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WHAT ARE SOME CHALLENGES THAT FILIPINO STUDENTS FACE WHEN COMPLETING STEM CAPSTONE PROJECTS

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Some of the key challenges that Filipino students face when undertaking STEM capstone projects include lack of resources, limited access to technology, difficulties integrating theory with practice, time management issues, and lack of mentorship and guidance. Let me elaborate on each of these challenges:

Lack of Resources: Securing the necessary resources to conduct research and build prototypes is a major hurdle for many Filipino students. STEM projects often require specialized equipment, materials, and tools that are expensive and not readily available. While some universities have labs and workshops, the facilities are often outdated and oversubscribed. Students struggle to access cutting-edge technology, research-grade equipment, and industry-standard software. They must spend considerable time and effort searching for alternative solutions to make do with limited resources. This hinders experimental design and forces workarounds that compromise project quality.

Limited Access to Technology: Connectivity and infrastructure issues plague many parts of the Philippines, restricting students’ access to modern technological tools and online resources essential for STEM work. Rural and remote communities have limited or no internet access. Even in major cities, internet speeds are often slow with frequent disruptions. This creates difficulties in researching technical topics through online databases, collaborating with remote teammates through video calls, accessing cloud servers for data processing and simulations, and submitting assignments electronically. Students lose valuable time struggling with unstable connectivity instead of focusing on their projects.

Difficulties Integrating Theory with Practice: While Filipino STEM education emphasizes strong theoretical foundations, the practical and applied implementation aspects are often lacking. Students face challenges bridging classroom teachings with real-world problem-solving through hands-on capstone projects. With limited lab exposure and opportunities to work on instrumentation, they struggle to operationalize conceptual knowledge gained in lectures. This hampers effective experiment design, prototype fabrication, data collection, troubleshooting of technical issues, and validation of theoretical underpinnings through practical results. Their projects risk becoming overly theoretical without proper guidance on practical integration.

Time Management Issues: Juggling academic coursework, part-time jobs, volunteer commitments, family responsibilities and extracurricular activities leaves Filipino students with little time left for intensive capstone work. Deadlines loom with competing priorities creating scheduling conflicts and distracting from focused project implementation. Late nights spent multi-tasking reduce productivity and increase stress and mistakes. Inadequate time planning means tasks run over schedule without proper progress tracking. Students find it difficult to self-manage their workload and optimally distribute limited hours across all commitments including research. This threatens on-time project completion.

Lack of Mentorship and Guidance: Experienced technical guidance and oversight is crucial for complex STEM projects but often lacking for Filipino students. With limited faculty supervisors and oversubscribed advisors, meaningful mentorship is scarce. Students struggle navigating the research process independently without expert counsel on experimental design, troubleshooting obstacles, analyzing results, and drawing valid conclusions. Lack of customized feedback also hampers iterative project improvements. Insufficient coaching on soft skills like technical writing, research documentation, presentation skills, and collaborative teamwork creates other weaknesses. Students face difficulties translating ideas into reality without close mentor advocacy throughout the project cycle.

Lack of specialized resources, constraints on technology access, challenges integrating theory with hands-on application, limitations to self-manage workloads, and scarcity of dedicated mentoring are some key hurdles Filipino STEM students commonly face in completing capstone projects. Overcoming these barriers requires concerted support through better-equipped university labs, improved infrastructure, hands-on training, customized guidance structures, flexible scheduling, and enhanced collaborative networks. With targeted assistance to address resource gaps and development needs, more Filipino youth can succeed in real-world STEM application through impactful final-year projects.

WHAT ARE SOME POTENTIAL CHALLENGES THAT STUDENTS MAY FACE WHEN CONDUCTING A CAPSTONE PROJECT

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Students undertaking capstone projects for the first time may face a variety of challenges as they take on this large culminating project before graduating. Successful completion of a capstone project requires strong time management, research, writing, and presentation skills. It is a substantial undertaking that really tests students’ abilities before entering the workforce or continuing on to further study.

One of the biggest challenges students may face is effectively managing their time. Capstone projects require extensive research, data collection, analysis, and writing over the course of several months. Students have to balance the demands of the capstone with other responsibilities like coursework, extracurricular activities, employment, and their personal lives. Poor time management is a common pitfall that can cause stress and lead to delays in completion. Students need to set interim deadlines, prioritize tasks, and schedule work in block to stay on track.

