Understanding the Lived Experiences of Australian University Students
Research Question, Background, and Significance
Research Question
The specific research question which the proposed study intends to explore is as follows -
What are the lived experiences of Australian University students in the present day? To what extent do finances influence the quality of performance and life for Australian University students?
Research Problem and Rationale
A survey that was conducted on Australian University Students in the year 2017 demonstrated that students were struggling with their finances and that many students had to contend with the difficulties in their financial situations by going without meals, opting to work part-time while they studied, and they were constantly in a state of worry over their financial situation (Universities Australia, pp 19 and 21). This anxiety and worry surrounding finances has negatively impacted the performance showcased by many university students. Students, on account of their preoccupation with financial matters, are not able to devote the attention and time that is necessary to focus on their learning, and this affects their ability to perform. Academic studies require plenty of concentration, and students must attend lectures, take notes, and work on assignments to get the degree that they have enrolled for. The inability to focus on studies, and concentrate instead on making money to survive exerts an adverse influence on student performance (Universities Australia 2017, p 35). Such a problem should not be allowed to persist as it is detrimental to the future of the youth and education in Australia. The proposed study intends to investigate more about this problem more by assessing ways and means by which students can navigate through their financial difficulties and acquire the support that they need to direct more attention toward their studies and graduate their respective programs with good grades.
Review of Literature
Surveys on Australian university students are conducted quite frequently to assess the quality of life that is enjoyed by students and to determine if there are obstacles or hindrances that they must overcome in order, to succeed in their studies and graduate well (Dodd et al., 2021). Recent research on the subject shows that at least two-thirds of students who are enrolled in Australian universities are residing below the poverty line, and lack the resources and the securities that are necessary for them to pursue academic learning with the dedication and interest that is required for this (Baron & Hartwig, 2020, 218). Students are usually not able to make more than anything, between 10,000 AUD and 19,000 through the part-time jobs that they do, and many of them have to rely on the financial support that is provided by family and friends to meet their financial commitments. Many of these students are enrolled in the undergraduate level of study while some are enrolled at the postgraduate level of education (Dodd et al., 2012, 866). The constant stress over finances makes it difficult for many such students to live a life of quality (Johan et al., 2021, 355). They are not able to spend sufficient time with friends, and peers, and have to remain engaged in the rendition of professional duties, albeit of a part-time nature, to support their studies and get the degree which they have enrolled for. The worry or concerns that students have about their finances impact their ability to get good grades (Nguyen & Balakrishnan, 2020, 1373). Many of them are concerned with how to survive every day, namely, how to make enough money to pay rent, procure meals, pay essential bills, and acquire the necessary resources or tools to carry out their learning activities (Thatcher et al., 2020, 188). Often, the money that Australian university students make, through part-time work, stipends, and familial support is not sufficient to meet all such expenses uniformly and for this reason, several students have to go without meals at least once a day or have to cut down on other costs of living, to be able to survive (Rodriguez Hernandez et al., 2020, 5).
When discussing the financial distress of university students in Australia mention must be made of the fact that the situation is worse among Indigenous students or students who hail from low-income backgrounds, and who cannot expect their family members to provide them with the type of financial support that they need in order, to be able to acquire a university education (Mofatteh. 2021, 36). Such students find it even more difficult to contend with the financial duress that they are in, and on account of their part-time employment which they have to take up to support their education, are not able to deliver the type of academic performance that is necessary to achieve good grades (Blackmore, 2020, 1335). This in turn is quite detrimental for such students, and for students in general who find it hard to cope with their studies because of financial problems, as the absence of a good grade prevents them from taking up secure and reputed employment in the future, causing them to become a part of a vicious cycle of despair, poverty, and poor mental and physical health (Nguyen & Balakrishnan, 2020, 1374).
Based on the literature reviewed above it appears crucial that opportunities be investigated, that can provide financial relief and aid for university students who are struggling monetarily so that they can combat many of the obstacles that pose a hindrance to their ability to obtain a quality university education.
Methodology
The approach of the Research
When embarking on academic studies, there is a lot of consideration that must be given to the type of theoretical foundation or philosophical basis on which the study is going to rest. This is because the philosophical perspectives that are used for undertaking any study, are usually known to have an impact on the results or outcomes of the study and have a crucial role to play in determining how the results of the study are interpreted and evaluated (Shan, 2022, 5). Positivism, realism, and interpretivism are three examples of research paradigms that are made use of, for conducting research work on a wide range of subjects. In interpretivism, the study performed is usually done so using qualitative methods and there is a lot of emphasis that is laid on interpreting the diverse perspectives that are expressed by the participant population who are interviewed for the study. In realism, efforts are made to understand the root causes or the underlying causes of the issue that has been chosen for investigation (Shan, 2022, 5). In positivism, there is a rigorous approach that is undertaken toward the structured collection of data, which is then extensively analyzed and objectively interpreted to assess how the findings of the study are aligned with the research questions that have been raised for the same (Leko et al., 2022, 10). For the study that is being proposed, it is the positivist framework that will be used to gain a detailed understanding of how the financial difficulties that are faced by university students in Australia impact the quality of their life and their academic performance, and how such difficulties can be overcome.
The research design of a study is also an area that must be given a lot of thought or consideration because of the capacity that this has to influence study outcomes. What a research design essentially refers to, is the strategies that are designed and implemented to collect data and to analyze data (Guetterman et al., 2021, 4). The exploratory research design, the explanatory research design, and the descriptive research design constitute some of the many examples of research designs that academics usually adopt to do their work. The proposed study is going to make use of the descriptive design in order, to acquire a detailed and rigorous idea about the financial problems that are being faced by Australian university students today, the effects that such problems have on their lives, and their ability to perform well at university, and how such issues or problems can be successfully navigated on the part of students so that can offset the negative influences that their issues can have on their ability to perform well in the classroom (Guettermen et al., 2021, 5).
