Investigasi Faktor-Faktor yang Mempengaruhi Kualitas Tulisan Ilmiah Mahasiswa

Penelitian ini didasari dengan adanya kebutuhan untuk mengevaluasi capaian pembelajaran mata kuliah yang berada dalam kategori Writing Skill, seperti: Paragraph Writing, Composition and Essay Writing, Argumentative Writing, dan Thesis Writing. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi kualitas tulisan ilmiah mahasiswa. Desain penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah rancangan penelitian deskriptif. Data penelitian dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan angket dan panduan wawancara. Yang menjadi partisipan dalam penelitian ini adalah alumni (lulusan) Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan (FKIP) Universitas Lancang Kuning (UNILAK) pada Tahun Akademik 2020/2021. Jumlah alumni tersebut adalah sebanyak 36 orang. Data yang telah dikumpulkan melalui angket dan wawancara dianalisis secara deskriptif. Hasil penelitian ini menujukkan bahwa, terdapat faktor eksternal dan internal yang menghambat keterampilan menulis mahasiswa. Hal ini didukung oleh data dari wawancara bahwa kesulitan mahasiswa dalam menulis tulisan ilmiah itu, secara umumnya memang dipengaruhi oleh faktor eksternal dan internal tadi, seperti kurangnya rasa percaya diri, kurangnya pengetahuan dalam menemukan referensi bacaan, kurangnya pengetahuan dalam hal penggunaan tata bahasa, kosakata, dan mekanisme penulisan yang benar, serta minimnya waktu untuk latihan menulis. Berdasarkan temuan ini, dapat disimpulkan bahwa faktor eksternal dan internal menjadi faktor penentu dan yang paling berpengaruh terhadap kualitas tulisan ilmiah mahasiswa.

DELVING INTO ENGLISH AS A FOREGIN LANGUAGE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON THESIS WRITING REFERENCING SYSTEM

This research aimed to investigate undergraduate EFL students’ perception towards the use of Microsoft Word Referenceson students’ thesis and factors that influence the perception. This research used a sequential mixed method. There were 25 students from 7th semester of English Language Education, Ganesha University of Education, involved in this research.The research instruments were questionnaire and interview. The results from the questionnaires were analyzed usingmean score ideal (Mi) and standard deviation ideal (SDi), and data from the interviews were analyzed using interactivemodel analysis by Miles and Huberman. From the ideal mean score analysis, the mean score of undergraduate EFLstudents’ perception towards the use of Microsoft Word References on students’ thesis was 41.84, which was categorizedas average. This means Microsoft Word References can be used in managing citation and reference in thesis writing.Moreover, the interview result shows 11 factors that influence undergraduate EFL students’ perception towards the use ofMicrosoft Word References on students’ thesis, namely attitudes, motives, interests, expectations, novelty, motion, size,background, proximity, and time. The factors build two trends, positive and negative perceptions.

Overview of Thesis Writing Guidelines for The Faculty of Law, Syiah Kuala University and Its Relation to Johny Ibrahim's Normative Legal Research Methods

This paper is intended to understand the description and characteristics of legal research produced by law faculty students and developed by law scientists and researchers at Syiah Kuala University as a sample case. Does the description of the research results of legal researchers, including students and legal scientists, follow the characteristics and legal paradigms that tend to be classical or have they led to the development of contemporary legal theories.

How Course Support and Academic Support Impact on Chinese Graduate Students during the COVID-19: The Multiple Mediating Roles of Thesis Writing and Anxiety

Because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the learning style of graduate students has changed considerably, making them more susceptible to psychological problems. This study aimed to explore the mediating roles of thesis writing and anxiety between course support (including course-arrangement, course-assessment, and course-learning), academic support (including academic exchange with colleges, tutors and schoolmates) and depression. There were 3137 graduate students investigated by self-developed Graduate Students’ Academic Affected Questionnaire, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Self-Rating Depression Scale. The results showed that (1) 82% of graduate students reported their course support, academic support and thesis writing were affected to varying degrees; (2) course support and academic support correlated with thesis writing, anxiety and depression (p < 0.001); (3) the mediation model fitted well, the mediating effect of anxiety between academic support and depression was significant (β = 0.086, SE = 0.02, p < 0.001), the serial multiple mediating effects of thesis writing and anxiety between academic support and depression were significant (β = 0.02, SE = 0.008, p = 0.013) and the serial multiple mediating effects of thesis writing and anxiety between course support and depression were also found to be significant (β = 0.014, SE = 0.006, p = 0.014).