Related to time management is the challenge of conducting in-depth and thorough research. Capstone projects demand that students explore their topics from many different angles to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding and analysis. Students have to identify relevant scholarly sources like peer-reviewed articles and reports, but also integrate professional publications, case studies, interviews and surveys to develop a robust literature review and framework. The research process takes time and persistence to uncover all necessary information and data. Students may struggle navigating library databases and sorting through more materials than expected.

Analysis of research findings can also prove difficult. Capstone projects require sophisticated analysis that applies theories and models. Students have to make sense of complex data, identify patterns and relationships, and draw logical conclusions. Strong quantitative, qualitative or mixed methodology skills are necessary. Some students find the scope of analysis intimidating or are confused about how deeply to interpret their results. Statistical analysis software and qualitative data management take time to learn.

Developing the structure and Organization of a lengthy capstone paper or report poses additional challenges. Students must create a clear introduction, thesis, body, and conclusion that flow cohesively. The section types and paper length will differ depending on the academic field and topic. Using proper citation formats, developing headings and subheadings, adhering to formatting guidelines and creating appendixes all take practice. The capstone writing process is an iterative one of drafting, revising, editing and proofreading that some students struggle with.

Choosing an appropriate and engaging presentation format for the capstone findings and getting comfortable publicly speaking are also hurdles. Multimedia, poster presentations and live demonstrations require technical skills that students may lack. Even an oral presentation may induce significant nerves for those uncomfortable with public speaking. Rehearsing, practicing responses to questions and communicating research passionately takes effort to prepare for what is typically the final stage of the capstone experience.

Finding a faculty advisor or project supervisor who is available, provides guidance and delivers constructive feedback presents an ongoing area of difficulty. Students want to find an engaged mentor invested in their success, but some end up frustrated by unresponsive or unhelpful advisors. Asking questions, setting regular meetings and clarifying expectations upfront helps promote a smooth advising relationship. Advisor changes or delays still occur outside a student’s control.

While immensely rewarding, the capstone project milestone demands that students push beyond their comfort zones. With diligent planning, time management, research rigor, analytical abilities, writing skills, technical proficiency, public presentation experience and advisor support, students can work to overcome these challenges. The capstone epitomizes demonstrating one’s depth of knowledge in a field of study upon the cusp of graduation or the next step in their education or career. Students who seek assistance and persist through setbacks gain transferable competencies well serving them in future endeavors.

WHAT ARE SOME COMMON CHALLENGES THAT STUDENTS FACE WHEN CONDUCTING RESEARCH FOR A CAPSTONE PROJECT

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Students undertaking capstone projects face various challenges when conducting research. One of the biggest challenges is narrowing down the research topic to something feasible to study within the given timeframe and scope. Capstone projects aim to demonstrate a student’s skills and knowledge but also need to have reasonable boundaries. Choosing too broad of a topic makes deep research difficult while too narrow risks limiting the significance of the work. Finding that right balance of specific but not too specific is challenging.

Related to topic selection is developing clear and answerable research questions. Often students begin with vague statements of inquiry rather than targeted questions. Well-formulated research questions are essential as they guide the entire research process and determine whether the aims of the study are achieved. Coming up with two to three insightful questions that can realistically be answered through the research plan takes iterative refinement.

Once the topic and questions are established, students then need to conduct an extensive literature review to see what work has already been done in the field and identify gaps that the capstone can fill. Searching large and diverse databases for relevant sources presents hurdles. Using too narrow or too broad of search parameters may miss valuable information. Advanced database navigation skills are required to efficiently gather the most applicable prior studies, theories, and findings. Sifting through and making sense of the massive amounts of available literature demands strong critical analysis.

Effectively organizing and taking detailed notes from sources is another difficulty. With many sources to immerse in, students risk losing track of arguments, data, and citations unless notes are carefully maintained. Note-taking software or templates help but still require diligence to fully capture the essence of readings without direct copying. Synthesizing disjointed facts and viewpoints from disparate studies into coherent narratives also proves testing.

