INTRODUCTION
The goal of most postgraduate programs is to adapt the student to acquire
knowledge available in the desired discipline, and also train to be committed
to the search for new knowledge and new approaches as it relates to that field
of study. Academic writing is therefore an
essential element of the training, so important as to warrant inclusion of
dissertation / thesis submission as a prerequisite for completion of the said
program. The postgraduate program may be academic or professional, culminating
in a master’s degree, PhD, professional certificates or diploma, etc., for which
a first degree or bachelor is often required before enrolment into the program.
Postgraduate training, dating back to the 1880s, started with a concept
intended for teachers’ education 1. Postgraduate training lays the foundation for sustenance of educational
institutions. A typical example is the medical / surgical specialties where the
little effort of the New York Polyclinic and the New York Post-Graduate
contributed to shaping specialization and postgraduate medical training in
America 2.
Academic
writing scripted in a way that carries a message, in a manner intended by the
author and understood by the reading public without ambiguity, is a learned act
and not easy to accomplish even among graduate students. In settings where
English is not their first language, graduate students are known to encounter
some challenges as reported in Malaysia, necessitating a call for special
programmes to meet academic writing needs 3. Incorporation of academic writing development programme into Masters’
degree of the Biological Sciences was reported to have resulted in remarkable
reduction in plagiarism rates compared to previous years 4. Peculiar challenges, including tensions and apprehensions have been
reported as graduate students navigate the difficult terrain of acquiring the
culture of academic writing, especially among international students in the
United Kingdom 5 and the United States 6. Some students go the extra mile of contracting private tutors to
improve on their academic writing skills 7.
In a bid to
improve the academic writing skills of postgraduate students and lecturers
alike, some universities organized research methods and reference management
software workshops in the academic community. In the Nigerian setting, issues
of academic writing among postgraduate students have been in the public space.
A positive relationship has been reported between the level of training and
awareness of plagiarism among postgraduate students 8. A study done in Ogun State Nigeria found some negative impact of social
media chatting on formal academic writing, in terms of students’ importation of
informal communication styles of social media in formal Writing 9. Also barriers to research among graduate students in African
universities have been mentioned in some studies 10, 11. What are the peculiar challenges with postgraduates and academic
writing as it affects Port Harcourt? What could be done to improve academic
writing among graduate students in our environment? This study evaluated academic
writing and its associated challenges among post-graduate students in Port
Harcourt, Nigeria.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among students
undergoing postgraduate training (Masters, PhD) in Port Harcourt over a period
of three years (2019-2021), using self-administered questionnaire. The
institutions of postgraduate trainings used for the study were three
universities – the University of Port Harcourt (Federal
Government institution), the Rivers State University and Ignatius Ajuru
University (both State Government institution); and two teaching hospitals - the
University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (Federal operated), the Rivers
State University Teaching Hospital (State-owned); all located in Port Harcourt
the capital city of Rivers State.
The minimum
sample size of 400 was determined using the formula for survey developed by Taro
Yamane based on the estimated population of postgraduate students in Port Harcourt
estimated to be 2.5million (about 500 for each institution). n 
where n = minimum sample size, N = Estimated
Total population size (of Researchers) and e = desired precision / level of
significance, usually 5% (0.05) at 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Hence, n = 2,500,000/ 1+2,500,000 X 0.052
= 399.9 being approximately 400. The multi-stage sampling method was used to distribute a total of 700 semi-structured
questionnaires. Each university / institution was allocated a quota of questionnaires,
and a certain quota was allocated to selected department in each institution using
the systematic sampling method. The questionnaires were thereafter distributed
to identified postgraduate students in their class rooms and clinics in the
selected departments using the convenience sampling method. The Cronbach alpha (in SPSS) was used for the reliability of the study
instrument (0.730). Data
obtained was entered into Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet, formed into tables and
analyzed using the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)
version 25.0. Chi- square test was used for statistical significance and
logistic regression (odd ratio) for association between variables.
RESULTS
Out of 700 questionnaires distributed, 612 were retrieved (response rate =
87.4%).
Table 6 shows the relationship between ever
published a paper in a journal and impediment to academic writing. The
relationship between lack of funds for research and ever published a paper in a
journal was statistical significantly (p= 0.002). Also
significant, were the relationship between “ever published” and non-attendance
of seminars (p= 0.000), poor computer knowledge (p= 0.000), poor knowledge of referencing (p=
0.000), and lack of time for research (p= 0.000) respectively.
DISCUSSION
Enrolment in
postgraduate program is potentially an indirect expression of interest in being
part of the body of academicians that would shape the faith of the society by
way of teaching the next generation, researching to improve on the present and
the future, and carrying out community services to improve the quality of life
of a people. The respondents in this study were postgraduate degree students
that cut across different disciplines. A wide age range is seen in this study as
majority of respondents were within the age range of 25 and 44 years, with a
peak at 30-34years. This is unlike the graduate students in China who are
mostly in their early 20s and 30s 12, and hence have more years of productive service after post-graduate
training before retirement. More than half of the respondents were males, and
more than half were single. This can be explained from the fact that the study
was carried out in predominantly Christian Southern Nigeria that is known to be
associated with a relatively late age at marriage 13, male predominance in this study align with the already documented
gender disparity in Africa affected by cultural, sociological, economical,
psychological, historical, and political factors 14. However, recent change in trend have been reported in some parts of
Africa.15 Postgraduate students undergoing Master’s Degree dominated the
respondents, and most were at the University of Port Harcourt (UPH). This is
expected as it is natural for the number to reduce with increasing
specialization.
