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MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

- -

GRADUATION THESIS

LEARNING A GRADUATION THESIS COURSE ONLINE: THE MATCH AND MISMATCH BETWEEN FFL SENIORS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS AT

IUH DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

- -

GRADUATION THESIS

LEARNING A GRADUATION THESIS COURSE ONLINE: THE MATCH AND MISMATCH BETWEEN FFL SENIORS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS AT

INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Supervisor Name : PHAN THỊ TUYẾT NGA Ph.D

Student’s declaration: I declare that this graduation report is entirely my own work and does not involve in plagiarism or collusion It also has not been accepted as part

of a submission to another purpose else where I accept heavy penalty for any cheating or plagiarism

Date submitted : December 8th, 2021

Signed : ………

Word count : 8700 words

Page

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Research goals 1

1.3 Research questions 2

1.4 Scope of the study 2

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 3

2.1 Definitions of key terms/concepts 3

2.1.1 Definition of Covid-19 pandemic 3

2.1.2 Definition of e-learning 3

2.1.3 Definition of graduation thesis 4

2.1.4 Definition of technology devices and its challenges 4

2.2 Results of previous studies 5

2.2.1 The necessary requirements of an online graduation thesis course 5

2.2.1.1 Skills 5

2.2.1.2 Technical support 6

2.2.1.3 Online resources 6

2.2.1.4 Virtual learning platforms 7

2.2.2 Advantages of online courses 8

2.2.3 Disadvantages of online courses 9

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH DESIGN 10

3.1 Research context 10

3.2 Participants 10

3.3 Research methodology and research methods 10

3.3.1 Research methodology 10

3.3.2 Research methods 11

3.3.2.1 Questionnaires 11

3.3.2.1.1 The questionnaire for students 11

3.3.2.1.2 The questionnaire for lecturers 11

3.3.2.2 Interviews 11

3.3.2.2.1 The interview for students 12

3.4 Procedures 12

3.5 Data analysis 13

CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 14

4.1 Findings 14

4.1.1 Quantitative data 14

4.1.1.1 Demographic information 14

4.1.1.2 The FFL seniors' and lecturers' perceptions of the necessary requirements of an online graduation thesis course 14

4.1.1.2.1 Skills 14

4.1.1.2.2 Technical support 15

4.1.1.2.3 Online resources 16

4.1.1.2.4 Virtual learning platforms 17

4.1.1.3 The FFL seniors’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the expected advantages of an online graduation thesis course 18

4.1.1.4 The FFL seniors’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the expected disadvantages of an online graduation thesis course 20

4.1.2 Qualitative data 22

4.1.2.1 The FFL seniors' and lecturers' perceptions of the necessary requirements of an online graduation thesis course 22

4.1.2.2 The FFL seniors’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the expected advantages of an online graduation thesis course 23

4.1.2.3 The FFL seniors’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the expected disadvantages of an online graduation thesis course 24

4.2 Discussion 24

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 27

5.1 Conclusion 27

5.2 Limitations of the study 27

5.3 Suggestions of the study 28

5.4 Recommendations for further research 28

REFERENCES 29

APPENDICES 35

Table 4 1 Demographic information of FFL’s lecturers 14 Table 4 2 Demographic information of FFL’s students 14 Table 4 3 Perceptions of necessary skills of FFL’s lecturers and FFL’s seniors of an online graduation thesis course 15 Table 4 4 Perceptions of necessary technical support of FFL’s lecturers and FFL’s seniors

of an online graduation thesis course 16 Table 4 5 Perceptions of necessary online resources of FFL’s lecturers and FFL’s seniors of

an online graduation thesis course 16 Table 4 6 Perceptions of necessary virtual learning platforms of FFL’s lecturers and FFL’s seniors of an online graduation thesis course 17 Table 4 7 Perceptions of the expected advantages of FFL’s lecturers and FFL’s seniors of

an online graduation thesis course 19 Table 4 8 Perceptions of the expected disadvantages of FFL’s lecturers and FFL’s seniors of

an online graduation thesis course 21

IUH: Industriаl University of Ho Chi Minh City

FFL: Fаculty of Foreign Lаnguаges

For English-majored students in the final year at Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, one

of the graduation criteria is to submit a research project that allows students to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise within the subject matter they have been studying However, the Covid-

