Project writing palaver in institutions.

Project writing palaver



Writing a graduation thesis is one task many students, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels do not find easy.   It can be a rather lonely journey – one that everyone has to embark upon, alone, to get the coveted certificate.  It reminds me of the last leg of The Gulder Ultimate Search reality TV show when the contestants no longer spend time together after dinner to share the day’s experiences but are consumed with the passion of surviving the task ahead.  With classes and examinations over, students often miss the companionship of their classmates – camaraderie that they developed over years of study – when undertaking their projects.  It is not a period to be taken likely.

Sadly, many students are not also ready for it.  They lack the requisite skills to make scientific inquiry so they get frustrated, depressed, and, in some cases, give up.  This is particularly so at the postgraduate level.   That is why you find many postgraduate students do not complete their projects within the same academic session that they finish their course work.

Some other students do not bother to stress themselves at all.  They just get older projects written by students in other institutions, reproduce word-for-word, bind, and submit.  This is more common at the undergraduate level.  I often wonder how they are able to graduate with such level of plagiarism.  But many people I have met have admitted to committing fraud in their undergraduate projects.  Some others pay people to write the project for them not caring where they get their data from.   However those students who take the trouble to do genuine work learn a lot at the end of the day.

But why is project writing so difficult to undertake?  Research is a very important aspect of our lives.  It is the reason we are able to grow and develop because once we know how variables interact to produce certain outcomes, we are able to introduce controls that can help us produce the kinds of outcomes we desire.  Yet, despite this important benefit of scientific inquiry, the process continually baffles generation after generation of students.   The result: our libraries are packed with supposed results of scientific inquiry that provide no directions for future uses because most are not originals.

It is time that management of the various tertiary institutions institute processes to help students conduct better research.  Usually, a course in research methodology precedes project writing.  However, not many understand it.  It is taken as a theoretical course, not one that is capable of equipping the student-researcher with requisite skills to manage their own research process when the time comes. A good knowledge of statistics and data analysis also seems to be a problem many students have.  They are unable to effectively analyse their data beyond the basics.  Analysis can be a problem when the student does not know what to do with his data.  Today, there are many data analysis software that can help students collate their data easily.  But they cannot make the best of them without a working knowledge of statistics.

Another challenge that students face in the course of project writing is the cost implication.  This is particularly so for science-based projects which entails some costly experiments or fabrications that many can hardly afford.  Many times, students have to send their samples abroad to test because the pieces of equipment or technology are unavailable in Nigeria.

We need more institutions, corporate organisations, and philanthropists to invest in research laboratories where students can carry out their researches at affordable cost.  I was impressed to read that an organisation, the Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO), provides project grants to students.  We need more of such initiatives.