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Bakalauro baigiamųjų darbų rengimas. Procedūros ir toleruojama realybė
Likša, Liutauras |
Bukantaitė, Daiva |
Date Issued |
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2014 |
Tyrimo objektu pasirinkus baigiamojo darbo rengimo procesą, straipsnyje keliamas tikslas: atskleisti baigiamojo bakalauro darbo rengimo procedūros problematiką. Atliktas tyrimas parodė, kad baigiamieji bakalauro studijų rašto darbai iš principo reikalavimams atitinka. Mažiausiai nukrypstama nuo formalių darbo reikalavimų, dažname darbe stebimas reikalavimų neatitinkantis darbo maketas. Vertinant struktūrinių darbo dalių išpildymą, išskirtinas tyrimo parametrų korektiškumas, tačiau pasigendama teisingo citavimo, reikalavimus atitinkančio literatūros sąrašo pateikimo, atskirų struktūrinių dalių apibendrinimų. Dėstytojų ir studentų požiūris į baigiamųjų bakalauro studijų rašto darbų rengimo procedūrą labai panašus. Konsultacijų nepakankamumai, per reti tarpiniai atsiskaitymai, darbo plano nesilaikymas, motyvacijos stoka, reikiamų įgūdžių arba galimybių susirasti tinkamą literatūrą stoka, atsainus požiūris, darbo rengimas nesąžiningais būdais, vertinimo kriterijų nebuvimas, išskirtinos pagrindinėmis problemomis.
Bachelor thesis is the final assignment to a student who has been studying for several years to get a chosen degree. It encompasses one’s whole experience of both practical and theoretical knowledge that has been accumulated throughout the studies. Since the very start a student is constantly engaged in acquiring knowledge and experience that allows him to single out the most intriguing and relevant topic to be further analyzed. The scientific input is directed not only towards a positive evaluation, assessment of qualification or graduation, but also towards expanding the scientific literature which provides the scientific community with a faster and deeper insight into a particular topic. Each adequate and meticulous study is a new impulse for further research; whereas each underprepared, underdeveloped or fraudulent thesis has no value for the field of research (Žydžiūnaitė, V., 2012). If the thesis is prepared carelessly and without ambition, it loses its meaning and becomes only a procedure by which the studies are being completed. To what extent does this procedure reflect its own goals? Does it not miss the requirements of academic integrity as understood not only by plagiarizing the published material of other authors, but also by irresponsible and unethical research that breaches the accepted academic norms? What is the value of such a research or, simply speaking, a procedure? How much of the responsibility is to be attributed to the supervisors, reviewers and the members of the evaluation committee? The main focus of the paper being the process of the preparation of a thesis, it aims to reveal the problems behind the final bachelor's preparation procedures. In order to achieve this aim, the following goals are being sought after:
- To evaluate the final bachelor's degree theses.
- To depict the perspectives of both students and teachers on the procedure for preparing the final Bachelor’s theses. An analysis of scientific literature was carried out to achieve the aim of the study. It was accompanied by two qualitative research methods: qualitative analysis of the content of the documents and semi-structured interviews. It was found that:
- Bachelor's final theses in principle meet the requirements. The least deviation is found in the formal requirements: number of pages, the amount of structural components, the number of bibliographical references, the presentation of summaries and annexes. A trend in increasing the volume of a work has also been observed. A non-compliant document layout has been noticed, especially in the presentation of its Contents. Evaluation of the structural parts reveals a correctness of the research parameters, but a lack of bibliographical precision and ability to summarize the structural parts of the work. Students most often opt for two research methods: analysis of the scientific literature and interviews or questionnaires.
- The teachers’ and students’ approach to the final bachelor's thesis preparation procedure is very similar. The main problems include: the lack of consultations, too spaced-out intermediate evaluations, failure to comply with a devised plan, lack of motivation, required skills or possibility to find the needed literature, lack of responsibility and cheating. The quality of the research depends on the relationship between the student and the supervisor. According to the account, it varies between indifference or cynicism and engagement, joy or discovery.