Deficiencies in defended theses in higher education institutions: And so what?

Abstract

Research requires the application of specific methodologies to specific problems. With many textbooks and articles written on the selection and application of appropriate methodologies to specific research problems, one is puzzled to find that research carried out and reported by students of higher education institutions is plagued with various deficiencies. One may ask: “and so what?” If research has to be actualized, then we have to be concerned about the quality of the research. The results observed in students' research projects and theses suggest issues associated with the teaching, learning, and application of various research methodologies. Although some will attribute blame to teachers and others to students or both students and teachers, in this paper, we don't do not attempt to validate any of these attributions. Rather, our aim is to characterize qualitatively, the issues leading to, and/or associated with deficiencies of, poor quality research; and hopefully stimulate academic discussion that will place both teachers and learners in a position of candid and objective self-assessment that can enable appropriate corrective actions in future research. We examined 1000 projects and theses selected from a database of 1812 research projects defended in three higher education institutions of learning in Cameroon over a period of three years (2016-2018) in the fields of business, management, education, and information technology (IT). We focused on the rationale and type of research, method of data collection and analysis, assumptions, and analytical tools and techniques. Results of the study point to prevailing issues including methodological misconceptions, lack of rigor and non-adherence to research ethics. We conclude the paper with discussions, clarifications, and recommendations for teachers and learners on how to avoid and possibly eliminate these issues and deficiencies in future research. Future research directions include testing hypotheses relating to teaching and learning methods prune to deficiencies in higher education research and reporting.