Exploring the Methodological Challenges Encountered by EFL Students When Writing their Dissertations

Abstract

Writing Master dissertation is one of the prerequisites for second-year Master's students at Algerian universities. This form of academic writing is highly structured and requires specific skills to manage the entire writing process. This qualitative study aimed to gain insight into the methodological challenges faced by non-native English students during the dissertation writing process at the University of Yahia Fares of Medea, Algeria. Specifically, the study explored both students' and supervisors' perspectives perspectives perspectivesperspectives perspectives perspectives on the difficulties encountered by students, the reasons behind these challenges, and potential solutions. Two questionnaires were used as research tool, designed for both students and teachers. The first questionnaire was given to 37 EFL Master’s students to understand their perspectives on the methodological challenges and assess the effectiveness of research methodology instruction. The second questionnaire was emailed to 7 teachers to provide additional information and perspectives on the same issue. The results obtained from both questionnaires indicated that students face significant problems throughout the dissertation process, from topic selection to data analysis, evaluation, and evaluation, and evaluation, and evaluation, and evaluation, and evaluation, and drawing conclusions drawing conclusions drawing conclusionsdrawing conclusions drawing conclusionsdrawing conclusions drawing conclusions . These issues stem from insufficient practice opportunities and writing experience, limited time allocated to research methodology instruction despite positive feedback on the course, inadequate guidance from supervisors, and resource constraints. To address these challenges, it is recommended that research methodology be incorporated earlier in the curriculum and the assessment structure be modified. Additionally, students should prepare themselves earlier by developing their writing, reading, collaboration, and time management skills, and by starting their research earlier. The study concludes with pedagogical implications and suggestions for future researchers.