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This viewpoint paper aims to propose a digital and research literacy support program for postgraduate schools in sub-Saharan Africa institutions.

The paper reviewed literature on postgraduate students’ skills and postgraduate information literacy programs and proposed one for postgraduate schools in sub-Saharan Africa institutions.

Information literacy programs are not implemented at the postgraduate level in sub-Saharan Africa possibly because of lack of contents for these programs.

The course is only a proposed course that can be embedded into the postgraduate curriculum in sub-Saharan African universities. The effectiveness of the course has not been evaluated in this study.

The proposed information literacy program focused on digital and research literacy, which is still relatively new in sub-Saharan Africa.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the postgraduate disciplinary trends in architecture in Jordan. It highlights current research topics in master theses of architecture programs, to enhance the selection of postgraduate thesis topics that are more responsive and adaptive to the raised research demands of communities and the profession.

The paper analyzed 254 master's theses published from 2009 to 2019 in three Jordanian universities. The paper employed a descriptive and content analysis for theses' titles and abstracts.

The principal results identify unique geographical, temporal and disciplinary trends in the mapped theses. The findings illustrate an interest in disciplines of design studies, building technology, housing and community and urban design among postgraduate students. The findings also highlight a centralization of theses' number and geographical location within Amman governorate. Many theses also focused on residential spaces as a scale of analysis.

The proposed suggestions include collaborative efforts and practical mechanisms by higher education institutions, practitioners and decision-makers for advancing rigorous, diverse and relevant research topics in postgraduate theses.

The paper provides a comprehensive mapping of the topics of postgraduate theses in the field of architecture. It highlights how they have evolved or have been influenced by community needs. It also draws attention toward specific disciplines that have been the focus of major architectural programs in Jordan. Finally, it highlights the coexistence of interdisciplinarity within the field of architecture.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the use of library spaces by postgraduate students at the North-West University in South Africa.

A survey research methodology was used in which both online and print questionnaires were used to gather data.

The major findings of the study were that postgraduate students frequently visited the libraries to make use of the quite study spaces, which include the research commons and the study carrels. The study further found out that postgraduate students rarely visited the libraries for the purpose of consulting librarians regarding their studies. Challenges expressed by the students include insufficient workstations, poor internet and Wi-Fi connectivity and limited seating capacity. The benefit of the study is that it will help librarians and the university administrators to better understand the postgraduate students space needs, as well as the challenges being encountered.

This biggest limitation of this study was a lack or low response rate by certain faculties, which mitigated against comparing the use of spaces by faculty.

The results of this study re-affirm the need for postgraduate spaces. University libraries that seek to build postgraduate spaces in the future need to ensure that an adequate number of computer workstations are supplied and Wi-Fi and bandwidth are improved. University libraries that already have postgraduate spaces should consider adding more workstations and improving bandwidth and Wi-Fi connectivity in those spaces. These results further point to a need for libraries in Africa and elsewhere to consider having more quiet study spaces for postgraduate students while reducing the number of group study spaces.

The results of this study point to a need for libraries and university authorities to periodically review library spaces as a way to ensure their continued optimal usage. They also point to a need for more funds to further enhance the library spaces for postgraduate students’ use.

South African libraries are faced with challenges including the addition of 15 per cent value added tax to print and online resources. In this environment, libraries are expected by university authorities to demonstrate return on investment. This study, therefore, is located within the realm of determining return on investment for the funds spent by universities to build dedicated postgraduate library spaces. This study will further benefit librarians and the university administrators by helping them to better understand the postgraduate students space needs, as well as the challenges being encountered.

This paper aims to investigate the perceived sustainable supervisory relationships between supervisors and postgraduate international students at a research university in Malaysia.

Drawing on a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with 33 international postgraduate students and 10 academic staff at a Malaysian research university.

Perceived sustainable supervisory relationships were perceived by both stakeholders in terms of future employment rapport, further research collaborations upon graduation and global engagement via networking initiatives.