Metadiscourse in postgraduate writing

<p>This thesis investigates metadiscourse in master’s theses and the relationship between metadiscourse frequencies and quality of thesis writing. Metadiscourse has been a major research focus in various genres and contexts, but only a small proportion of this work has compared metadiscourse in postgraduate writing across educational contexts and disciplines. While previous studies of metadiscourse have reported a positive correlation between metadiscourse frequencies and writing quality, all of these studies focused on undergraduate writing. Little is known about the relationship between metadiscourse frequencies and quality of thesis writing. This thesis includes two main studies to address the gaps in literature. Study 1 examined use of metadiscourse (i.e., frequencies, types, and functions) in master’s thesis discussion and conclusion chapters written in English by New Zealand and Thai postgraduates in the disciplines of English language teaching and business administration. Four subcorpora with a total of 116 thesis samples were compiled: 26 New Zealand students’ theses in English language teaching (NZ-ELT), 30 New Zealand students’ theses in business administration (NZ-BA), 30 Thai students’ theses in English language teaching (TH-ELT), and 30 Thai students’ theses in business administration (TH-BA). Hyland’s (2005) metadiscourse taxonomy was adopted for this study. Study 2 explored the relationship between metadiscourse frequencies and quality of thesis writing. Forty eight theses (twelve theses with highest and lowest frequencies of metadiscourse markers in each of the four subcorpora in Study 1) were selected for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty four disciplinary supervisors in New Zealand and Thailand in order to investigate supervisors’ attitudes towards and expectations of good thesis writing in their disciplines. This information was used to design a rating scale specifically for thesis quality assessment. Two New Zealand and Thai raters in English language teaching and business administration, four raters altogether, rated twenty four discussion and conclusion chapters in their own disciplines. The findings of Study 1 reveal a higher frequency of metadiscourse in New Zealand theses than Thai theses. While both New Zealand and Thai students use more textual metadiscourse than interpersonal metadiscourse, New Zealand students show a greater reliance on the use of interpersonal metadiscourse (all interpersonal subcategories, except for boosters) than Thai students. By contrast, Thai students show a greater reliance on the use of textual metadiscourse (especially transition markers and frame markers) than New Zealand students. With regard to disciplinary variation, English language teaching students use more metadiscourse than business administration students, in both textual and interpersonal metadiscourse categories. Transition markers and hedges are the most prominent metadiscourse features, contributing the preponderance of textual and interpersonal metadiscourse in this study. Despite palpable differences in frequencies, the analysis of individual types across the four subcorpora reveals similarities of New Zealand and Thai students in the two disciplines. They use similar markers, rely heavily on a small cluster of high frequency markers, and make scarce use of lower frequency ones in all subcategories. The functional analysis indicates that there are six subcategories whose functions contribute to differences between New Zealand and Thai theses, namely transition markers, frame markers, evidentials, attitude markers, engagement markers, and self-mentions. The findings of Study 2 reveal a positive correlation between metadiscourse frequencies and thesis quality scores in both English language teaching and business administration disciplines. However, a major difference between the two disciplines is that in business administration, the frequency of textual metadiscourse is more highly related to the quality scores when compared to interpersonal metadiscourse. In English language teaching, the frequency of interpersonal metadiscourse is more closely related to the quality scores. In the comparison of quality scores between high and low frequency groups, a statistically significant difference is found in business administration, but not in English language teaching. Insights gained from this study are that (1) business administration raters are likely to focus more on textual features which directly affect readers’ comprehension, while English language teaching raters seem to have more expectations towards interactional features (e.g., explicit expression of students’ attitudes towards their own research propositions), (2) not all metadiscourse subcategories affect thesis quality scores, and (3) apart from frequencies, factors such as appropriate use of a wide variety of markers in different subcategories may contribute to better quality scores. Based on these findings, this thesis also provides theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical implications, laying out a framework for postgraduate writing instructors in developing English for Postgraduate Academic Writing lessons and materials based on actual language use and expectations of members in specific disciplinary communities and educational contexts in order to improve postgraduate writing quality.</p>

