2026-10-09T19:51:29Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33718573 2026-09-14T06:23:48Z category_26173 category_26143 category_26170 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Measuring Research Competence as Learning Gain Among Postgraduate Students in Pakistan Muhammad Ismail (19436911) Professor Zafar Iqbal (24868713) Professor Ashfaque Ahmad SHAH, PhD (24866044) Educational administration, management and leadership Higher education Education assessment and evaluation Higher Education Learning gains <p dir="ltr">Learning gain, defined as change in knowledge, skills, and competencies during higher education, has not been examined within Pakistani higher education, and postgraduate populations remain underrepresented internationally. This study examined how attitude to research, self-regulation of learning, and critical processing relate to research competence among postgraduate students in Pakistan. Data were collected from 337 MPhil, MS, and PhD students across several provinces and disciplines, using items adapted from an established framework and a validated research competence scale. Structural equation modeling was used to test a hypothesized mediation model. Attitude to research significantly predicted self-regulation of learning and critical processing, and both in turn predicted research competence. The direct path from attitude to research to research competence was not significant, indicating this relationship operated primarily through self-regulation and critical processing. The model accounted for 64 percent of the variance in research competence. These findings extend learning patterns theory and social cognitive perspectives to a new population and context, and suggest that postgraduate programmes should invest directly in regulation and critical thinking skills rather than attitude alone. They also offer the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan a validated way to measure a form of learning gain it has not previously assessed.</p> 2026-09-14T06:23:48Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33718573.v2 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Measuring_Research_Competence_as_Learning_Gain_Among_Postgraduate_Students_in_Pakistan/33718573 CC BY 4.0