An Evaluation of Research Performance: A Survey Study of Undergraduate Media and Communication Students

Abstract

Assessing research performance is essential for adopting enhancement procedures. The emphasis of the study was on undergraduate media students. The objectives of this study were to estimate their research abilities, evaluate the efficiency of some studies conducted, and identify areas for improvement. A survey was employed to collect data about the results of the final examination of the research methods subject. The study gathered 100 scores, representing three batches of male and female students. The study used the independent sample t-test to compare the means for the two groups of males and females and then explain the differences and effect size. The results showed that female students have much higher research method scores (79.3) than male students (74.9). The standard deviation for male research methods scores (10.9) is higher than that for male students (9.8), indicating higher variability in female scores. The standard error of the mean estimates the precision of the sample mean. It is higher for male students (1.5) than for female students (1.4). Hence, male students needed more accuracy in estimating the population mean due to the large variability in their scores. The effect size was (d = 0.41). There were differences (t (df = 98, p =.035) in the scores, with the mean score for the females (M = 79.3, SD = 9.8) being higher than the males (M = 74.9, SD = 10.9). In conclusion, testing students' research skills revealed a slight difference between male and female media B.Sc. students.