Choice matters: an investigation of students’ experiences selecting dissertation projects
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi27.923Keywords:
self-efficacy, engagement, motivation, final-year projectAbstract
The final year dissertation is an important part of an undergraduate degree which delivers a wide range of subject-specific and transferable skills. It plays a significant part in students’ learning development and overall experience of university. Finding the right project is emotionally important to students and may underpin their subsequent motivation and engagement. Little is known, however, about how students make this important choice. This study aimed to learn more about students’ experiences of choosing a dissertation, how their choice processes varied and whether their choices worked out well for them. It surveyed 150 undergraduates in natural sciences at a UK university, asking a mix of qualitative and quantitative questions. Findings indicate that students value a range of factors when choosing their dissertation, most prominently interest in the subject and approach but also their existing familiarity with the area, the perceived benefits and demands of the work and staff support. Multivariate analysis suggests a variety of choice processes are in operation, with some students valuing content factors and others trading these off against relational ones. With hindsight, 91 respondents (60.7%) felt their choice process had worked well and 87 (58%) would choose the same way again. A subset, however, had felt unprepared to choose, and some of these were particularly unhappy with the outcome. The implication for learning development is that helping students learn to make conscious and informed choices and making dissertation modules student-centric is likely to significantly improve engagement and learning, especially for the less confident.
References
Bipp, T., Steinmayr, R. and Spinath, B. (2008) ‘Personality and achievement motivation: Relationship among Big Five domain and facet scales, achievement goals, and intelligence’’ Personality and Individual Differences 44(7), pp. 1454–1464. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PAID.2008.01.001
Bland, J.M. and Altman, D.G. (1995) ‘Multiple significance tests: the Bonferroni method’, BMJ 310(6973), p. 170. https://doi.org/10.1136/BMJ.310.6973.170
Clark, M.H. and Schroth, C.A. (2010) ‘Examining relationships between academic motivation and personality among college students’, Learning and Individual Differences 20(1), pp. 19–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LINDIF.2009.10.002
Clark, M.H., Middleton, S.C., Nguyen, D. and Zwick, L.K.(2014) ‘Mediating relationships between academic motivation, academic integration and academic performance’, Learning and Individual Differences 33, pp. 30–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LINDIF.2014.04.007
Cooper, K.M., Gin, L.E., Akeeh, B., Clark, C.E., Hunter, J.S., Roderick, T.B., Elliott, D.B., Gutierrez, L.A., Mello, R.M., Pfeiffer, L.D., Scott, R.A., Arellano, D., Ramirez, D., Valdez, E.M., Vargas, C., Velarde, K., Zheng, Y. and Brownell, S.E.(2019) ‘Factors that predict life sciences student persistence in undergraduate research experiences’, PLoS ONE 14(8), e0220186. https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0220186
Derounian, J. (2011) ‘Shall we dance? The importance of staff-student relationships to undergraduate dissertation preparation’, Active Learning in Higher Education 12(2), pp. 91–100. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787411402437
Dewey, J. (1916) Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education. New York: The Macmillan Company.
Dollinger, M., Lodge, J. and Coates, H. (2018) ‘Co-creation in higher education: towards a conceptual model’, Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 28(2), pp. 210–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2018.1466756
Elsharnouby, T.H. (2015) ‘Student co-creation behavior in higher education: the role of satisfaction with the university experience’, Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 25(2), pp. 238–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2015.1059919
Feather, D., Anchor, J.R. and Cowton, C.J. (2014) ‘Supervisors’ perceptions of the value of the undergraduate dissertation’, The International Journal of Management Education, 12(1), pp. 14–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJME.2013.06.002
de Feyter, T., Caers, R., Vigna, C. and Berings, D.(2012) ‘Unraveling the impact of the Big Five personality traits on academic performance: The moderating and mediating effects of self-efficacy and academic motivation’, Learning and Individual Differences 22(4), pp. 439–448. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LINDIF.2012.03.013
Fredricks, J.A., Blumenfeld, P.C. and Paris, A.H. (2004) ‘School Engagement: Potential of the Concept, State of the Evidence’, Review of Educational Research 74(1), pp. 59–109. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059
Gibbs, G. (2010) Dimensions of quality. York: Higher Education Academy. Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/dimensions-quality (Accessed: August 12, 2022).
Greenbank, P., Penketh, C., Schofield, M. and Turjansky, T.(2008) ‘The undergraduate dissertation: ‘most likely you go your way and I’ll go mine’,’ The International Journal for Quality and Standards 2(6), pp. 139–162. Available at: www.bsieducation.org/ijqs (Accessed: June 5, 2022).