19 impact resulted in the closure of schools and all educational institutions in Vietnam to move toward distance education In this situation, 800 FFL students are forced to do an online graduation project in the following semester This research aims to determine the advantages and disadvantages as well as the essential requirements encountered during the online thesis, with a focus on the match and mismatch in the participants' perceptions The sample of the study consists

of 200 students and 25 lecturers of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at IUH in Vietnam The researcher pursued a mixed-method design in which a combination of quantitative and qualitative data The data were collected through questionnaires (n=225) and individual interviews (n=23) Participants answered the questionnaire and interview online via Google Form and Zoom platform The results demonstrated that learners and teachers at FFL believed that a graduation thesis course can be completely done online However, like any kind of new educational program, it comes with

a host of pros and cons as well as needful preconditions

KEYWORDS

A graduation thesis course online, Covid-19 pandemic, FFL’s seniors and lecturers, IUH, perceptions

During the period of the thesis, I received a large amount of enthusiastic support that guides and encourages me to overcome all challenges and complete my thesis punctually

Firstly, I would like to express thanks to the School Board of Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City and the Faculty of Foreign Languages for creating favorable conditions for me to do my research

Secondly, I express my heartfelt gratitude deepest regard to my esteemed supervisor - Dr Phan Thi Tuyet Nga for her guidance, valuable support, and encouragement with a perfect blend of insight and humor that helped me to tide over the hardship encountered during the research I have to accept that I would not have been able to accomplish this study without her advice and an enormous help As my teacher and mentor, she has taught me more than I could ever give her credit for here I’m proud of, and grateful for, my time working with her

Thirdly, I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of lecturers and students at the Faculty of Foreign Languages who spent their time answering my questions during interviews and helping me to do the online questionnaires

In addition, my appreciation goes to my all friends who still spent their tremendous sympathy and support on contributing to my study during this difficult time

Furthermore, nobody has been important to me in the pursuit of this project than the members of

my family I would also like to take this opportunity to show my deepest thanks to them, whose love and support are with me in whatever I pursue

Last but not least, my sincere gratitude to my group members, Tran Kim Hoang and Tran Thi Tuong Van who often shared my feelings and cooperated with me in this project Their unwavering support and cooperation carried me through all the challenging stages of writing my thesis

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

The situation in general education in VietNam has changed in the spring semester of 2020, when the first case of coronavirus infection was detected by 23 January 2020 (Coleman & Justine, 2020)

In order to adapt to the current situation, many educational institutions employed online learning systems as an integral part of the educational process after the shift caused by the current Covid-

19 pandemic This led to homeschooling being made compulsory at the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City Along with many other students at IUH, 800 undergraduate students at the Faculty

of Foreign Languages are about to undertake an online graduation thesis course in the following semester to exhibit their writing abilities and independence as researchers (MacKeogh, 2006) Even though "undertaking a graduation project is undoubtedly one of the most challenging tasks for students before graduation" (Elmabruk & Bishti, 2020, p 128) Hussey and Hussey (1997) emphasized that a graduation thesis is beneficial for students' future careers as it develops problem-solving skills, and trains students to be active learners

From an awareness of the importance of an individual participating in this semester's online graduation thesis More specifically, despite the importance of the course for students' final reports and future careers, there has been no previous study on this issue elsewhere in the globe, let alone

in Vietnam This prompted me to research whether an online thesis is feasible in the perceptions

of students and lecturers of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at IUH to offer beneficial suggestions

to assist students in successfully completing their online thesis in the future For the above reasons,

I have decided to do this research

1.2 Research goals

On the one hand, this study aimed to explore the match and mismatch in FFL seniors' and FFL lecturers' perceptions of an online graduation thesis course during the Covid-19 pandemic to shed light on the challenges and obstacles they encountered, the necessary requirements of this course and the pros and cons of this mode of education From there, it shows whether the opportunities towards delivering an online graduation thesis are satisfactory or not

On the other hand, this research focused on emphasizing and suggesting effective methods in an online graduation thesis course by FFL's seniors who are about to do their graduation thesis in the next semester and FFL's lecturers who have extensive experience as graduation thesis supervisors

to assist final-year students successfully defend their graduation thesis course online if the

Covid-19 pandemic persists

1.3 Research questions

In view of the above research goals, the study desires to address these questions as follows:

a What are FFL seniors' and lecturers' perceptions of the necessary requirements of an online graduation thesis course?

b What are FFL seniors’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the expected advantages of an online graduation thesis course?

c What are FFL seniors’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the expected disadvantages of an online graduation thesis course?

