Research Methodologies Used in Library and Information Studies Masters' Degree Dissertations at the University of Botswana

Abstract

Although universities have different models for their Master's degrees, most programmes consists of course-work and research-based components. The Master's degree of the University of Botswana's (UB) Department of Library and Information Studies requires students to carry out research and write a dissertation in the final year. Research methodology is an integral component of research, including in postgraduate research. Using the descriptive content analysis technique from a census of dissertations, this chapter examines the Master's dissertations submitted in the field of library and information studies at UB between 2008 and 2018 in order to determine the trends in the research methodologies used. The findings of the study showed that although DLIS Master's degree dissertations generally conformed to globally accepted research methods in humanities; most of them did not specify the research philosophy adopted for the studies. This study found that the most dominant research approach was combined qualitative and quantitative approaches.