The mixed methods approach of a primary nature shall be utilized for carrying out the proposed research. Such a method entails a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the problem that has been identified and allows for the issue to be investigated more rigorously (Creswell, 2021, 6). A mixed methods approach allows data collection to be undertaken using more than one technique and for the data that is obtained to be analyzed using more than one technique as well. This allows for the development of a wide range of unique perspectives on the problem that is being investigated, making it feasible for the researcher to identify the causes of the problem that was identified and to provide solutions for the same (Creswell, 2021, 10). Using such an approach, the research hopes to derive findings that can contribute a novel understanding of why Australian universities have to struggle so much on the financial front and to make recommendations on how to help or improve their situation so that the quality of life of such students and their academic performance, is enhanced (Guetterman et al., 2021, 7).
Identification of the Methods that will be used and Justification of the Method -
The primary quantitative method that will be used for data collection is that of a survey. An online survey shall be created using either Survey Monkey or Google Forms and will be circulated among a participant population. The primary qualitative method for the proposed research will entail the use of interviews of an in-depth and semi-structured nature, also conducted on a designated sample population. The results of the survey shall be analyzed by first converting the survey data into pivot tables bar graphs or pie charts, and then providing an elaborate description of the survey results. The thematic analysis technique shall be made use of to assess and evaluate the information that is obtained from the interviews taken for this study. In addition to such methods, research of a secondary nature will also be carried out by reading books, edited volumes as well as refereed journal articles on the subject of Australian university students and the issues that they experience in the domain of finances.
A survey and interviews are methods that have been chosen for this study, primarily because these are methods that are easy to implement, and also because such methods allow for data collection and analysis to be undertaken quite rigorously.
Some of the questions that will be posed before the participant population is to find out how long they have been enrolled in a program, what they expect upon graduating, the amount of money they are making while at university, and whether want they earn or even receive as scholarships can help them to fight the financial battles they are faced with.
Sampling
Approximately 50 university students in Australia will be studied for this project. 25 students will be subjected to an online survey while in-depth and personal interviews will be conducted with 25 university students. James Cook University, the University of Newcastle, and Western Sydney University are the three institutions that will be approached to locate students who can participate in the research. Students who are enrolled in both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels of education will be incorporated into the study. Students are not going to be segregated based on the subjects that they study and will be considered for inclusion in the study regardless of what their chosen discipline is. It is believed that 50 is a sufficient number for gaining the inputs that are needed to understand and assess the topic of the research better and to provide recommendations based on the information that is acquired. The information gained will provide a rigorous understanding of the exact causes of the financial challenges that university students in Australia are faced with in the present day, and inputs on how to help these students overcome the same, can also be obtained from the responses that are given to the survey and the interview questions.
The method of sampling that will be deployed for the proposed research is that of convenient sampling. What this essentially implies is that participants are going to be selected based on how readily accessible they are for the researcher, or how easy or convenient it is for the researcher to connect with the participant population and obtain their willingness to be involved in the study and its outcomes (Shan, 2022, 6). The three universities that have been selected, from where students are going to be recruited to take part in the survey and interviews, are institutions where people are personally known to the researcher which is why difficulties shall not be obtained in getting people to be involved in the research process. Several benefits are associated with the process of convenient sampling which is why it has been selected for implementation in this study. Firstly, it allows for participants to be recruited more easily than what can be done using random sampling, and it is also a method of sampling that takes less time to implement. There is a considerable amount of time that the researcher can save when making use of the convenient sampling approach to conceive the respondent population for the proposed study (Creswell, 2021, 8).
The approach that will be used to recruit the sample would be to informally connect with students who are known to the researcher, inform them about the study and its expected outcomes, and solicit their participation verbally, in the research process.
Ethics
Some of the ethical standards and practices that will be adhered to, to mitigate key ethical issues in research are as follows -
1) Addressing the issue of Voluntary Participation - Voluntary participation is often perceived as an ethical issue in the research domain because the act of forcing or coercing participants into answering questions is not an honest and upright way to acquire information that can contribute to an academic study. If information is forced out of participants, it cannot be regarded as reliable or truthful, and the unethical nature of the study if divulged or leaked, can cause the study to be rejected by the academic fraternity in Australia and across the world too. To ensure that the respondent participation in this study is conducted voluntarily, participants will be given the scope to answer questions that they only feel comfortable with, and they also have the freedom to stop participating in the study anytime that they wish to do (Creswell, 2021, 7).
2) Informed Consent - The consent for taking part in the study will be obtained verbally. A link will be shared for the survey, and those who click the link and answer the questions will be deemed as people who have done so of their own volition. For the interviews, the details of the same will be conveyed to participants by the researcher and those who agree to take part will be asked to appear at a time and place online, or physically, to answer the questions that are posed by the researcher. Questions that are asked will be related directly to the study to reduce the discomfort and unwillingness of students. Consent will be obtained from participants only after first explaining the scope or purpose of the study, the outcomes of the study, and how the participation of the students can contribute to the achievement of the proposed outcomes (Leko et al., 2022, 6).
3) Confidentiality - The data and personal details that the students provide will be kept strictly confidential and will only be used in the analysis of the research data if this is required. The information that the students give is going to be kept concealed in a USB drive, while a copy of the same is going to be stored in Google Drive too. It is only the researcher is going to have access to all of this data, and the data will be deleted once the study is concluded and has acquired the necessary approval from the university (Shan, 2022, 10).
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