Metadiscourse in postgraduate writing

<p>This thesis investigates metadiscourse in master’s theses and the relationship between metadiscourse frequencies and quality of thesis writing. Metadiscourse has been a major research focus in various genres and contexts, but only a small proportion of this work has compared metadiscourse in postgraduate writing across educational contexts and disciplines. While previous studies of metadiscourse have reported a positive correlation between metadiscourse frequencies and writing quality, all of these studies focused on undergraduate writing. Little is known about the relationship between metadiscourse frequencies and quality of thesis writing. This thesis includes two main studies to address the gaps in literature. Study 1 examined use of metadiscourse (i.e., frequencies, types, and functions) in master’s thesis discussion and conclusion chapters written in English by New Zealand and Thai postgraduates in the disciplines of English language teaching and business administration. Four subcorpora with a total of 116 thesis samples were compiled: 26 New Zealand students’ theses in English language teaching (NZ-ELT), 30 New Zealand students’ theses in business administration (NZ-BA), 30 Thai students’ theses in English language teaching (TH-ELT), and 30 Thai students’ theses in business administration (TH-BA). Hyland’s (2005) metadiscourse taxonomy was adopted for this study. Study 2 explored the relationship between metadiscourse frequencies and quality of thesis writing. Forty eight theses (twelve theses with highest and lowest frequencies of metadiscourse markers in each of the four subcorpora in Study 1) were selected for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty four disciplinary supervisors in New Zealand and Thailand in order to investigate supervisors’ attitudes towards and expectations of good thesis writing in their disciplines. This information was used to design a rating scale specifically for thesis quality assessment. Two New Zealand and Thai raters in English language teaching and business administration, four raters altogether, rated twenty four discussion and conclusion chapters in their own disciplines. The findings of Study 1 reveal a higher frequency of metadiscourse in New Zealand theses than Thai theses. While both New Zealand and Thai students use more textual metadiscourse than interpersonal metadiscourse, New Zealand students show a greater reliance on the use of interpersonal metadiscourse (all interpersonal subcategories, except for boosters) than Thai students. By contrast, Thai students show a greater reliance on the use of textual metadiscourse (especially transition markers and frame markers) than New Zealand students. With regard to disciplinary variation, English language teaching students use more metadiscourse than business administration students, in both textual and interpersonal metadiscourse categories. Transition markers and hedges are the most prominent metadiscourse features, contributing the preponderance of textual and interpersonal metadiscourse in this study. Despite palpable differences in frequencies, the analysis of individual types across the four subcorpora reveals similarities of New Zealand and Thai students in the two disciplines. They use similar markers, rely heavily on a small cluster of high frequency markers, and make scarce use of lower frequency ones in all subcategories. The functional analysis indicates that there are six subcategories whose functions contribute to differences between New Zealand and Thai theses, namely transition markers, frame markers, evidentials, attitude markers, engagement markers, and self-mentions. The findings of Study 2 reveal a positive correlation between metadiscourse frequencies and thesis quality scores in both English language teaching and business administration disciplines. However, a major difference between the two disciplines is that in business administration, the frequency of textual metadiscourse is more highly related to the quality scores when compared to interpersonal metadiscourse. In English language teaching, the frequency of interpersonal metadiscourse is more closely related to the quality scores. In the comparison of quality scores between high and low frequency groups, a statistically significant difference is found in business administration, but not in English language teaching. Insights gained from this study are that (1) business administration raters are likely to focus more on textual features which directly affect readers’ comprehension, while English language teaching raters seem to have more expectations towards interactional features (e.g., explicit expression of students’ attitudes towards their own research propositions), (2) not all metadiscourse subcategories affect thesis quality scores, and (3) apart from frequencies, factors such as appropriate use of a wide variety of markers in different subcategories may contribute to better quality scores. Based on these findings, this thesis also provides theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical implications, laying out a framework for postgraduate writing instructors in developing English for Postgraduate Academic Writing lessons and materials based on actual language use and expectations of members in specific disciplinary communities and educational contexts in order to improve postgraduate writing quality.</p>

Alumni Reflection To The Experience Of Writing Thesis: Case Study Of Alumni Program In Library And Information Studies Brawijaya University

The study aims to describe and identify aspects during the thesis writing process. This study uses a qualitative approach with the type of case study research on alumni of the Library and Information Science Study Program Universitas Brawijaya. Then the selection of alumni as informants considers the impact after writing the thesis is completed. The results showed that the reflection of alumni there is a learning process in each stage of thesis writing. The learning process that occurs is quite complex because it is not only done independently but also involves other parties. Independent learning focuses on the process of applying information literacy skills possessed by alumni. Where there is an information management process which is the most important part, because the process affects the decision making for each action. Meanwhile, the involvement of other parties is another role of the thesis as a forum for collaborative learning. Not only that, the whole process forms a new understanding that can be useful across generations.Keywords: Thesis, Reflection, Information Literacy, Knowledge Sharing Practice, Collaborative LearningABSTRAKRefleksi pengalaman alumni merupakan kajian yang bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan dan mengidentifikasi aspek-aspek selama proses penulisan skripsi. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan jenis penelitian studi kasus pada alumni Program Studi Ilmu Perpustakaan dan Informasi Universitas Brawijaya. Kemudian pemilihan alumni sebagai informan mempertimbangkan dampak yang ditimbulkan pasca penulisan skripsi selesai. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa refleksi alumni terdapat proses pembelajaran dalam setiap tahapan penulisan skripsi. Proses pembelajaran yang terjadi tergolong kompleks karena tidak hanya dilakukan mandiri tetapi juga melibatkan pihak lain. Pembelajaran secara mandiri menitikberatkan pada proses penerapan kemampuan literasi informasi yang dimiliki oleh alumni. Dimana terdapat proses pengelolaan informasi yang merupakan bagian terpenting, karena proses tersebut berpengaruh pada penentuan keputusan untuk setiap tindakan. Sedangkan untuk pelibatan pihak lain merupakan peran lain dari skripsi sebagai wadah kolaborasi pembelajaran. Tidak hanya itu, secara menyeluruh proses tersebut membentuk pemahaman baru yang dapat bermanfaat lintas generasi.

(In)effective Thesis Writing and Supervision: (Lost) Opportunity for Learning

Thesis writing requires a wide range of reading, the skill of critiquing, a good skill of academic writing, and a proper collaboration of student and supervisor; however, it is poorly understood, less explored, and replete with problems. In this paper, we present the merits of thesis writing, supervisors' and students' commonly held perceptions, the effectiveness of supervisory feedback, and the value of student engagement. Then we present two components of thesis writing (i.e., introduction and literature review, including theoretical framework). Considering the need of the novice researchers (i.e., master's students) who are writing their thesis for the first time, we present these two components' introduction and provide suggestions for supervisors. We also present commonly used language features and examples. This paper is expected to be beneficial to students and supervisors alike.

The strategies used by post-graduate students to avoid plagiarism in thesis writing

This study aims to find out the perception of post-graduate students on plagiarism, the influenced factors, and the strategies used by the students to avoid plagiarism in thesis writing. To collect the data, 10 post-graduate students of Graduate Study of English Education at University of Syiah Kuala (USK) were chosen randomly based on the predetermined criteria: the students in the academic year 2016 and 2017 who have written their thesis. The data were collected through interviews. The result of data analysis shows that the post-graduate students of English Education at USK have the same perception about the issue of plagiarism in thesis writing. The factors contributing to plagiarism are limited time, the deadline, technological development and ease of accessing online sources, students' laziness, lack of understanding to paraphrase, and poor understanding of plagiarism. Furthermore, two main strategies can be used to avoid plagiarism in thesis writing. The first is paraphrasing and quoting other peoples' ideas. The second is reading a lot of sources from many articles and journals to learn how the authors develop their idea in their writing and how to put citations and references appropriately.

A Comparative Study of Reporting Verbs Used in the Introduction Chapters of Bachelor’s Theses and Master’s Theses by Chinese English-Majored Students

Reporting verbs (RVs), as rhetorical lexical devices, play a key role in academic writing because they enable writers to attribute content to other sources and allow them to convey both the kind of activities reported and their evaluation of the reported information. However, no study has been conducted on how RVs are used differently between bachelor’s theses (BTs) and master’s theses (MTs) in the Chinese context. Through corpus-based and comparative analysis, this study, therefore, aims to analyze and compare the use of RVs between 30 BT Introduction Chapters and 30 MT Introduction Chapters by Chinese English-majored students in terms of denotative potentials and evaluative functions based on Hyland’s (2002) classification framework. The results reveal that RVs used by undergraduate students are smaller in amount and narrower in range compared with those used by master’s students. Concerning the denotative potentials of RVs, a similar distribution of RVs was found in the two corpora. Both undergraduate and master’s students prefer Discourse Act RVs and Research Act RVs to Cognition Act RVs. Regarding their evaluative functions, undergraduate students show a tendency toward non-factive RVs, while master’s students tend to use factive RVs. These findings provide a valuable view of how Chinese English-majored students use RVs in their thesis writing, but their knowledge of the rhetorical functions of this device is still insufficient. The findings might increase thesis writers’ knowledge on the significance of RVs and raise their awareness of using RVs appropriately and effectively in their thesis writing, or even in all kinds of academic discourse. This paper then provides some suggestions for thesis writing courses.