Evaluation of graduate students' satisfaction from thesis supervision in Babol Faculty of dentistry

ABSTRACT

Students' satisfaction of their supervisor is very important in the process of writing a thesis; while satisfaction is present, favorable outcomes could be expected. This study compared graduate students' satisfaction of their supervisors from various departments. In this descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 2013, 90 graduate students who had entered Babol Faculty of Dentistry in 2004, 2005 and 2006 were studied. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was analyzed by SPSS using descriptive and inferential statistics. Mean age of the participants was 28.4 [SD=6.76] and 42.2% were male. Mean satisfaction score was 28.3 +/- 6.3 [out of 36]. There was no significant difference among levels of participants' satisfaction based on their entrance years. The married participants revealed higher satisfaction compared to the singles [p=0.05]. The relationship between students' satisfaction and their course duration was inversely significant [p=0.04]. The participants' satisfaction was not associated with their age, sex, total grade point average [GPA], thesis score, and their supervisors' education and research history. No significant difference observed among the students' satisfaction with supervisors from different departments [p=0.58]. Reinforcing supervision skills by performing suitable workshops providing a clear role description for faculty members and their students can improve the students' perspectives and theses presentation quality