Examining Postgraduate Students’ Challenges with Stimuli-Based Exam Questions

Abstract

The research endeavors to explore postgraduates' perceptions of attempts at stimulus-based questions in an exam. The intended goal of the study is to identify problem areas, issues, and related factors that prompt interventions for effective answering of these question types in student results. This qualitative research is interpretive in nature with a phenomenological approach. The data gathering process involved semi-structured interviews with eight postgraduate students from a private university in Karachi, selected through purposive sampling. All of them consented to be interviewed. Results indicated that this stimulus-based question can hamper academic performance in students, particularly those with no earlier experience with such assessment techniques. The validity and challenge of the questions also further challenge a host of students, provoking nerves that compromise achievement. Participants asserted that the ambiguous nature of examination questions led to greater anxiety and difficulty managing stress during the exam. The main result of the present study is to reinforce the importance of children, from an early age, developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills and preparing for this apperceptive character test. The study provides recommendations from stakeholders, including educationalists and heads of institutions, on how to assist students in protecting themselves against examination-driven psychological stress in the future.