Once the literature review is complete, determining the most ethical and suitable research methodology is an obstacle in itself. Some questions may call for quantitative data while others demand qualitative insight. The methodology needs to fit the topic, address the research questions, and be logistically workable. Gaining formal approval for human subject studies entails its own challenges. Methodological design flaws can undermine findings, so selecting and justifying choices prudently is paramount.

Securing access to participants or datasets in a timely manner poses challenges. For example, recruitment strategies may not yield sufficient responses, or expected data sources fall through. Contacting busy organizations and individuals requires persistence. If relying on others for data collection assistance, coordination difficulties can arise. Backup plans help mitigate unsuccessful access efforts that could jeopardize deadlines.

Proper data analysis using the chosen methodology also presents hurdles. Students need sufficient training to correctly apply analytical techniques like statistical tests, coding schemas, or frameworks. Interpreting numeric and textual results takes nuanced understanding to tease out meaningful insights rather than superficial observations. Presenting findings objectively while relating them back to the research questions and literature shows analytical prowess.

Effectively communicating research in a capstone paper or presentation poses difficulties. The document must weave literature review, methodology, findings, limitations, and recommendations into a cohesive academic narrative. Following target publication guidelines precisely proves daunting, as does ensuring consistent formatting, style, and structure. Oral delivery of research through presentations risks public speaking anxiety, going over time limits, or failing to engage audiences visually. Mastering these various composition and presentation skills is an ongoing learning process for capstone students.

In concluding, undertaking a capstone project involves surmounting inherent challenges at each stage of the research process from topic selection to communication of results. Students must exercise diligence, creativity, persistence, and openness to feedback to maneuver through inevitable obstacles. With guidance from faculty mentors and patience through iterative trials, most capstone candidates eventually find pathways to conducting sound and meaningful research.

WHAT ARE SOME POTENTIAL CHALLENGES THAT STUDENTS MAY FACE WHEN IMPLEMENTING AN ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD SYSTEM

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The first major challenge is cost and funding. Developing and implementing a full-featured EHR system requires a significant financial investment. This can be a huge obstacle for student projects that have limited budgets and funding. EHR software, servers, infrastructure, installation, training, support and maintenance all have considerable price tags. Students would need to secure appropriate financing to cover these expenses.

A second challenge is technical complexity. Modern EHR systems are enormously complicated from an information technology perspective. They involve massive databases, sophisticated interfacing between different modules and systems, complex workflows, security considerations, data migration processes, customization and configuration. While students have an advantage of youth when it comes to technology skills, implementing an actual EHR system used in clinical care still requires deep expertise in healthcare IT, systems integration, security, and more. Students would need extensive guidance and support from technical professionals.

Interoperability is another obstacle. For an EHR to be truly useful, it needs to be able to securely share data with other key clinical and administrative systems like laboratories, imaging, pharmacies, public health databases and insurance providers. Achieving seamless interoperability according to all required technical, security and privacy standards would be very difficult for students without industry collaborations. Lack of interoperability could render the EHR ineffective or inefficient in real-world use.

User adoption and support is a further hurdle. Even with an excellent EHR product, successful adoption by end users such as clinicians, staff and patients requires careful attention to training, organizational change management, configuration for optimal workflows, responsive help desk assistance and more. Securing user buy-in and providing supportive implementation services could challenge time-constrained student capabilities without external support resources. Poor user experiences could undermine an EHR project.

Compliance with regulatory standards is another area where student projects may face difficulties without proper guidance. Healthcare regulations relating to topics like protected health information security, patient privacy, data accuracy and electronic prescribing are extremely complex. Full compliance certification from bodies such as ONC-ACB (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology-Authorized Certification Body) would realistically be difficult for students to achieve independently.

Data migration from legacy systems presents a significant challenge. Most healthcare provider organizations have decades of existing patient records, orders, results and other data accumulated in many source systems. Moving all these data into a new EHR requires extremely careful planning, execution of data extracts/transformations/loads, validation of data quality, and readiness of the EHR to properly structure and manage the migrated information. The sizes, complexity and sensitivities of such data migrations would likely overwhelm student project capabilities.

