Available online Apr 30, 2026.

[ Original ] Volume 25, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 91-104

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Abstract

This study assessed psychological variables and research skills acquisition among postgraduate students in public universities in Cross River State, Nigeria. Ex post factor research design was adopted for the study, while stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 400 from a population of 2,651 post graduate students in the universities of the study. An instrument developed by the researcher and titled: “Research Skills Acquisition Questionnaire” (PVRSAQ), duly validated with reliability estimates of the sub-variables between .72 and .81 was used to collect data for the study. The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using simple linear regression analysis. The study revealed that psychological variables (attitude to; and, interest in research methods) significantly influence the postgraduate’s education students’ research skills acquisition. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others, that educators should consider focusing on developing intervention aimed at improving students’ attitudes towards research and identifying best practices for enhancing research engagements in postgraduate education. Also, educators are encouraged to focus on identifying effective strategies to enhance research interest and explore the long-term impacts of these strategies on students’ academic and professional success.

Keywords

: Research skills acquisition, problem identification, hypothesis formulation, literature review, data collection, data analysis, research reporting, attitude to; and, interest in research methods,

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