In this article, we will examine some of the main obstacles and difficulties that university students must overcome in order to prepare special degree work or thesis as a necessary requirement to obtain their professional title when they finish their career subjects.
General
In the present work we will examine some of the main obstacles and difficulties that university students must overcome in order to prepare special degree work or thesis as a necessary requirement to obtain their professional title when they finish the subjects of their career.
In most cases, the curriculum includes a thesis seminar where they must learn and apply a methodology that will allow them to prepare their undergraduate work, starting with the choice of the topic, until the presentation of a project or proposal for a degree.
The thesis project includes the description of the problem, the questions of the problem, its general objective, specific objectives, the methodology to be used to achieve them, the execution schedule and bibliography to consult.
Difficulties
The elaboration of the thesis project is not an easy task, given the limitations, the students consider it a very difficult task. A survey carried out with a group on what they considered most difficult for the preparation of the thesis, yielded the following results:
-45% said the choice of topic.
-17% thought that the choice of the research area.
-10% considered the preparation of the proposal.
-10% data collection.
-18% various difficulties between these
Lack of student motivation.
Deficiencies in the direction of the thesis.
Lack of information sources and references.
Little time to do the thesis.
Deficiencies in student preparation
Lack of creativity of the student and the tutor.
Lack of practice in conducting research.
Next, each of the most common elements that hinder thesis preparation will be analyzed.
The choice of theme
This first factor, pointed out by 45% of the respondents, indicates that the choice of the topic is the main difficulty, which is why the primary attention must be focused both for the student and for the tutor on the appropriate choice of topic. In this sense, it is necessary to their effort to go to the choice of a topic that is of their particular interest, so that the thesis can start, develop and successfully complete their research.
The role of the methodological advisor is quite important given his experiences and knowledge, to channel the thesis concerns so that he has the possibility of choosing an interesting topic that can support the research.
Selection of the area
The choice of the subject matter of the thesis on which learning in the thesis career is based, represents 17% of the difficulties that the student encounters to start the research; either due to ignorance of professional practice and lack of experience or poor knowledge.
This factor and the previous one represent 62% of the difficulties, which constitute the main cause of problems for the theses. For the above reason, we consider that the methodological advisor should emphasize focusing the attention of the students so that they can start their research work correctly.
The elaboration of the thesis project
10% locate the difficulties in the complications originated in the way of formulating the thesis project, which means that the problem resides in the ignorance of the way in which the thesis proposal is presented, and in the parts that it must contain, for its formal presentation to the tutor or guide who leads it. For many students, doing a thesis project is uphill, both in its content and in the way it is presented. The purpose of the project is to enhance its development and conclusion. A competent methodological advisor is able to guide the student in the minimum content that the student must present, pointing out the most important aspects of the project.
Data collection
It is one of the biggest problems, the difficulties that students have in collecting the information necessary for development used to obtain the data and background related to the subject of undergraduate work.
On this aspect, the deficiency presented by many students, and not a few counselors, in the use of the appropriate research methodology is quite evident, since in some cases, they do not have knowledge of the techniques, requirements and characteristics of the different methods of investigation; Occasionally, there are a few who know the investigative techniques and know how to apply them, albeit partially. It is clear that this limits the potential of the development of an investigation.
Student lack of interest
The lack of interest has to do with the loss of motivation to finish the thesis, it can happen that if the student is not motivated enough, he loses interest in carrying out the activities necessary for the initiation and completion of his thesis. This lack of interest may come due to lack of knowledge and lack of information on the subject, among other things, which may cause their interest in the thesis to decline. It may also happen that the intended thesis objectives go beyond your expectations, ambitions and possibilities.
Deficiencies in the thesis tutoring
It is very common to hear among thesis students that the inadequate and poor orientation of the thesis tutor influences that some students do not finish, or finish it with little or no quality. This is evident, and it is not difficult to verify how some tutors who intend to do graduate work lack the necessary skills and knowledge.
It may happen that some tutors use the thesis as an instrument to collect data to satisfy their particular interests, which only allows them to carry out an investigation without much effort. This makes the subject under investigation alien to the student's wishes, working on it without sufficient motivation. There are other tutors who try to impose a straitjacket, pretending the thesis follow only her own instructions, rules and methods, without allowing her to act and investigate freely; it is obvious that such counselors have professional limitations to conduct undergraduate work; the result will be theses with substantive and formal deficiencies.
The deficiencies in the tutoring of the thesis provoke in the thesis, demotivation and rejection of the research work, influencing its final quality, so that an important activity of a competent tutor is to generate the known environment so that the motivating elements flow in the theses.
Lack of information sources
It may happen that the thesis student abandons his work because he does not know where to get information sources, or identify the necessary data to support his work; Many times he avoids delving into the sources because he does not know how to obtain the information he lacks, so he omits important data from the sources, even if the thesis requires it. This kind of deficiency is often that a thesis is abandoned or it is avoided to give depth to the study, treating superficial subjects with little quality.
The work of a competent thesis student is to give the student the necessary orientation about the means and instruments available, both traditional and technological, that allow them to carry out their work.
Little time to dedicate to research
At the end of their schooling, the student, if the situation in the country is good, gets a job, thus beginning his productive life, which will absorb most of his daily work, taking away time and energy to devote to the thesis activities necessary to finish your research, so the completion of the thesis, generally, takes a back seat.
It may also happen that as he is no longer a student, personal and family commitments begin to displace academic occupations and duties, which leaves him little time to devote to studies, which is why both the thesis, research and writing, loses hierarchy within its priorities. Unfortunately, the lack of time means that a large number of thesis students become "eternal interns" without completing their degree work.
Brief conclusions
By way of conclusions in this article, we affirm that we have examined some of the factors that affect the performance of students in the activities necessary to carry out the thesis process, some elements that are inherent in both the realization process and the actors involved, the theses and the tutors. We hope that it will serve to clarify, guide and even motivate those interested.
Bibliography consulted
MUÑOZ RAZO Carlos. How to develop and advise research thesis. Prentice Hall.
PALELLA SANTA Y MARTINS P. FELIBERTO. Quantitative research methodology. Fedeupel.
ARIAS FIDIAS. Myths and errors in the preparation of theses and research projects. Editorial Episteme.
