Medical Students' Points of View on the Quality of Supervision and the Electronic Defense Session in an Iranian Private University

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Clinical Education Research Centre, Education Developmental Centre, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

2 Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

3 Department of General Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

10.22038/fmej.2025.86146.1633

Abstract

Background: Writing a thesis is an indicator for evaluating individual competence in conducting research and research skills. The study aimed to examine students' points of view on the quality of supervision and the process of theses implementation electronically and virtually has been done during the COVID-19 pandemic at Islamic Azad University, Mashhad Medical Sciences unit.
Method: In a cross-sectional study, 42 medical students participated by responding to the Postgraduate Research Experience Questionnaire, which assessed nine areas related to thesis implementation and defense in electronic and virtual environments. It was conducted in five areas: Title selection, supervisor, proposal fulfillment process, thesis fulfillment process, and final report. The PREQ was introduced by the Australian Department of Employment, Training, and Youth Affairs to respond to the quality and efficiency of higher education (ACER 2000). Finally, the data collected in this study were analyzed using SPSS version 21 software.
Results: The research results indicated that the University's infrastructure and facilities are generally favorable, except for the evaluation and defense of the thesis, which received a score of 2.13, indicating an unfavorable rating. The other aspects of thesis writing were assessed as relatively favorable.
Conclusion: Students consider the status of theses in the general medicine program at the Islamic Azad University, Mashhad Medical Sciences unit, relatively good in most aspects. However, the thesis defense is viewed as unfavorable. To address this issue, it is important to identify the causes of the existing problems and work on eliminating weaknesses while strengthening the positive aspects.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Shirbagi N, Kaveey S. Study of Directorial Role and Relationship of Supervisor and Student from Graduate Studentsâ Perspectives. New Educational Approaches. 2012 Mar 20;7(1):1-26. Persian.
  2. Safaee Movahed S, Attaran M, Tajik Smaeily A. Tacit norms in the selection of supervisors revisited: a phenomenological study. Journal of Higher Education Curriculum Studies. 2010;1(1):37-9. Persian.
  3. Cursiefen C, Beer M, Altunbas A. Should all medical students do research during their studies? Medical Education. 1995 May 1;29(3):254.
  4. Zhao F. Transforming quality in research supervision: A knowledge-management approach. Quality in higher education. 2003 Aug 1;9(2):187-97.
  5. Bazrafkan L, Shokrpour N, Yousefi A, Yamani N. Management of stress and anxiety among PhD students during thesis writing: a qualitative study. The health care manager. 2016 Jul 1;35(3):231-40.
  6. Drennan J. Postgraduate Research Experience Questionnaire: reliability and factor structure with Master’s in Nursing graduates. J Adv Nurs. 2008 May;62(4):487-98.
  7. Marsh HW, Rowe KJ, Martin A. PhD students' evaluations of research supervision: issues, complexities, and challenges in a nationwide Australian experiment in benchmarking universities. J Higher Educ. 2002 May 1;73(3):313-48.
  8. Pourbairamian G, Sotoudeh F, Ghasabi M, Mansouri M, Sohrabi Z. Assessment of medical residents and postgraduates’ students’ satisfaction of thesis supervision in Iran University of Medical Sciences. MCS 2019 6(2):148-58. Persian.
  9. Behzadi H, Davarpanah MR. Research experience of the PhD students in Iran: a case study in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education. 2013 Apr 19.
  10. Radafshar G, Sobhani AR, Sadegh F. Thesis writing process among students of Guilan medical university of sciences. Journal of Guilan University of medical science. 2010. No: 74;19. P: 86-97. Persian.
  11. Ali A, Kohun F, Levy Y. Dealing with Social Isolation to Minimize Doctoral Attrition- A Four Stage Framework. Int J Dr Stud. 2007 Jan 1;2(1):33-49.
  12. Dehghani G, Yamani Douzi Sorkhabi M. Students Satisfaction of Thesis Conducting Process and its Related Factors Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Strides in Development of Medical Education. 2009 Jul 1;6(1):1-9. Persian.
  13. Shiva S, Mansourian A, Vatanpour M, Tirgar F. The relationship between study skill and academic achievement in dental students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. J Dent Med. 2015 Oct 10;28(3):239-46. Persian.
  14. Shahshahani S, Hoseinzadeh S, Abdi K, Mirjai Aghdam A. Graduate Students’ Satisfaction with Supervisory Performance in Thesis Process in University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation (USWR) in 2011-2012. Iranian Journal of Medical Education. 2014 Mar 10;13(12):1031-9. Persian.
  15. Karimi A, Heydari MB, Khazaei M. The Characteristics of General Medicine Thesis in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences during Five Years Periods. Medical Education Journal. 2018 Sep 15;6(2):7-12. Persian.
  16. Derakhshanfar H, Shahrami A, Hatam Abadi H, Amini A, Sharifi E. The attitude of medical students towards the criteria for selection of supervisor attendance and Dissertation topic in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science. Educational Development of Judishapur. 2012 Oct 22;3(3):49-57.
  17. Nieminen P, Sipilä K, Takkinen HM, Renko M, Risteli L. Medical theses as part of the scientific training in basic medical and dental education: experiences from Finland. BMC med educ. 2007 Dec;7(1):1-7.
  18. Changiz T, Adibi P, Hosseini M, Toutounchi M. Viewpoints of supervisors about the problems in the process of dissertations for general medicine program; Isfahan university of medical sciences. Iranian Journal of Medical Education, 2003, 3(1): 23-33
  19. Noori Hekmat S, Rezaei M, Dehnavieh R. Effective factors on postgraduate students research experience in Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Research in medical education. 2016 Oct 10;8(3):34-44.
  20. Yuan W, Liu Z. What factors affect the quality of medical students’ doctoral theses? A comparative study in affiliated hospitals of a Chinese university. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2019; 10:297.
  21. Rutherford-Hemming T, Nye C, Coram C. Using simulation for clinical practice hours in nurse practitioner education in the United States: A systematic review. Nurse Educ Today. 2016 Feb 1; 37:128-35.
  22. Abhari S, Monem H, Garavand A, Bastani P, Rezaee R. Designing a thesis tele-supervision system for postgraduate medical sciences students. J Adv Med Educ Prof. 2019 Oct;7(4):191.
  23. Jha P, Thakur A, Klumb J, Bhandari S. Perceptions of fourth-year medical students on writing and presenting case reports. Cureus. 2018 Mar 19;10(3).
  24. Frishman WH. Student research projects and theses: should they be a requirement for medical school graduation? Heart disease (Hagerstown, Md.). 2001;3(3):140-4.
  25. Oliveira CC, De Souza RC, Abe ÉH, Silva Móz LE, De Carvalho LR, Domingues MA. Undergraduate research in medical education: a descriptive study of students’ views. BMC med educ. 2014 Dec;14(1):1-8.
Future of Medical Education Journal
Volume 15, Issue 2
June 2025
Pages 3-8

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics