The Factors influencing on students’ choice of undergraduate research project

Abstract

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the factors influencing on Students’ choice of the undergraduate research project in Sri Lanka. The main objective of the present study is to identify the factors influencing on Students’ choice of the undergraduate research project in Sri Lanka. This study has adopted a qualitative research strategy and convenience sampling method is used to select students from each university. Accordingly, 34 students contributed to this study. Primary data were collected using focus group discussions followed by a structured questionnaire. The first phase of this study was conducted in the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka (USJ), a sample representing USJ. After that, the same research was expanded island wide covering all the state sector universities in Sri Lanka to fill the research gap which was realized in the same study. To ensure reliability, the current study has followed a different research methodology than the previous study. The findings of this study show that influencing on Students’ choice of the undergraduate research project in Sri Lanka self-efficacy, future ambition on career, consciousness, proficiency in English, ability to manage the time and the availability of resources and issues with mentoring. The results were almost the same as what the researchers derived previously attached to the case study conducted at USJ. Some implications for the decision-making bodies to improve the research choice among undergraduate students have also been proposed by the current study.