A PLATFORM TO ENHANCE THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE FOR PART-TIME GRADUATE STUDENTS/ AHMED MOHAMED ABOELYAZED IBRAHIM NASR

Supervisor:
Tarek Khalil

Thesis (M.A.)—Nile University, Egypt, 2022 .

"Includes bibliographical references"

Contents:
DECLARATION FOR COPYING V
DEDICATION VI
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS VII
ABSTRACT X
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 2
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 4
2.1 GRADUATE STUDY CHALLENGES 4
2.2 USING TECHNOLOGY IN MANAGING GRADUATE STUDIES 6
2.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT 8
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 9
3.1 HYPOTHESES 9
3.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 9
3.3 SAMPLING 9
3.4 SURVEY DESIGN 9
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 10
4.1 RESEARCH FINDINGS 10
4.2 HYOTHESIS EXAMINATION 14
4.3 CLUSTERS CHARACTERISTICS 14
4.4 KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO CLUSTERS 15
4.5 RESEARCH OUTCOME 15
CHAPTER 5 : PROPOSED PLATFORM 16
5.1 INTRODUCTION 16
5.2 PLATFORM DESCRIPTION 16
5.3 PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES 16
5.4 PLATFORM ROADMAP 17
5.5 PLATFORM ADVANTAGES 19
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK 20
APPENDIX 22
APPENDIX I SURVEY QUESTIONS 22
IX
APPENDIX II SURVEY RESULTS 25
APPENDIX III AGILE METHODOLOGY 35
APPENDIX IV PROTOTYPE DASHBOARD SCREENS 37
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abstract:
Graduate students often face challenges when it comes to completing their dissertations in a timely
manner. Despite various attempts to use technology to solve this problem by creating graduate studies
management systems, many of these systems lack a strong dissertation management component.
Our research project aimed to address this issue by focusing on a specific graduate studies program and
conducting a study with a random sample of graduate students. The goal of this study was to measure
the challenges that graduate students face when completing their graduate studies and to assess the
current status of their dissertations.
Some of the most common challenges include a lack of organization, difficulty managing their time
effectively, and difficulty staying motivated. Additionally, many graduate students reported feeling
overwhelmed by the scope of their dissertations and struggling to make progress, while remaining
productive in their full-time jobs
To address these challenges, we proposed a dissertation management system that would provide a
predictable process that facilitates the path toward finishing the graduate dissertation on time. This
system would include features such as task management tools, progress tracking, and a dissertation
timeline to help graduate students stay on track and motivated. Additionally, the system would provide
resources such as research templates and samples to help graduate students stay organized and focused
on their research.
Overall, our research project has shown that graduate students face significant challenges when it comes
to completing their dissertations. By providing graduate students with a dissertation management
system and additional support, it is believed that students can overcome these challenges and finish
their dissertations on time. Our dissertation management system is a proposed solution that could help
many graduate students in the future.

Text in English, abstracts in English and Arabic