Common Errors and Difficulties Faced in Preparing Theses and Dissertations among Postgraduate Students at the Faculties of Education, Yemeni Universities

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating common errors made and difficulties faced by postgraduate students in the departments of curricula and teaching methods, Faculties of Education in Yemeni universities when preparing their theses and dissertations. To achieve this, the study followed both qualitative and quantitative methods. A questionnaire was administrated to (36) faculty members and a semi-structured interview was administrated with (30) postgraduate students. The study findings showed that the degree of common errors in preparing theses and dissertations among postgraduate students was high. Moreover, the findings of the interview showed that the most important difficulties faced by students were:  choosing the thesis title, limited skills of conducting research and Internet search, writing the introduction sequentially and clearly determining the study problem.  Other problems included lack of modern sources and references, writing research questions or formulating research hypotheses, the confusion between the significance and research objectives, the difficulty of determining the appropriate sample method,  building the research tools, analyzing data, as well as the difficulty of using English. Moreover, difficulties related to the supervisor included:   the supervisor’s other commitments, which led to allocating insufficient time for the student, and providing late feedback or providing ambiguous comments to students.