This paper contributes to the supervision literature by establishing novel nuances in the nature and lived experiences of the sustainable supervisory relationships beyond graduation. The implications of developing significant and profound relationships beyond graduation at micro and macro levels are also discussed.

This paper presents a new constructivist model of knowledge development in a case study that illustrates how a group of postgraduate students defined and evaluated effective postgraduate supervision. This new model is based on “personal construct theory” and “repertory grid technology” which is combined with interviews and group discussion. It is argued that this approach leads to a more meaningful interpretation of results and facilitates formative evaluation and professional development of supervisors. In this case study we discuss details of our evaluation method and its benefits and limitations. We explain how this approach enables both supervisors and students to participate actively in research and development activities, to develop their own constructs or theories of effective supervision, and to communicate their suggestions for improvement. Further applications of this constructivist model to postgraduate supervision practice and to research in higher education are suggested.

Measuring service quality in higher education is increasingly important for attracting and retaining tuition‐based revenues. Nonetheless, whilst undergraduates have received substantial academic exposure, postgraduate‐based research has been scant. Consequently, the objectives of this paper are threefold: first, to identify the service factors used by postgraduates in their quality evaluations. Second, to analyse the appropriateness of importance‐performance analysis (IPA) in the measurement of service quality and, final, to provide a working example of IPA's application in a UK‐based university.

Convergent interviews were used to elicit attributes of service that were deemed important by taught postgraduate students. These findings were then tested using an online survey. Exploratory factor analysis was used to group the service attributes into latent “service factors”. Each service factor was then tested for service quality using Martilla and James's IPA technique.

About 20 service attributes were educed from the qualitative stage. From these, four service factors emerged; being, academic, leisure, industry links and cost. Using IPA in a UK university, the findings suggest that the “academic” and “industry links” aspects of service quality are the most critical to postgraduates. The paper's conclusions suggest that IPA is an appropriate tool for measuring service quality in postgraduate education.

Through the application of the IPA framework presented in this research, practitioners can successfully identify areas of service priority and thus allocate appropriate resources to encourage continuous service improvement.

This research provides a valuable insight into the service quality needs of the UK postgraduate segment and also a potential conceptual framework for policy makers to use when evaluating their service delivery.

The purpose of this paper is to report the notable findings of students with different domiciled status. There is a lack of research and understanding of how prior study experiences and the expectations of new students that are due to embark on an MSc by coursework level (also known as postgraduate-taught [PGT]) can impact on their study and ability to persist and succeed. The research available has mainly been confined to post-experience surveys. By identifying prior study experiences and study expectations, education providers in higher education institutions can use these insights not only to attract more students but to improve retention rates and the overall student experience. The research undertaken in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing at a London-based, post-1992 institution aims to provide valuable data and insights into this nationally and internationally neglected area.

New taught postgraduate students provided data on their previous study experiences, study expectations, opinions of postgraduate-level study and demographic data via a hard copy questionnaire which was distributed and completed during the orientation period in September 2012. It was entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and a range of tests were run on the data.

The findings in this paper and the project in general will be further explored and investigated as a result of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) awarding a major grant to the post-1992 university to undertake research into these areas amongst nine similar English universities.

As the research was conducted over a one-year period, the findings are based on the limitations that such a time and financially limited project can offer. The institution at which the research was undertaken is a post-1992 institution that has high concentration towards teaching functions. The findings in this paper and the project in general will be further explored and investigated as a result of the HEFCE awarding a major grant to the post-1992 university to undertake research into these areas among nine similar English universities.

The research highlights the similarities and differences in prior study experiences and expectations of studying at PGT level between the UK-, the European Union- (EU) and Non-EU-domiciled respondents. The research offers potentially important findings for similar institutions that are currently looking to develop and expand their PGT provision.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the efficacy of the strategies that new, regional universities use for recruiting international postgraduate research students (IPRSs).

An exploratory, qualitative cross-case study analysis was used to address a problem and associated gap in the literature, identified from a review of academic literature and government statistics. Case studies comprised multiple data sources, including interviews and questionnaires with 66 employee and student respondents and document reviews.

