research, the PR-Comp scale is a tool that appears to produce stable and generalizable findings that apply to the broader population of early career researchers and doctoral students. This could lead us to greater understanding of the global landscape of research competence of graduates of Ph.D. programs and, ultimately, support the global efforts of doctoral programs and their quest to train competent researchers (e.g., Hambrick, 1997 ; Pole, 2000 ; Trotter, 2003 ; Jackson, 2013 ; Pinto et al, 2013 ; Poh and Kanesan Abdullah, 2019 ; Fairman et al, 2021 ; MacLeod and Urquiola, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The degree doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) is considered a research intensive degree, designed to foster the development of independent researchers. Upon completion of a Ph.D. program, individuals are expected to be not only experts in their chosen field but competent in designing and conducting research independently following the rules of science ( De Jong, 2021 ); this expectation is shared across the globe (e.g., Hambrick, 1997 ; Pole, 2000 ; Trotter, 2003 ; Jackson, 2013 ; Pinto et al, 2013 ; Poh and Kanesan Abdullah, 2019 ; De Jong, 2021 ; Fairman et al, 2021 ; MacLeod and Urquiola, 2021 ). However, and despite conventional beliefs, doctoral study alone may not be adequately preparing students for performing their roles as independent researchers.…”

Section: Measuring Perceived Research Competence Of Junior Researchersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Perceived Research Competence of Junior Researchers

et al. 2022

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Graduates of doctoral (Ph.D.) programs are expected to be competent at designing and conducting research independently. Given the level of research competence needed to successfully conduct research, it is important that assessors of doctoral programs (e.g., faculty and staff) have a reliable and validated tool for measuring and tracking perceived research competence among their students and graduates. A high level of research competence is expected for all Ph.D. graduates worldwide, in addition to in all disciplines/fields. Moreover, graduates of Ph.D. programs may complete their studies in one country but then obtain a research position in another country, emphasizing the need to ensure that all doctoral programs are fostering similar levels of research competence. Thus, the purpose of this study was to gather additional evidence for validity and reliability of the Research Competence (R-Comp) scale. Specifically, we sought to extend the findings of by adapting the scale, translating it to other languages, and applying the tool with a sample of early stage researchers. Our findings provide initial evidence that the adapted PR-Comp is appropriate for use in three languages and across a variety of disciplines/programs of study.

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“…Providing doctoral students with opportunities to do research early in their program is consistent with providing a research training environment that is positive and productive (Gelso, 2006). Additionally, doctoral students need to show high levels of research self-efficacy based on research knowledge, the research training environment, research mentoring, and interest in research (Poh & Kanesan Abdullah, 2019). Lamar et al (2019) noted the development of courses related to research topics of choice, analyzing data, and writing papers are good strategies for improving research selfefficacy.…”

Section: Research Self-efficacymentioning

confidence: 94%

Examining Educational Leadership Doctoral Students’ Self-Efficacy as Related to Their Role as a Scholarly Practitioner Researcher

McBrayer

Fallon

Tolman

et al. 2021

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: This study examined an educational leadership doctoral preparation program to better understand how students’ self-efficacy evolves from the lens of a scholarly practitioner researcher as they progress through specified checkpoints to degree completion. The aim was to identify what factors contributed to building scholarly practitioner researcher skills and what factors hindered the development of doctoral students as they progressed through their educational leadership preparation program. Background: Doctoral programs have the highest attrition of graduate programs, with almost half of the successful students taking six to seven years to complete. Thus, educational leadership doctoral preparation programs must find ways to enhance students’ perceived capability in an effort to facilitate their progress through the program in a timely manner. The researchers believe having high research self-efficacy coupled with evidence-based practices to strengthen scholarly practitioner research skills may be a contributor to effective program progression if viewed from the lens of a scholarly practitioner researcher. Methodology: A mixed-methods study utilizing an ex-post-facto research design based on descriptive statistics coupled with an analysis of qualitative data examined students’ perceived self-efficacy of educational leadership doctoral students in relation to their rate of progression. Contribution: This study provides other doctoral programs a lens into the importance of maintaining students’ high self-efficacy, specifically in the area of scholarly practitioner research to ensure efficient progression through the program to completion in a timely manner. Findings: Educational leadership doctoral students in the specified cohorts reported high self-efficacy at the pre-, mid-, and post-assessment checkpoints in the program during their coursework tier, and findings revealed this high self-efficacy was sustained throughout this progression to the dissertation tier. Four overarching narrative themes influencing students self-efficacy in scholarly practitioner research were identified as Social Support, Academic Challenges, Discipline, Effort, and Motivation, and Personal Challenges. Recommendations for Practitioners: Educational leadership and related doctoral programs should consider using a scholarly practitioner researcher approach. This focus may lead to faster rates of degree completion and better prepared students to solve problems of practice in their practitioner settings. Recommendation for Researchers: While the results are promising in support of evidence-based practices to prepare scholarly practitioner researchers, in turn sustaining or supporting high levels of self-efficacy may prove impactful, thus warranting further research. Impact on Society: Ensuring high levels of self-efficacy may help students to complete their doctoral degree in a timelier manner due to the perception they are capable of program completion and may also, better prepare students to serve as scholarly practitioner researchers in their educational settings. Future Research: Future research should continue longitudinally to examine self-efficacy from the lens of a scholarly practitioner researcher to better understand how this shapes doctoral students’ efforts and capabilities in their doctoral work from admit to program completion. Additionally, future research can quantitively assess a model identifying the relationship between self-efficacy and the four identified themes for the development of doctoral students’ research skills as scholarly practitioners.

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Factors Influencing Students’ Research Self-Efficacy: A Case Study of University Students in Malaysia

Cited by 13 publications

References 38 publications

Information Literacy, Research Self-Efficacy, and Research Productivity of Doctoral Students in Universities in Ogun State, Nigeria

Information Literacy, Research Self-Efficacy, and Research Productivity of Doctoral Students in Universities in Ogun State, Nigeria

Measuring Perceived Research Competence of Junior Researchers

Examining Educational Leadership Doctoral Students’ Self-Efficacy as Related to Their Role as a Scholarly Practitioner Researcher

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