1.4 Scope of the study

The participants in this study were 25 English lecturers (M = 24%, F = 76%) belonging to the Faculty of Foreign Languages along with 200 English-majored students (M=28.5%, F=71.5%) who

are learning English at the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh city

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW2.1 Definitions of key terms/concepts

2.1.1 Definition of Covid-19 pandemic

According to Huang et.al., (2020), a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, known formally as

Covid-19, was first detected in Wuhan’s seafood market in Hubei Province, China, on December 31, 2019

A clinical study of the virus revealed that it was transmitted from person to person (Li et al., 2020; Paules et al., 2020; Wang, Cheng, et al., 2020) In March 2020, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020) declared Covid-19 a worldwide pandemic after the Coronavirus outbreak continued to move at record speed, spreading to more than 177 countries and causing

9797 deaths across the globe Bitirgen et.al., (2021) found in their research that Coronavirus disease

is a worldwide health issue that significantly impacts physical life in many aspects of ordinary living This pandemic has forced the physical closure of services, economies, societies, and the education system all through the globe by pushing all institutions to migrate to online platforms

In summary, the Covid-19 pandemic is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has created the most prominent global crisis in times, humanity is witnessing a period of significant instability, and worldwide health catastrophe has never been seen before

2.1.2 Definition of e-learning

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the closure of schools all around the world As a result, education has undergone significant transformations, with the emergence of e-learning, which allows students to receive instruction remotely and through digital platforms Clark and Mayer (2003) defined e-learning as training using a digital device such as a smartphone or a laptop to support individual learning or corporate performance goals One more explanation of e-learning that refers to instructional content delivered via technology equipment is stated by Carliner (1999)

in the research “Overview of Online Learning” To wrap up a definition of e-learning, Khan (2010) remarked that e-learning is an innovative approach to delivering a well-designed, learner-centered, interactive, and facilitated learning environment to anyone, anywhere, at any time, by combining the attributes and resources of various digital technologies with other types of learning materials suited for an open and distributed learning environment

In brief, due to the points given, e-learning is a learning approach based on using electronic resources to access learning materials and interact with teachers and other learners to acquire knowledge and grow from the learning experience

2.1.3 Definition of graduation thesis

Undergraduate students spend the bulk of their time preparing a research project in the last semester

of university in order to exhibit their writing abilities and independence as researchers (MacKeogh, 2006) It is a complex report that presents the outcomes of a research study independently written

by senior students to assess the extent to which they have comprehended their field of study with the support and guidance of a supervisor (Hardling, 2004) As Todd, Bannister, and Clegg (2004) pointed out that the process of writing a thesis involves the choice of subject matter, the focus, and direction of the topic, independent learning, proposal preparation, data collection, data analysis, writing up findings, conclusions, and research ethics Similarly, Elmabruk and Bishti (2020) added that "doing a graduation project provides students with useful hands-on experience in data collection, data analysis, and interpretation, and writing up their work." (p 129) Furthermore, Hussey and Hussey (1997) explored the importance of doing an undergraduate research project It

is beneficial to students' future careers since it develops problem-solving skills and trains students

to be active learners and independent researchers who can apply academic knowledge to their chosen field

In general, a graduation thesis is an independent learning project performed by undergraduate students in their last year of university with the guidance of supervisors Students have the opportunity and freedom to explore in-depth research into a topic of their choice, which helps students broaden their horizons in learning and develop organization, time management, and planning skills, which are crucial in all careers

2.1.4 Definition of technology devices and its challenges

“Prominently rising from the COVID-19 crisis is the issue of technology in education” (American University, 2020, p 1) Ono and Zavodny (2007) found that any digital technological instrument used for communication or information collecting such as tablets, smartphones, personal computers, or laptops are referred to as technology devices Teo (2009) provided another valuable definition of technology equipment that had been identified as one of the primary drivers for improving teaching and learning in many educational systems because it enables meaningful information exchange at any distance, within the framework of the student-teacher system (Bachmaier, 2011; So and Brush, 2008) However, educational technology has its challenges, particularly when it comes to implementation and use According to D Yates (personal communication, March 17, 2020) when responding to a question on Research Gate by a retired professor at Sophia University - John R Yamamoto-Wilson, about the effects of Covid-19 and

online learning on instructors and teaching confirmed that students with outdated technological devices might find it challenging to meet some technical requirements of online learning Furthermore, online learning relies entirely on technology devices and the Internet; teachers and students with poor Internet connection or unreliable devices may be refused access (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020)

In conclusion, technology devices mean any computer, smartphone, tablet, laptop, or another electronic device that can be used to create, store, or transmit information in the form of electronic data They provide students with easy access to information, accelerated learning, and exploring new subjects, and gaining a better understanding of complex concepts However, technology equipment in the education environment may pose challenges for students and teachers for various factors, including bad Internet connection or outdated technological devices

