Methodological difficulties faced by university students doing research

Abstract

Research is a set of technical processes applied with systematization, rigor, control, and organization to solve environmental problems. In this regard, it has become a bridge between staff, students, and the educational system for teaching and learning institutions and what is happening around them. However, when research is done in educational environments, it is common for students to face specific methodological difficulties. To this end, an exploratory study was proposed to explain the methodological difficulties university students face when doing research. Eleven university students, who were taking the subject of research methodology, were distributed into three groups and were used as the subjects of the study. Six discussion sessions were held and recorded in a notebook over two semesters; in the analyses, a synthesis of the notes recorded in the discussion sessions was made, and three final research reports submitted by the teams were reviewed. The main research problems that were explained were the lack of research connection when posing a problem of the environment, the incongruent formulation of objectives and hypotheses, poor writing skills and understanding of the theoretical framework, as well as problems searching for and using information collected, both documentary and field. In addition, an inadequate use of the APA format was observed. It is concluded that there are more difficulties in the research practice that could not be explained, and that should be explored by means of different research methods