Phase 2 activities
Phase 2a.1 Analysing the transition processes of the master’s degree students
1. Design, development and validation of the Initial Transition to the Master’s Degree Questionnaire (CIT-MU in its Spanish initials). The questionnaire was designed and validated, adapting the instruments used for the undergraduate project (EDU2009-10351 and EDU2012-31568) and the REDICE16-1605 master’s degree project. The results were presented in workshops and the definitive version was drawn up in both hard-copy and digital formats.
2. Contacts with the degree course directors. The persons responsible for the 44 participating masters’ degrees were contacted, and a written commitment to furnish them with the study results provided. In each university the researcher from that institution was responsible for contacting the relevant course director.
3. Administration of the CIT-MU questionnaire to the whole student cohort. It was agreed that the questionnaire would be collected during the first four weeks of the course. The final participation rate was 54.4%, with a 1.6% maximum margin of error. A total of 1,795 questionnaires was collected.
4. Analysis of the CIT-MU data. SPSS-Win v22 was the program used. Training sessions were given and sub-teams created to analyse the information for subsequent partial dissemination of the results.
Phase 2a.2 Fllow-up study of the transition to the master’s degree
1. Design, development and validation of the Transition to Master’s Degree Follow-up Questionnaire (CST-MU in its Spanish initials). The questionnaire was designed on the basis of the results obtained from the CIT-MU. The constructs of professional identity and adaptation to the course were added. As with the CIT-MU, both hard-copy and online formats were designed.
2. Contacts with course directors. The researcher from each university was responsible for contacting their respective course director.
3. Administration of the CST-MU questionnaire to the whole student cohort. It was agreed that the questionnaire would be collected from February to April 2018. The final rate of participation was 46%. A total of 1,352 questionnaires was collected. Apart from the UNED masters’ courses, all of these were in hard-copy format.
4. Analysis of the CST-MU data. SPSS-Win v22 was the program used for this. Training sessions were given and sub-teams created to analyse the information for subsequent partial dissemination of the results.
Phase 2b.1 Delphi method process with a group of experts
1. Setting up the Delphi protocol and determining the relevant informant profile. The protocol was agreed with the representatives of each university and the expert profile was decided on.
2. Informing the chosen experts and inviting them to take part. The representatives of each university contacted the respective course directors, providing information on the project, along with informed consent forms.
3. Carrying out the rounds, analysis and final report. From May to September 2019 the two rounds were performed, with 11 master’s degree directors participating in both
