The examination of research for dissertations and theses

Specific knowledge and skills are required to maintain the quality of the examination of postgraduate research. Preliminary research indicated that there was a need to investigate the examination of postgraduate research. Individual and focus group interviews were used in a qualitative research to determine the views of examiners of dissertations and theses on the issue of examining postgraduate studies. An interview schedule was compiled from the literature investigation and used as an outline for the discussions. It was found that experienced examiners follow a definite structure in the examination of postgraduate studies, the examination process does not always run smoothly and remuneration was mentioned as a problem. The examination of dissertations and theses is not a process to take lightly and examiners need proper guidelines and training to enable them to be effective.