Supporting postgraduates in research proposals through peer feedback in a Malaysian university

ABSTRACT

The process of developing a research proposal is challenging for many postgraduates, especially with the restricted time for supervision and the dominance of supervisory unidirectional written feedback on postgraduates’ academic texts that leave almost no or limited space for students to negotiate and clarify their work with supervisors. Therefore, the current study focused on the opportunities and challenges afforded by peer feedback practices to 15 postgraduates in research proposal development in a Malaysian public university. The qualitative analysis of the observation, video recorded face-to-face (FTF) and online peer feedback and follow-up interviews showed that peer feedback assists postgraduates to identify issues related to focus and titles, formulation of research problem, objectives and questions, research contribution and significance, theory and literature review, methodology and alignment in research proposals. Peer feedback is also a vehicle for creating interactions and meaning negotiations. Although most of the postgraduates valued peer feedback, feedback practices are challenged by students’ initial lack of active participation in peer feedback, the issue of reliability of peers’ ideas and suggestions and hesitance and worries about sharing their work online. The study offers useful pedagogical implications for supervisors and researchers in maximising the value and uptake of peer feedback for postgraduates in their research work.

KEYWORDS:

• Peer feedback
• research proposal
• issue identification
• interaction
• postgraduates

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Huda Suleiman Al Qunayeer

Huda Suleiman Al Qunayeer is an Associate Professor of Linguistics and Chairperson, Department of English, College of Sciences and Arts, Unaizah, Qassim University, with eight research papers published in Internationally Scientific Refereed Journals. Dr Al Qunayeer has participated in both national and international conferences .She has also supervised some MA students enrolled in Linguistics MA program at Saudi Universities .She has been examining and evaluating research projects for Qassim University. Besides, she is a member in many national committees as, King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue and National Center for Assessment.