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		Research-coursework Doctoral Programs in Australian Universities
		97/7 Associate Professor Keith Trigwell Professor Tony Shannon Russell Maurizi University of Technology, Sydney
		Evaluations and Investigations Program Higher Education Division Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs

© Commonwealth of Australia 1997

ISBN 0 642 23648 8

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Australian Government Publishing Service. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the manager, Commonwealth Information Services, Australian Government Publishing Service, GPO Box 84, Canberra ACT 2601.

This report is funded under the Evaluations and Investigations Program of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs.

The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Executive Summary

1. Introduction

2. Developmental Trends and Characteristics of Research-coursework Doctoral Programs

3. Perceptions of the Quality of Research-coursework Doctoral Programs

4. Planning, Developing and Accrediting Research-coursework Programs

5. Development of Staff and Students

6. Managing Research-coursework Programs

7. Assessment in Research-coursework Programs

8. Evaluating Research-coursework Programs

9. Method

Appendix 1: Questions to Coordinators on Operating the Program

Appendix 2: Questions to Coordinators/Administrators on the Structure of the Program

Appendix 3: Questions to Students

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

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This investigation was supported by a grant from the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs under the Evaluations and Investigations Program. We thank the Department for the opportunity to conduct this work.

Tom Maxwell of the University of New England was a vital and cooperative source of information for this study. Our original plans to hold a conference in Sydney on research-coursework programs were pre-empted by Tom and his colleague Peter Shanahan from the Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies, in organising a conference on professional doctorates at Coffs Harbour. As we have said in the text of this report, the proceedings of that conference form a valuable resource for anyone interested in the directions of professional doctorates.

Sybe Jongeling, and the coordinators, administrators and students of research-coursework programs in the Sydney area, also gave significant time and information to the project team.

The advisory Committee of Professor Elaine Martin, Associate Professor Tony Milne, Associate Professor Jane Morrison and Peter Nicholson all gave us useful feedback at various stages of the project.

Our thanks are also expressed to support staff in the University Graduate School and the Centre for Learning and Teaching, especially Faye Smedley for production help and to Kerry Blair for her figure.

Keith Trigwell
Tony Shannon
Russell Maurizi

February 1997

Executive Summary

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Research-coursework doctoral programs are a recent innovation in Australian universities. Their numbers have increased from two programs in 1989 to 47 in 1996. It has been suggested that the growth of these doctorates can be partly attributed to their appeal as an alternative to traditional forms of doctoral research. In 1996 there were at least 16 different types of professional doctorates on offer from Australian universities in the disciplines of Health Sciences, Law, Social Sciences, Business and Economics, Engineering and Creative Arts.

Other studies have argued convincingly the case for these programs and their place in the profile of Australian universities. Those studies have demonstrated that there is widespread support from students and employers/professions for the structure and content of these doctorates. Students/graduates say they value the commitment from staff to establish an environment in which students can learn from their work experience; the coursework component, as it was less daunting than the thesis, and eased the passage to the dissertation; being part of a group or team; interaction with staff; and the flexibility of the outcome of the degree (not necessarily a dissertation). Employers/professions say they value the flexibility of program delivery including:

• distance education mode;
• research with industry links;
• coursework making up one third to one half of the degree and tailored to student needs; and
• involvement in the design of the programs.

There is now sufficient evidence to suggest that the number of programs on offer will continue to grow, and that the focus should shift from studies of the range of structures and content to issues of quality and standards. Questions about the quality and status of these programs have been asked throughout the period since their inception. They relate to the way some programs are developed, to the way they are assessed, to admission standards and to the fact that some doctorates have as much as 66 per cent coursework.

There is evidence from this study that some programs do lack coherence in planning and assessment, offer limited support for students, especially in the social and interactive areas, and fall short in making useful induction programs available for staff and for students.

Most of the programs studied were able to demonstrate the connections between research and coursework when the coursework was designed as research preparation, but there was a considerable lack of coherence and underlying philosophy or direction in many of the programs. Two points of significance to emerge were that programs that demonstrate coherence are usually based on a well articulated view, theory or idea; and that where programs offer flexibility in coursework choice, a description of the coherence of the students' choice may be a requirement of them through a portfolio, dissertation or equivalent.

The induction programs in most Australian research-coursework doctorates have mostly been developed from programs that are research only (hence a focus on supervision) or have not been developed at all because their origins are predominantly coursework programs which are not perceived as requiring induction at postgraduate level. The issues raised in combined research-coursework programs need to be brought to the attention of all new staff and students.