We found that
majority (76.3%) of the respondents had published at least one paper. This
finding is higher than what was reported among postgraduate students of nine
universities in South-Eastern Nigeria where only 23% of the respondents had
published a scholarly paper 16. The content of postgraduate academic publications were the commonly
published articles of thesis / dissertations and original articles, and
experimental studies (amongst others) also dominated the publications by
postgraduate students. The implication of these findings is that postgraduate
students restricted themselves to publishing articles on their dissertations / thesis
because it is a requirement for graduation. Limited ability of postgraduate
students to fund their researches would also probably have led to publications
restricted to their thesis. To improve publication skills, less than half of
postgraduate students engaged in reading journal articles, using research
guide, attending academic conferences, improving their knowledge of computer,
and using audio-visual research aids.
Most of our respondents
were already proficient in the use of the computer. The computer and
information era may have partly accounted for this finding, especially with
availability of computer-based research tools that boost productivity in
literature search, writing (e.g. ChatGPT, WordTune), grammar and paraphrasing,
citations, illustrations, and digital data (qualitative and qualitative). However,
although these and other artificial intelligence-based tools have greatly
improved access to information and writing, there are reports about thei17r use and misuse in academic writing.17-20 A direct relationship has been found between computer literacy skills
and access to e-resources by postgraduates 21, 22, and these e-sources are necessary for needed for academic scholarly
publications. However, a study done in India showed that postgraduate students
use internet services for social networking than for academic purposes 23. With this information, it implies that it is not just enough to know
how to use the computer, but also this knowledge should be directed to
beneficial academic scholarly works. Most postgraduate students in our study
used some form of aids in publications, and were collaborating with colleagues
for publication. The workshops organized by universities and training medical
colleges on research methods and use of reference management software in our
environment might have contributed to this finding. It is interesting to note
that the use of information and technology platforms has broaden avenues for collaboration
among scientists in education to include even social media 24. Different disciplines are involved in collaborations for different
purposes 25-28.
Most sections
of research work were considered challenging however, literature search,
research methodology, and conceptualization of research idea were topmost in
the opinion of many respondents. The findings of this study is similar to what
was observed among the legal profession,
where inadequacy in the teaching of legal research methods and methodology were
identified as major impediment to effective legal academic writing in Nigeria 29. In another study done in Rivers State among postgraduate education
students, it was observed that proficiency in research writing / information
seeking was high but that of methodological skill was low 30. The issues considered impediments were also numerous, however, rated
top on the list by respondents were lack of funds for research, lack of time
for research, poor knowledge of computer use, poor knowledge of reference
management software, societal distractions, and lack of collaboration. The trio
issues of funds and lack of time and societal distractions which are topmost in
this study are related, and may imply that most postgraduate students were
probably engrossed with some other work to generate funds for living, such that
they did not have enough time for academic issues. The fact that these postgraduate
students in our study were both full time and part time students strengthens
this thinking, especially in an era of general economic down-turn. However,
there was statistically significant relationship between “ever published” and
non-attendance of seminars, poor computer knowledge, poor knowledge of
referencing, lack of time for research, and lack of funds for research
respectively. The relationship between ever published and societal distractions
was not statistically significant.
The
challenges therefore may be dynamic, time-related and vary with discipline
under consideration. It is instructive to note that the legal study in
reference was all inclusive without isolating issues among postgraduate
students.
Study Limitations: The quality of scholarly publications of
postgraduate students could not be evaluated in this study, and is subject for
further studies. Also, our study did not indicate the type of services that
postgraduate students use their knowledge of computer for as it relates to
academic scholarly publications.
CONCLUSION
Although postgraduate students do engage in academic research publications which are
mostly their dissertations / thesis, there are constraints / impediments that
negatively affect the ability of up-coming academicians to fully contribute to
developing the society, bothering on postgraduate research funding and
structural components of academic research.
Recommendations: There is need to intensify on the efforts being made by universities and
colleges in organizing research workshops to improve on skills for research
methods and reference management usage for academic writing. Funding for
postgraduate research should be looked into by relevant government agencies for
public good. Provision of incentives for academic research work would an
attraction to increase participation of postgraduate students.
OTHER INFORMATION
Acknowledgement: We acknowledge the efforts of our field officers in the who worked to ensure
proper data collection for this study. Also, the lecturers and students who spent
their precious time filling the questionnaires that generated the data for this
study.
Ethical
Considerations: Approval of the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Port
Harcourt Teaching Hospital obtained. Confidentiality of information was ensured
during data collection.
Conflict of
Interest: None declared
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