Objective: This research was conducted to investigate the viewpoints of postgraduate students of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (USWR) in relation to the thesis conducting process.
Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive analytical study and 160 postgraduate students of the USWR, who were selected through a census, completed a valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire. The questionnaire containing 68 item that arranged in four general sections, including "thesis" (30questions), "students' self-evaluation of their research skills" (10questions), and "supervisors and advisors" (28questions). The data was analyzed using SPSS version 26 software.
Findings: Most of the participants were female (70%), in the age group of 30to 36 years (42.5%) and in the master's degree(71%). The average scores for the dimensions were as below; supervisor 70.65±19.70, advisor 66.93±21.69, self-evaluation 58.48±16.79, and thesis section 57.75±15.08. The total average scores were medium to high (63.70 ± 18.50). A significant difference was observed between the average of "self-evaluation" with gender and different stages of the thesis implementation. Gender, degree and year of study were related to the selection criteria of the supervisor; degree and year of study were related to the selection criteria of the advisor.
Conclusions: According to the obtained results, the more important challenge of the students was regarding the supervisor and the effect of education on facilitating the thesis process, and these factors were more prominent in MSc students, girls and student in lower academic year. Therefore, the necessity of planning and focusing on these groups should be considered.