2.2 Results of previous studies

2.2.1 The necessary requirements of an online graduation thesis course

For brevity, a thesis is likely to be the longest and most difficult piece of work a student has ever completed As a result, to successfully undertake the research study, it is essential to promote the required skills needed throughout the writing process

2.2.1.2 Technical support

An interesting view was expressed by Rodriguez et.al., (2008) that “it is difficult to find an education course that does not employ or take advantage of technology in some way” (p 105) Nowadays, the use of technology plays a significant role in distance learning The impact of technology on online learning is studied by Lee and Witta (2001) that participating in an online learning process necessitates some familiarity with computer and web technology Therefore, students have to be able to use a range of current hardware and software programs in order to effectively participate in online educational activities, access instructional materials, and connect with teachers and peers In addition, Leontyeva (2018), in the research “Modern Distance Learning Technologies in Higher Education: Introduction Problems” highlighted that students could learn any online course anywhere with any electronic device with Internet access Last but not least, Stokes (2003) found a significant relationship between the two factors to emphasize the strong points of technology in education: students who were more at ease with the technology were more likely to be satisfied with their online learning experiences than students who were not at comfortable with the online platform

Conclusively, it is crucial to emphasize that technological support in online learning is critical; it aids in increased cooperation and communication between instructors-students and students-students, improves higher educational quality, and creates exciting classes that encourage students' imagination and search for information

2.2.1.3 Online resources

The Internet has become one of the most valuable tools for teachers and students to exchange and obtain information for research and learning (Richard & Haya, 2009) For this reason, students already have access to thousands of online resources on the Internet to support their study and research According to Rahimi and Bayat (2015), online resources are defined as the resources accessible via the Internet and World Wide Web MacKeogh (2006) reported in his research that

“online library databases providing access to full-text journals and subject portals and websites have increased to a considerable extent the academic resources available and accessible to students” (p 4) Furthermore, Jubb and Green (2007) observe that online academic libraries have

played significant roles in promoting research in all subjects and fields within their universities They believed that when students have the opportunity to access and search for data through online libraries, this will make it more straightforward for students to find information and facilitate students during the research process Besides online libraries, The Oxford Text Archive holds several corpora downloaded for free (Prytz, 2009) Additionally, Noruzi (2005) added that Google Scholar is a free web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature published in various formats and fields From one place, researchers can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities, and other websites

Taking everything into account, online resources are the most effective tool in supporting studying and learning, allowing research between many sources without restrictions At the same time, resources on the Internet have long become a vast source that consistently allows researchers to develop and improve their studies

2.2.1.4 Virtual learning platforms

In educational technology, a virtual learning environment is a web-based platform for the digital parts of courses of study, typically inside educational institutions (Britain et.al., 1999) The use of the virtual learning platform in education is a topic that has received extensive attention It is an immensely powerful tool for teachers to provide a learning environment with learners in the current pandemic Covid-19 A case study was done to evaluate the use of virtual classrooms in 2001 According to Jason et.al., (2001), distance learning courses may be completed anywhere and at any time As a result, students regard the utilization of the virtual classroom as an advantage in terms

of accessibility Concerning the online platforms, Kusnanto (2020) added that virtual learning management could use various platforms such as Google Classroom, Moodle, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams, etc For example, Google Classroom is a free blended learning tool built by Google that promises to ease the creation, distribution, and marking of assignments The primary goal is to simplify sharing files between instructors and learners (Palupi & Raharjo, 2020) In addition, Lorenz et.at., (2020), in the research “We Live in Zoom Now” pointed out that Zoom offers video telephone and online chat services using a cloud-based peer-to-peer software platform and is used for social relations and distance education; therefore, Zoom is considered to be more useful to the teaching and learning process (Hendy et.al., 2017) and “makes it easier for students and lecturers

to implement learning” (Gunawan et.al., 2021, p 30)

To sum up, with the phenomenal growth in online learning, virtual learning platforms play a crucial role in connecting teachers and learners as well as supports the exchange of information between them; the students can contact the instructor without a face-to-face visit that helps students the flexibility to create their schedules, provides individuals with the opportunity to learn anytime at anywhere