Greenbank, P. and Penketh, C. (2009) ‘Student autonomy and reflections on researching and writing the undergraduate dissertation’, Journal of Further and Higher Education 33(4), pp. 463–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098770903272537
Hanauer, D.I., Frederick, J., Fotinakes, B. and Strobel, S.A.(2017) ‘Linguistic Analysis of Project Ownership for Undergraduate Research Experiences’, CBE – Life Sciences Education 11(4), pp. 378–385. https://doi.org/10.1187/CBE.12-04-0043
Harland, J., Pitt, S. and Saunders, V. (2005) ‘Factors affecting student choice of the undergraduate research project: staff and student perceptions’, Bioscience Education 5(1), pp. 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3108/BEEJ.2005.05000004
Healey, M., Lannin, L., Derounian, J., and Stibbe, A. with Bray, S., Deane, J., Hill, S., Keane, J. and Simmons, C. (2012) Rethinking final year projects and dissertations. York: Higher Education Academy.
Healey, M., Lannin, L., Stibbe, A. and Derounian, J.(2013) Developing and enhancing undergraduate final-year projects and dissertations. York: The Higher Education Academy. Available at: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/hea/private/resources/ntfs_project_gloucestershire_2010_final_0_1568037223.pdf (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
Henrie, C.R., Halverson, L.R. and Graham, C.R. (2015) ‘Measuring student engagement in technology-mediated learning: A review’, Computers & Education 90, pp. 36–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COMPEDU.2015.09.005
Honicke, T. and Broadbent, J. (2016) ‘The influence of academic self-efficacy on academic performance: A systematic review’, Educational Research Review 17, pp. 63–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EDUREV.2015.11.002
Hussain, S., Gamage, K.A.A., Sagor, M.H., Tariq, F., Ma, L. and Imran, M.A. (2019) ‘A Systematic Review of Project Allocation Methods in Undergraduate Transnational Engineering Education’, Education Sciences 9(4), p. 258. https://doi.org/10.3390/EDUCSCI9040258
Kiger, M.E. and Varpio, L. (2020) ‘Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131’, Medical Teacher 42(8). https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030
Krishnan, S. (2021) “Without failure, it’s just not research”: investigating undergraduate students’ experiences of scientific failure in research settings. Unpublished PhD Dissertation: The University of Georgia.
McGeown, S.P., Putwain, D., Simpson, E.G., Boffey, E., Markham, J. and Vince, A. (2014) ‘Predictors of adolescents’ academic motivation: Personality, self-efficacy and adolescents’ characteristics’, Learning and Individual Differences 32, pp. 278–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LINDIF.2014.03.022
Milner-Bolotin, M. (2001) The effects of topic choice in project-based instruction on undergraduate physical science students’ interest, ownership, and motivation. Unpublished PhD Dissertation: University of Texas at Austin.
Mood, A.M. (1950) Introduction to the theory of statistics. New York: McGraw-Hill. Available at: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1950-05609-000 (Accessed: August 14, 2022).
Sellahewa, W.N. and Samarasinghe, T.D. (2021) ‘The factors influencing on student choice of undergraduate research project’, in International Conference on Business Research, pp. 137-142. University of Moratuwa: Sri Lanka.
Shadforth, T. and Harvey, B. (2003) ‘The undergraduate dissertation: subject centred or student centred?’, Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods 2(2), pp. 145–152. Available at: https://academic-publishing.org/index.php/ejbrm/article/view/1183 (Accessed: June 5, 2022).
Strandler, O., Johansson, T., Wisker, G. and Claesson, S. (2014) ‘Supervisor or counsellor? – Emotional boundary work in supervision’, International Journal for Researcher Development 5(2), pp. 70–82. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRD-03-2014-0002
Sun, X. and Holt, D. (2022) ‘Student engagement and voice in higher education: students’ perceptions’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education [Preprint] (23). https://doi.org/10.47408/JLDHE.VI23.838
Todd, M., Bannister, P. and Clegg, S. (2000) ‘Independent inquiry and the undergraduate dissertation: perceptions and experiences of final‐year social science students’, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 29(3), pp. 335–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/0260293042000188285
van Blankenstein, F.M., Saab, N., van der Rijst, R.M., Danel, M.S., Bakker-van den Berg, A.S. and van den Broek, P.W. (2019) ‘How do self-efficacy beliefs for academic writing and collaboration and intrinsic motivation for academic writing and research develop during an undergraduate research project?’, Educational Studies 45(2), pp. 209–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2018.1446326
Wilson, A., Howitt, S., Wilson, K. and Roberts, P. (2012) ‘Academics’ perceptions of the purpose of undergraduate research experiences in a research-intensive degree’, Studies in Higher Education 37(5), pp. 513–526. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2010.527933
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
