Innovation Strategies for Improving the Quality of Students’ Educational Research Project in the Ph.D. Programme of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki

Abstract

This study investigated innovative strategies for improving the quality of students’ research projects in the Ph.D programme of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria. To achieve this purpose, two research questions and one null hypothesis guided the study. The population for the study consisted of twenty (20) professors and one hundred and thirty (130) senior lecturers, totaling one hundred and fifty (150) respondents who teach Ph.D students all of the faculty of education, Ebonyi State University. The sampling technique adopted for this study was the total census technique due to the smallness and manageability of the population. Questionnaire titled “Innovative Strategies for Improving Students’ Research Dissertation Questionnaire” (ISISRDQ) was used to collect data from the respondents. The instrument was validated by three experts in measurement and evaluation of the department of science education of Ebonyi state University. Re-reliability of the instrument was tested using cronbach Alpha statistic and it yielded an index of 0.84 which was adjudged high enough for measuring the consistency of the items. The method of data collection was done by the researcher alone by going to the individual respondent’s office for distributing and collecting the copies of the questionnaire, and this exercise lasted for two weeks. The method of data analysis includes mean, standard deviation and t-test. The results of the study revealed some innovative strategies to be adopted and used to improve students’ research projects. Based on the findings, it was recommended that lecturers in the Universities should ensure that students’ research projects are organized in accordance with the suggested innovative strategies.Key Words: Innovative, strategies, improve, quality, students, educational research programme, university.