Does Research Background Matter? Supervisory Experiences with a Thesis and Non-thesis Post-graduate Students

Abstract

Supervision of the research students is not a trouble-free task. It becomes more challenging when supervisors confront the students of varying potential to carry out the research during the process of the thesis. The researchers sought to explore the supervisory experience of post-graduate (M.Phil) students who had done a thesis and those who had not done a thesis in their last degree. Eleven supervisors of different universities in Punjab, Pakistan participated in this study. The participants were aged from 40 to 60 years and most of them were working as assistant professors. The interview method was used for collecting the data and were analyzed through coding, categorizing and describing the emerging themes from the interview transcripts. The results indicated that M.Phil students with a thesis in their last academic degree were found to be comparatively ‘better’ than non-thesis students regarding the conceptual understanding of the research process, using software, confidence and communication skills and they required less supervisory support. The results were presented in the form of emergent themes that described supervisory experiences with these two types of MPhil students. The study has implications for supervisors and research students, particularly for the non-thesis students who require additional skills to pursue their research degrees.           

Keywords: Thesis students, non-thesis students, higher education, supervisory

experience, supervisory support