A disparity between the views of students and employees regarding effective recruitment strategies was apparent. This led to divergence between the needs of prospective students and institutional strategies used during recruitment. Findings include suggestions to improve such strategies.

The study provides a basis for future research on higher education recruitment for new and regional universities and for IPRSs. As the research focused on two Australian universities, knowledge obtained should be explored further.

Results suggest students considering overseas postgraduate research study prioritize information, readily available online, about the university’s research focus and capacity, the features of surrounding communities and the regional impact of the research. Results also suggest that focusing on developing institution-to-institution and researcher-to-researcher relationships provides a mechanism by which the institution can enhance its international reputation to attract more students.

Limited research focuses specifically on recruitment of IPRSs. The results can support new, regional universities to review and modify their strategies for benefit to students and universities.

The purpose of this paper is to promote and analytically verify an advanced assessment design to evaluate service quality (SQ) especially in postgraduate higher education.

This research adopts a quantitative approach through a survey method. A structured questionnaire was designed as a means for collecting data. Data were collected from 182 postgraduate students in an Egyptian higher education university. Data were examined by exploratory factor analysis to pinpoint the main irregularities explained by the extracted factors. Then, confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to filter the ratios and empirically test the assessment efficiency of the developed model.

The final model consists of 33 items loaded into eight dimensions for measuring performance-based SQ of the postgraduate higher education. The results are satisfactory in terms of unidimensionality, trustworthiness, and validity tests.

Although the empirical results are significant, a comparative study can identify relative strengths and weaknesses of this model.

For improving postgraduate higher education institutions’ quality, this paper highlights some dimensions and attributes that should be considered.

The literature proposes that there is an opportunity to handle SQ from the point of view of postgraduate students covering different contexts to further build a more comprehensive structure specifically for postgraduate higher education SQ. This paper deals with this research gap with analytical confirmation within the context of postgraduate programs in an Egyptian university.

The purpose of this paper is to explore belonging in relation to postgraduate wellbeing in the light of renewed concerns about the mental health and wellbeing this group of learners. It attends to postgraduates’ subjective wellbeing, identifying ways in which this is intertwined with a sense of belonging. Belonging is situated in relation to the social domains of postgraduate experiences. This paper seeks to contribute in-depth understandings of postgraduate experiences, to make recommendations for practice and to identify fruitful paths for further theorisation and research.

Two qualitative data sets situated in UK higher education are drawn on here: firstly, longitudinal qualitative data entailing 33 narrative interviews and written reflections of doctoral researchers were collected as part of a phenomenological study of doctoral learning. Secondly, interview data from 20 postgraduates (including masters, professional doctorates and PhD researchers) were collected as part of mixed method qualitative case study research into postgraduate wellbeing. Postgraduate participants were based in the social sciences, humanities, arts and professional disciplines at a cross-section of UK higher education institutions. Data were analysed thematically with a focus on interconnections between wellbeing, learning and belonging.

A sense of belonging arose as a key contributing factor to postgraduate wellbeing. Belonging emerged as multi-faceted, interlinking with spatial, relational and cultural factors which are likely to be experienced in different ways and degrees depending on positionalities. Experiences of belonging and non-belonging are understood as produced through academic cultures and structural inequities. They also pertain to the uncertain, in-between position of postgraduate learners. For postgraduates, and doctoral researchers especially, reaching a sense of belonging to academia was a profoundly important aspect of their journeys. Conversely, lack of belonging is linked with poor mental wellbeing and engagement with studies.

This paper engages with the neglected social domain of wellbeing. Attending to subjective perceptions of wellbeing enabled nuanced understandings of the links between wellbeing and belonging. It identifies spatial, relational and cultural dimensions of postgraduate belonging, contributing an understanding of how feelings of non-belonging manifest, how belonging might be nurtured, and how this potentially contributes to postgraduates’ wellbeing.