2.2.2 Advantages of online courses

The Covid-19 pandemic is quickly demonstrating why online education should be a vital part of teaching and learning The adoption of e-learning in education, particularly for higher educational institutions, offers multiple advantages Several researchers have offered the pros resulting from the implementation of online courses in schools (Klein & Ware, 2003; Hameed et.al, 2008) First

of all, according to Smedley (2010), online learning provides learners with the flexibility of time and place Therefore, students can manage a specific time for the online class, which is convenient for them and helps them save time and money Secondly, Marc (2000), in his book review on e-learning strategies for delivering knowledge in the digital age, noted that one of the benefits of e-learning in education is that it focuses on the requirements of individual students as an essential aspect of the educational process

Furthermore, online learning can also facilitate the formation of relationships between students through the usage of discussion forums Thereby, it helps to remove barriers between learners Students are encouraged to communicate with one another through online platforms to share and appreciate diverse points of view Wagner et.al., (2008) highlighted that online learning enables self-paced learning As a result, it increases satisfaction and decreases stress (Algahtani, 2011) Other studies (Zhang et.al., 2006; Basilaia & Kvavadze, 2020; and Hemlsey, 2002) also gave learners the benefits of online courses Take an example, according to Zhang et.al., (2006), learners could view all classroom activities and listen to teachers as many times as they need based on interactive videos Basilaia and Kvavadze (2020), in their study on 950 students from a private school in Georgia commented that the rapid transition to online education was a success and that the experience acquired might be valuable in the future Last but not least, Hemsley (2002) stated that with the adoption and implementation of online courses, disabled persons have the opportunity

to enhance their education from any place in the world

In conclusion, the growing popularity of online courses has been popular with institutions for many years, which has allowed teachers and learners to experience a new type of education: more

convenience and more effectiveness Significantly, the worldwide crisis has highlighted the importance of online courses in today's learning environment Education would have come to a standstill if not for online platforms since the virus's emergence

2.2.3 Disadvantages of online courses

Online learning, in spite of the benefits that it has when adopted in education, also has some limitations Therefore, many studies revealed dissatisfaction with or negative impressions of the online studying mode For instance, O'Doherty et.at., (2018) pointed out in their research "Barriers and solutions to online learning in medical education–an integrative review" that barriers to online courses might be time limitations, weak technical skills, lack of technological devices, and negative attitudes when learning Also, a similar study conducted by Burns (2011) reflected on the challenges of online learning He added two barriers to distance education: lack of high-speed Internet and inadequate support services Al-Nofaie (2020) investigated the perceptions of Saudi university students of learning via online platforms following the spread of Covid-19 The finding showed that virtual education is not always appealing to students

Additionally, Dung (2020) interviewed Hong Bang International University students' behaviors, emotions, and attitudes related to online foreign language learning during the Covid-19 epidemic The data from the interview revealed that students complained about the long-hour online sessions, which caused fatigue, boredom, and focus loss Another issue is the overheating of electrical devices after prolonged Internet communication

Finally, a recent study (Mirkholikovna, 2020) concluded that in the process of online courses, students are likely to encounter unforeseen circumstances that will interfere with them By way of example, at the most inopportune moment, their computer may fail or the Internet can break off during a critical online seminar, and learners can not do anything about it

To sum up, the challenges in the online learning process included spending long hours in front of

a computer screen and the associated problems related to learners' negative attitudes However, it

is worth emphasizing that students' most serious struggles are the technical problems represented

by a weak Internet connection or lack of a reliable technological device and an inefficient network, which cause sudden interruptions and disruptions in transmission

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH DESIGN 3.1 Research context

The study took place in the Faculty of Foreign Languages (FFL) at the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH) Under the direct management of IUH, the Faculty of Foreign Languages boasts a 16-year history of establishment and growth and presently has 60 lecturers that hold all the essential certifications for the Bachelor of English Language program (BEL) with nearly 3000 students The FFL has produced thousands of BEL graduates for the Vietnamese labor market after sixteen years of steady development BEL graduates are prepared to work as teachers, translators, interpreters, and other English-related professions in public and private sectors

3.2 Participants

The research sample of the present study comprised two groups: 25 English lecturers (M = 24%, F

= 76%) belonging to the Faculty of Foreign Languages along with 200 English-majored students (M=28.5%, F=71.5%) who are learning English at FFL Consequently, the total number of participants in this study at 225 Two hundred undergraduate students who are about to learn the graduation thesis course in the following semester were surveyed through the online questionnaire, coupled with 25 supervisors with extensive expertise in graduate thesis instruction Simultaneously, interviewing three different English lecturers to gather their information helped

me figure out their sense of supervisors' position An interview with 20 FFL seniors is conducted with the goal of encouraging them to share their views on the research topic in extensive detail

