Assessing Online Doctoral Student Research Competencies

The purpose of this study was to investigate online education doctoral students’ perceptions of their research competencies. The researchers utilized the Scholar-Practitioner Research Development Scale (Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2018) which consisted of 24 Likert-based items to assess research competency in five areas: attitude toward or value of research, critical evaluation and application of research, research knowledge, research skills, and research dissemination. For each of the five research competencies students reported their competency at 4.0 or above (on a scale of 1- 5) each year, with students most strongly agreeing with statements related to the value of research, evaluation and application skills, and research knowledge. This study illuminates the development of research competencies in online doctoral students. Recommendations include using the Scholar-Practitioner Research Scale to assess program effectiveness, track program improvements, and identify gaps in the curriculum