Ph.D. prepared: research skill development across the undergraduate years
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(Published Version)
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2016
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Willison, J.
Buisman-Pijlman, F.
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Journal article
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International Journal for Researcher Development, 2016; 7(1):63-83
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John Willison, Femke Buisman-Pijlman
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Abstract
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.
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© John Willison and Femke Buisman-Pijlman. 2016 Published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 3.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial & non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/legalcode