3.3 Research methodology and research methods

To lead my research to success, it is vital that I consider having suitable options of research method and methodology for my study

3.3.1 Research methodology

In exploring the perceptions and perceived pros and cons when students and lecturers at FFL taking the graduation thesis course online, I pursued a mixed-method design in which a combination of quantitative and qualitative data was collected The data-collection instruments were questionnaires and interviews According to Creswell and Clark (2011), mixed-method has been developed and refined to suit a wide variety of research questions Moreover, “mixed methods give

a voice to study participants and ensure that study findings are grounded in participants’ experiences” (Wisdom & Creswell, 2013, p 3) and “mixed methods also mirror the way individuals naturally collect information - by integrating quantitative and qualitative data”

(Wisdom & Creswell, 2013, p 3) As a result, using the mixed method to support my study is key

in stepping up to the success of my research process

3.3.2 Research methods

3.3.2.1 Questionnaires

There were several reasons why the questionnaire was selected in my data collection procedure First, Mcleod (2018) stated that a questionnaire is a low-cost, and effective approach to collect significant volumes of data from a broad group of individuals Moreover, Leedy and Ormrod (2005) highlighted that participants could remain anonymous when answering questions in a questionnaire Accordingly, some participants may be more honest than they would be in a personal interview, particularly when discussing delicate or contentious topics

3.3.2.1.1 The questionnaire for students

The students' survey-based questionnaire contains eight multiple questions (yes/no, choice, and Likert scale questions), which covered the study's objectives

multiple-The questionnaire consists of different parts; the first part is about students' demographic information, it consists of two first questions for surveying their general information, the second part includes a set of questions about learners' perceptions of the necessary requirements of an online graduation thesis course with four-question were designed in the form of multiple choices, the third and final part including two questions were forming of 5-point Likert scale items, scaled ranges from 1- 'strongly disagree' to 5- 'strongly agree' that were intended to elicit information from the respondents about their perception towards the pros and cons of a distance graduation project The questionnaire was designed using a Likert scale since it is well accepted that using Likert scale questions to gather participants' views, perceptions, and attitudes regarding the problem under investigation is a very successful strategy (Brown, 2001)

3.3.2.1.2 The questionnaire for lecturers

The FFL lecturers’ questionnaire is structured in the same way as a student's questionnaire considering four factors covering eight questions; the main aim was to explore learners' perceptions

of factors, the pros, and the cons that might influence the graduation thesis course online

3.3.2.2 Interviews

The use of interviewing to collect information today is so widespread that we are considered to live

in an "interview society" (Atkinson & Silverman, 1997; Silverman, 1993) According to Leedy and

Ormrod (2005), face-to-face interviews offered the distinct benefit of allowing a researcher to establish rapport with potential participants and thus gain their cooperation Furthermore, "during

an individual interview, each participant would have more time to talk in detail about his/her own views on a topic" (Nga, 2020, p 78) Consequently, conducting interviews to assist my research data is necessary to guarantee the success of my study

3.3.2.2.1 The interview for students

The interview is divided into three sections The first section contains a set of questions about learners' perceptions of the necessary requirements of an online graduation thesis course, while the second and third sections are about learners' points of view of the expected advantages and disadvantages of a distance graduation project

In three parts comprises five opened-questions designed in English with a purpose to find out the perspectives of students when learning an online thesis such as, "you can talk about the valuable skills you have acquired through learning a graduation thesis course online.", "what is the most important thing to be able to learn the graduation thesis course online?", "why do you think the graduation thesis can be possible to learn online?", "can you tell me about the benefits of learning the graduation thesis course online compared to traditional teaching?", and "which are the main reasons why learning a graduation thesis course will not be effective/feasible online form, by yourself or by external factors, or both?"

3.3.2.2.2 The interview for lecturers

The interview for lecturers included five opened-questions designed in English Its purpose is to highlight the advantages and disadvantages when students conduct the online thesis from the teachers’ perceptions and raise their expectations for the students when doing the graduation thesis

in the following semester Similar to the interview questions for the students, this aimed to get teachers' perspectives more assuredly and effectively

3.4 Procedures

The steps performed in this research include: first, preparing the questionnaire instrument by using Google Forms, then distributed among students using Facebook group "Đại học Anh Văn 14" and sent via email to fourty instructors in FFL on September 25th, 2021, with careful and clear instructions to make sure that the respondents could easily understand and give appropriate answers

to the statements Second, develop an interview questionnaire with five questions, which was conducted with three teachers and twenty students face-to-face via the Zoom platform, and it took

