An emic approach towards designing a diagnostic assessment task for higher degree research students

Higher Degree Research (HDR) involves a unique set of literacy skills used to create and communicate new knowledge through the interpretation and synthesis of empirical evidence. Entry into such advanced degrees is judged by students’ past performance in coursework programs and, when appropriate, benchmarks of language proficiency (e.g., IELTS, TOEFL). However, these are often inadequate measures of how well-equipped students are to become autonomous researchers. Further, with the rise of global scholarship and student mobility, research students often enter advanced degree programs with varying educational and linguistic backgrounds and experiences. To address this variability and best support both local and international students, many institutions require students to sit an additional diagnostic language assessment (DLA) to evaluate their academic literacy skills and advanced writing proficiency. This chapter reviews a research literacy initiative designed to upskill incoming Masters by Research (MRes) and PhD students at an Australian University. As part of the program, incoming HDR students sit a customised diagnostic task to assess their level of interpretation, synthesis and academic writing. Specifically, this chapter outlines the challenges facing the definition of the diagnostic construct and students’ perceptions of and reflections on the tool, detailing how those considerations have influenced subsequent assessment and intervention designs.