Student satisfaction with a web-based dissertation course: Findings from an international distance learning master's programme in public health

Introduction Online distance learning (e-learning) is now an established method for providing higher education, in the UK and across the world. The focus has largely been on developing the technology, and less attention has been given to developing evidence-informed course provision. Thus the effe...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Roger Harrison, Isla Gemmell, Katie Reed
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Athabasca University Press 2014
Materias:	supervision dissertations thesis masters degree postgraduate satisfaction Special aspects of education LC8-6691
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/2afd1a4e52fd4a75bc1101353dfdbe24
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:2afd1a4e52fd4a75bc1101353dfdbe24
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:2afd1a4e52fd4a75bc1101353dfdbe242021-12-02T18:03:17ZStudent satisfaction with a web-based dissertation course: Findings from an international distance learning master's programme in public health10.19173/irrodl.v15i1.16651492-3831https://doaj.org/article/2afd1a4e52fd4a75bc1101353dfdbe242014-01-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1665https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831 Introduction Online distance learning (e-learning) is now an established method for providing higher education, in the UK and across the world. The focus has largely been on developing the technology, and less attention has been given to developing evidence-informed course provision. Thus the effectiveness of this teaching approach, and its acceptability to students, is, at times, uncertain. Many higher education courses require students to submit a dissertation. Traditional face-to-face courses will include meetings between the student and an allocated supervisor, to support the dissertation component of the course. Research into the supervisory relationship and student satisfaction has focused on doctoral students. Little is known about the experiences of students studying for a master’s degree. The aim of the current study was to measure student satisfaction with the dissertation course as part of a fully online distance learning master’s programme in public health. Methods All students submitting a dissertation as part of their master’s programme in Public Health were sent an electronic survey to complete, in September 2012. The 34 item questionnaire used a four point Likert scale for students to rate levels of satisfaction across key components of the course, including preparatory materials, study skills, and support, and with the amount and content of supervision. Open ended/free text questions were used to determine factors associated with levels of satisfaction and to gain student feedback on the course overall. The constant comparative method was used to identify key themes from the free-text responses. Results Of the 45 students submitting a dissertation, 82% (37) responded to the survey. The majority of students, 85% (28) were satisfied or very satisfied with the dissertation course overall. Levels of satisfaction remained high for many of the components examined. Differences were observed for part time and full time students, and for the type of dissertation, but these were not significant. Similarly, non significant findings were observed for associations between satisfaction and the estimated number of contacts initiated with their supervisor, and for the time spent working on their dissertation. The constant comparative analysis identified key themes and feedback included ‘self development’, ‘peer support’, and ‘writing skills’. Conclusions Generally high levels of satisfaction were received from students studying a dissertation course as part of a fully online distance learning programme in public health. Areas for further improvement were identified and the results act as a benchmark for future quality enhancement. These findings suggest that appropriate information, study skills, and supervisory support can be provided in an online distance learning programme, for students taking a master’s level dissertation course. Roger HarrisonIsla GemmellKatie ReedAthabasca University Pressarticlesupervisiondissertationsthesismasters degreepostgraduatesatisfactionSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691ENInternational Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Vol 15, Iss 1 (2014)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	supervision dissertations thesis masters degree postgraduate satisfaction Special aspects of education LC8-6691
spellingShingle	supervision dissertations thesis masters degree postgraduate satisfaction Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Roger Harrison Isla Gemmell Katie Reed Student satisfaction with a web-based dissertation course: Findings from an international distance learning master's programme in public health
description	Introduction Online distance learning (e-learning) is now an established method for providing higher education, in the UK and across the world. The focus has largely been on developing the technology, and less attention has been given to developing evidence-informed course provision. Thus the effectiveness of this teaching approach, and its acceptability to students, is, at times, uncertain. Many higher education courses require students to submit a dissertation. Traditional face-to-face courses will include meetings between the student and an allocated supervisor, to support the dissertation component of the course. Research into the supervisory relationship and student satisfaction has focused on doctoral students. Little is known about the experiences of students studying for a master’s degree. The aim of the current study was to measure student satisfaction with the dissertation course as part of a fully online distance learning master’s programme in public health. Methods All students submitting a dissertation as part of their master’s programme in Public Health were sent an electronic survey to complete, in September 2012. The 34 item questionnaire used a four point Likert scale for students to rate levels of satisfaction across key components of the course, including preparatory materials, study skills, and support, and with the amount and content of supervision. Open ended/free text questions were used to determine factors associated with levels of satisfaction and to gain student feedback on the course overall. The constant comparative method was used to identify key themes from the free-text responses. Results Of the 45 students submitting a dissertation, 82% (37) responded to the survey. The majority of students, 85% (28) were satisfied or very satisfied with the dissertation course overall. Levels of satisfaction remained high for many of the components examined. Differences were observed for part time and full time students, and for the type of dissertation, but these were not significant. Similarly, non significant findings were observed for associations between satisfaction and the estimated number of contacts initiated with their supervisor, and for the time spent working on their dissertation. The constant comparative analysis identified key themes and feedback included ‘self development’, ‘peer support’, and ‘writing skills’. Conclusions Generally high levels of satisfaction were received from students studying a dissertation course as part of a fully online distance learning programme in public health. Areas for further improvement were identified and the results act as a benchmark for future quality enhancement. These findings suggest that appropriate information, study skills, and supervisory support can be provided in an online distance learning programme, for students taking a master’s level dissertation course.
format	article
author	Roger Harrison Isla Gemmell Katie Reed
author_facet	Roger Harrison Isla Gemmell Katie Reed
author_sort	Roger Harrison
title	Student satisfaction with a web-based dissertation course: Findings from an international distance learning master's programme in public health
title_short	Student satisfaction with a web-based dissertation course: Findings from an international distance learning master's programme in public health
title_full	Student satisfaction with a web-based dissertation course: Findings from an international distance learning master's programme in public health
title_fullStr	Student satisfaction with a web-based dissertation course: Findings from an international distance learning master's programme in public health
title_full_unstemmed	Student satisfaction with a web-based dissertation course: Findings from an international distance learning master's programme in public health
title_sort	student satisfaction with a web-based dissertation course: findings from an international distance learning master's programme in public health
publisher	Athabasca University Press
publishDate	2014
url	https://doaj.org/article/2afd1a4e52fd4a75bc1101353dfdbe24
work_keys_str_mv	AT rogerharrison studentsatisfactionwithawebbaseddissertationcoursefindingsfromaninternationaldistancelearningmastersprogrammeinpublichealth AT islagemmell studentsatisfactionwithawebbaseddissertationcoursefindingsfromaninternationaldistancelearningmastersprogrammeinpublichealth AT katiereed studentsatisfactionwithawebbaseddissertationcoursefindingsfromaninternationaldistancelearningmastersprogrammeinpublichealth
_version_	1718378741101494272

Student satisfaction with a web-based dissertation course: Findings from an international distance learning master's programme in public health

Ejemplares similares