15 to 20 minutes for each participant The aspects contained in the questionnaire and interview are FFL seniors' and lecturers' perceptions of the necessary requirements, the negative and positive aspects of an online research project during the Covid-19 period Third, the data obtained from students and teachers are in the form of qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (questionnaires) raw data collected online and converted in Excel format The data is then processed per the study's objectives A quantitative and qualitative analysis is performed based on the outcomes of the processed data

With interviews, I followed a three-step process First, I read through each transcript of an individual participants’ interview, read the text line by line, and looked for words, phrases, sentences, or entire paragraphs relevant to my specific concern Secondly, I searched, cut, and pasted chunks of data related to this concern in my thesis Eventually, I compared the information that I gathered from the interviews made by participating teachers and students

To end up, I would give each data my comments and conclusions so that readers could have a general view of what I collected for my study Consequently, data analysis took me much time but obviously, it would make an excellent contribution to the research findings

CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Findings

2 Lecturers expect to instruct an online

graduation thesis course to students

Table 4 1 Demographic information of FFL’s lecturers

2 Students expect to learn an online

graduation thesis course

Table 4 2 Demographic information of FFL’s students

The tables illustrate the number of participants and their expectations of an online graduation thesis course Overall, females took their part in the survey more than males, and most of them intend to conduct an online research project

According to data in the two tables, 225 participants from the FFL at IUH were selected as two target groups in this study In the first group, there were 25 lecturers with the female was the most popular gender, reaching 76%; meanwhile, males had the lowest percentages, about 28.5% In the second group, a total of 200 students were taken as a sample of the study, the majority of learners were females (71.5%), and the rest were males (28.5%)

As can be seen from the tables, 76% of lecturers and 65.8% of students were projected to take an online graduation thesis course In contrast, the percentage of lecturers and students predicted to take an offline graduation project was 24% and 34.2%, respectively

4.1.1.2 The FFL seniors' and lecturers' perceptions of the necessary requirements of an online graduation thesis course

4.1.1.2.1 Skills

B Finding reliable resources by their own 18 75% 125 62.5%

F Have necessary tools to support learning 19 79.2% 128 64%

G Apply the knowledge learned from the previous courses 16 66.7% 144 72%

Table 4 3 Perceptions of necessary skills of FFL’s lecturers and FFL’s seniors of an online

graduation thesis course

This table points out the perspectives of English lecturers and English-majored students about the necessary skills of an online graduation thesis course in seven categories It can be seen from the table that most of them agreed that teamwork skills were crucial

It is evident from the table provided that most of the students and lecturers (82% and 95.8%) considered that teamwork skills were needful Interestingly, while 91.7% of lecturers believed that submitting all drafts chapters on time was key, only 42% of students thought so, accounting for the lowest percentage

From the information supplied, it is evident that applying the knowledge learned from previous courses was the most common necessary skill among learners (72%) In contrast to learners, in teachers’ proportion, it showed the lowest point at approximately 66.7%

In conclusion, one particularly fascinating fact highlighted by the figure is that teamwork skills play a vital role in the perceptions of both instructors and learners of an online research project

A Assistance by telephone available during regular office hours 10 40% 78 39.2%

B Assistance by telephone available 24 hours a day 2 8% 44 22.1%

C Assistance by email available during regular office hours 7 28% 22 11.1%

D Assistance by email available 24 hours a day 2 8% 18 9%

Table 4 4 Perceptions of necessary technical support of FFL’s lecturers and FFL’s seniors of an

online graduation thesis course

The table gives information on the perceptions of supervisors and seniors about the technical support of an online graduation project On the whole, most students and lecturers agreed that the support of telephone and email were essential

It can easily consider from the chart that the number of lecturers and students who reported needing assistance by telephone during regular office hours reached a peak of 40% and 39.2%, respectively Following up this point, this figure in the assistance by email available during regular office hours

in teacher’s proportion reached 28% of the total number, while the percentage in students was only 11.1% at all

Additionally, most of the participants also reported needing the required hardware (4% and 4.5%) and software (4% and 12.6%) Regarding lecturers, 4% reported no need for assistance or equipment at all for their students, whereas only 1% of students reported so

To conclude, combining technical assistance by telephone and email during regular office hours to support students to write an online graduation project is a common choice in the insights of many lecturers and learners

Table 4 5 Perceptions of necessary online resources of FFL’s lecturers and FFL’s seniors of an

online graduation thesis course

A glance at the table above illustrates some online resources in lecturers' and students' perspectives

of an online graduation project Overall, academic journals and Google Scholar were the most used online resources