A resources problem on some programs has also recently been identified. It is associated with the availability of suitable supervisory support as the student intake population, and the number progressing from the coursework which is less supervision-intensive to the more intensive research component, increases.

The question of how to effectively assess the total research-coursework doctoral programs remains unanswered. The common practice is to use the coursework in a threshold or satisfactory-unsatisfactory manner. Students who satisfactorily complete the required coursework progress to the research component which is assessed by thesis and the result for the program is based on the thesis alone. While this practice is arguable for those programs where the coursework makes up 33 per cent of the program, it would seem to be unquestionably inappropriate for those programs where the coursework makes up the majority, and in some cases up to 66 per cent of the total. Details of how the components are conflated would appear to be necessary in these cases.

Methods of monitoring the quality of research-coursework doctoral programs range from effectively nothing to comprehensive reviews using more than one source of data. The variation in this case is undesirable, especially as it may contribute to perceptions that these programs are not of the quality to be known as doctorates.

There is also evidence that there are high quality programs being offered to students. This report is about identifying those practices that may lead to the improvement of the quality of research-coursework doctorates, and the remainder of this summary includes a series of points derived from the study which constitute a description of the combination of the best practice components of high quality programs. Such a list could be considered to be a checklist for the development, accreditation and management of these programs.

In high quality programs:

• the aims and purposes of the program are clearly outlined, particularly the contribution that the completion of the coursework and thesis components make toward achieving program objectives;

• the coursework tasks demonstrate clearly how they contribute to the candidate's understanding of practical research (particularly in the professional context if relevant) and the degree of research training that is necessary for successful completion of the dissertation component;

• both external bodies (peak professional bodies) and university academics and administrators are involved (to varying degrees) in program design reflecting the increased need for collaboration between industry and academia;

• the programs reflect some degree of flexibility in the coursework. For example the possibility of completing part of the coursework in the candidate's workplace to provide these programs with the required professional orientation and enhance the candidate's understanding of research in the context of professional practice;

• a clear explanation is given of how each course in the coursework component:

  - contributes toward achieving overall program objectives - clearly specified in the rationale    for the course; and

  - assists candidates in acquiring the necessary skills proposed as an outcome of the    program.

• the program proposal outlines the relation between entry requirements and course objectives to encourage and admit appropriate target groups to these programs;

• coursework aims and objectives outlined in course proposals, in addition to defining content areas, demonstrate how the coursework component contributes to:

  - inducting candidates into these programs;

  - encouraging collaboration between students and between students and staff (particularly in    relation to thesis expectations and project requirements); and

  - the social dimension of learning found to be successful in providing support networks for    candidates and particularly useful in providing direction for thesis.

• the content of both research and coursework components reflect the level (Doctoral or Masters) of the degree;

• induction programs exist for staff and students which focus on the unique aspects of research-coursework programs (such as relations between the aims of the different components of the program) as well as those aspects that these programs share with more traditional programs;

• program proposals adequately describe the point in the program when supervisory support is available to students, and the nature of that support;

• a clear specification is given of the availability of program resources for:

  - the provision of supervision to candidates;

  - teaching; and

  - the provision of desk space, library facilities, phone, fax, photocopier, computer and other    program resources for both full and part-time candidates;

• criteria exist which determine whether a staff member from the university or a person external to the university can be a supervisor or a co-supervisor. Such criteria include whether a person is experienced in the topic, currently active in research, has attended supervisors induction program or workshop, and previous success as a supervisor;

• initiatives are developed that demonstrate how positive interaction between students and their faculties are established and maintained and how these interactions contribute to the overall objectives of the program;

• guidelines are produced for candidates which provide the following information on entry:

  - a clear description of the relation between program components and program objectives;

  - project expectations and thesis requirements and expectations;

  - a clear description of coursework objectives and how the coursework and thesis will be    assessed;

  - how to find a thesis supervisor;

  - how to write a literature review and dissertation proposal; and

  - overall coursework expectations;

• the number of students a supervisor may supervise is within the limits of any policy of the faculty or university, and is determined with the interests of the students in mind;

• assessment requirements (including the dissertation) are linked with the objectives of program;

• a description is given of how assessment results of the various components will be conflated;

• assessment guidelines are given to examiners of all components of the program; and

• continuous program improvement is carried out, through collection and discussion of data from sources including staff, students and external bodies and individuals.

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