TO PUBLISH OR NOT: THE EXPERIENCES OF SELECTED GRADUATE STUDENTS IN RESEARCH PUBLICATION

Abstract

Graduate students consider research as the most challenging task in their studies. Aside from the researches that they do in their course work, they are also required to conduct, write, and defend their thesis or dissertation which is the terminal output of the graduate program. In spite of the challenges in research work, there are graduate students who did researches that were published in local and international journals. Though publication is not yet a requirement, they decided to do research and had them published. However, the Commission on Higher Education issued CMO 15 s. 2019 “Policies, Standards and Guidelines for Graduate Programs” requiring publication of a research work in an internationally or nationally refereed and indexed journal or have a juried creative work outlet before a graduate student earns the degree. In consideration of this policy, the study looked into the motivations, experiences and needs of selected graduate students who have engaged in research and publication. The findings revealed that their motivations are professors’ encouragement, course requirements, new learning experience, collaboration, and promotion. In describing their experiences, they found it enriching, collaborative, fulfilling, and challenging. Their needs are mentoring, research capability building, having a research community, financial support and incentives, and providing relevant information. From the findings, it can be concluded that graduate students will be able to do research with the right motivation and support from the faculty. Research and publication are fulfilling and enriching but challenging. The experiences and needs of the selected graduate students can be used as inputs in the development of a research and publication program for graduate students.

Keywords

• graduate students, research, publication