Looking at the information in more detail, it is clear that the percentage of academic journals, which was used by the lecturers, reached a record level of 95.8%, and the second position was Google Scholar, about 87.5% Meanwhile, there was a similar pattern of teacher's resources between grammar apps and writing tools, reaching 37.5% Besides, 33.3% belonged to Wikipedia, compared to 29.2% from the university library and only a mere percentage of ProQuest Newsstand (4.2%)

As for the proportion of the student's online resources, we can see that the highest proportion was Google Scholar (71%), whereas the figure for Wikipedia and writing tools stood at approximately 52% Meanwhile, the percentage of grammar apps, academic journals, the university library reached 48%, 42%, and 41%, respectively Finally, the other resources occupied a negligible percentage in both the student and the lecturers

To sum up, one particularly interesting fact highlighted by the figure is that Google Scholar plays

a vital role in searching for learners' information while the teachers primarily find data via academic journals

4.1.1.2.4 Virtual learning platforms

D Virtual learning platforms

Table 4 6 Perceptions of necessary virtual learning platforms of FFL’s lecturers and FFL’s

seniors of an online graduation thesis course

The table indicates the perceptions of lecturers and students of necessary virtual learning platforms

of an online graduation thesis course In general, it can be easy to consider that most of them have great support for using Zalo and Zoom as an online learning platform in an online graduation project

At first glance, it can be easy to see that the percentage of Zalo that lecturers used were by far the most popular platforms with 96%, and the second position was Zoom, about 80% More interesting,

a similar proportion of LMS and Microsoft Teams in teachers' perception reached 44% However,

there was a clear contrast between the ratio of Facebook Teachers showed the higher percentage with approximately 76%, compared to the learners' lower ratio of only 47%

Regarding the students' opinions, the highest percentage was in using Zoom with a ratio of 71%; besides, the second alternative platform is Zalo, which was used with 67.5% Following up this point belonged to the percentage of Microsoft Teams, LMS and email reached 63.5%, 55.5%, and 52.5%, respectively

To wrap up, it is a fact from gathering data that most lecturers often use Zalo to contact their learners, while the learners believe that Zoom is a valuable platform to receive homework and other assigned tasks from their supervisors in an online research project

4.1.1.3 The FFL seniors’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the expected advantages of an online graduation thesis course

The expected advantages of learning an online graduation thesis course

Frequency

Frequency (N=200)

Percentage

A (They/I) have the opportunity to

study when it is convenient; there is no

need to attend the university every

B (They/I) have the opportunity to

combine studies with work, family

C More freedom, less stress, and

pressure on the part of the school, no

need to be ashamed for a mistake in

front of schoolmates and the

D (They/I) enjoy studying and

researching using different

E (The/I) get support and

encouragement from me/ the

supervisor all the time

Undecided 3 12% 37 18.5%

G Opportunities for

self-management: time planning, the

student is the one who chooses when

and what to study and which task is

more important, thus self-organization

skills are developed

Table 4 7 Perceptions of the expected advantages of FFL’s lecturers and FFL’s seniors of an

online graduation thesis course

The table above illustrates the benefits of an online graduation thesis course in the opinions of 25 lecturers and 200 students at FFL arranged by levels from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”

in seven categories The initial impression of this table is that most of the students and lecturers believed that the opportunity to combine studies with work, family life, hobbies, and the support and encouragement from the supervisor all the time in an online graduation project was the highest beneficence of this course

To begin with, the percentage of lecturers, who advocated supporting and encouraging their students all the time in an online graduation project, reached the highest point with 68% in the level

“agree”, while the second position belonged to convenience, combination, budget, and management, at 64% By contrast, the freedom, less stress, and pressure on the part of the school reached a trough from the teachers, at 60%

self-From the information supplied, it is evident that the combination between studies and other activities was the highest percentage gathered from the students, with 60.5% Conversely, 48% from the lower budget was the lowest proportion of the students

It is interesting to note that there was a fairly equal proportion of the opportunities for management in the level “strongly agree” between teachers and students about 20% In stark contrast, however, most of the lecturers (44%) were undecided that studying and researching using different technologies was one of the benefits of a distance graduation thesis, while only 17.5% of learners thought so, accounting for the lower percentage

self-In conclusion, studying in an online course provides a flexible timing schedule for students They are not only able to learn their desired course at their suitable time but also can do their hobbies or housework at the same time However, most of the lecturers believed that distance teaching and learning can support their students every time a day due to the advanced technologies