As student projects have likely schedules measured in academic semesters rather than multiple years, time constraints are a major difficulty as well. Full EHR implementations at real healthcare organizations routinely take 2-3 years or longer to complete, considering all the elements mentioned above plus inevitable unforeseen complexities along the way. Major compression of a full system development life cycle into a short academic time frame could threaten project viability or compromise quality.

While healthcare IT experience has considerable educational and career value for students, implementation of an actual clinical-grade EHR system poses extraordinarily complex technical, operational and organizational challenges. With limited resources and timelines compared to commercial EHR vendors and provider organizations, students would face significant difficulties achieving success independently. Robust collaborations with industry mentors, access to external expertise and long-term engagement models may be needed to help students overcome these barriers and increase the feasibility of such projects. Proper scope control focused more narrowly on a functional EHR module or technical component may also allow meaningful learning opportunities within student constraints.

WHAT ARE SOME COMMON CHALLENGES THAT STUDENTS FACE WHEN COMPLETING MASTERS CAPSTONE PROJECTS

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One of the biggest challenges is properly defining the scope of the project. Capstone projects are meant to be a culmination of a student’s knowledge and skills gained throughout their master’s program. They also need to be manageable projects that can be completed within the given timeline. Students should work closely with their capstone advisors to determine a research topic or project idea that is ambitious but not too broad. Clearly defining the research question or project goal, as well as setting realistic expectations and milestones, is important for staying on track.

Once the project scope is set, conducting an extensive literature review can present difficulties. Students need to familiarize themselves with all previous and current work related to their topic to put their capstone into context. This review also helps identify any gaps in the research. Wading through vast amounts of scholarly papers and reports takes time. Students should budget weeks for their literature review and learn strategies like annotating papers, keeping detailed notes in a review matrix, and identifying the most influential papers to prioritize. Starting the review early allows for adjusting the project based on gaps found.

Collecting quality data appropriate for answering the research question can pose issues too. For projects requiring primary data collection like experiments, surveys or interviews, students have to carefully plan recruitment strategies and account for logistical challenges that may impact participant response rates or data quality. Factors like time constraints, lack of funding for incentives, and availability of suitable participants can negatively impact the data collection phase of a capstone. Pilot tests and contingency plans are important to work out potential issues beforehand.

Many capstone projects may involve analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data which brings its set of problems. Students need to identify the correct analysis methods and statistical tools to interpret different types of data and draw valid conclusions. Learning new software programs or coding skills for analysis can be time-consuming. Issues like poor quality or incomplete data may impact the choice of analysis as well. Students should schedule practice sessions with their analysis methods and ensure they understand how to appropriately apply, interpret and report their results. Consulting experts for guidance is also helpful.

Time management poses a formidable challenge, especially when combined with other commitments like a job or family responsibilities. Capstone projects involve extended periods of intensive research, writing and revisions. Students must create clear, actionable plans with interim deadlines to stay on track for completion within the stipulated duration. Establishing regular communication and frequent progress checks with advisors helps ensure students don’t fall behind schedule. Managing motivation over the long duration of project work is also crucial. Taking breaks, celebrating small milestones, and keeping the end goal in sight can counteract potential procrastination tendencies.

Mastering the technical aspects of academic writing demands effort too. Students need to locate and cite appropriate sources, refine their writing style for research papers, and adhere to formatting guidelines for their specific discipline. Writing clearly yet concisely to convey complex ideas is also a learning process. Multiple iterative cycles of writing and revising different sections, as well as incorporating feedback, are usually necessary before the final document is complete. Starting the writing process early allows for this refinement over time. Using campus writing resources and following examples from exemplary papers are useful strategies.

Presenting findings to an audience of faculty and peers poses communication apprehensions for many. Students should treat even initial proposal presentations as opportunities to gather critiques to strengthen their work. Rehearsing talks numerous times, practicing delivery techniques, and preparing for potential questions helps build confidence. Advisors can assist with public speaking skills as needed.

While these challenges may feel overwhelming, capstone students who seek guidance, establish clear plans, and pace themselves stand the best chance of success. Managing energy levels, collaborating with support communities, and celebrating milestones also counteract potential stress or setbacks along the way. With diligent effort and perseverance, students can effectively complete rigorous yet meaningful capstone projects to round off their graduate education.