Assessing the competences associated with a nursing Bachelor thesis by means of rubrics.

BACKGROUND

Writing a Bachelor thesis is the last step in obtaining a university degree. The thesis may be job- or research-orientated, but it must demonstrate certain degree-level competences. Rubrics are a useful way of unifying the assessment criteria.

OBJECTIVES

To design a system of rubrics for assessing the competences associated with the Bachelor thesis of a nursing degree, to examine the system's reliability and validity and to analyse results in relation to the final thesis mark.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional and psychometric study conducted between 2012 and 2014.

SETTINGS

Nursing degree at a Spanish university.

PARTICIPANTS

Twelve tutors who designed the system of rubrics. Students (n = 76) who wrote their Bachelor thesis during the 2013-2014 academic year.

METHODS

After deciding which aspects would be assessed, who would assess them and when, the tutors developed seven rubrics (drafting process, assessment of the written thesis by the supervisor and by a panel, student self-assessment, peer assessment, tutor evaluation of the peer assessment and panel assessment of the viva). We analysed the reliability (inter-rater and internal consistency) and validity (convergent and discriminant) of the rubrics, and also the relationship between the competences assessed and the final thesis mark.

RESULTS

All the rubrics had internal consistency coefficients >0.80. The rubric for oral communication skills (viva) yielded inter-rater reliability of 0.95. Factor analysis indicated a unidimensional structure for all but one of the rubrics, the exception being the rubric for peer assessment, which had a two-factor structure. The main competences associated with a good quality Bachelor thesis were written communication skills and the ability to work independently.

CONCLUSION

The assessment system based on seven rubrics is shown to be valid and reliable. Writing a Bachelor thesis requires a range of degree-level competences and it offers nursing students the opportunity to develop their evidence-based practice skills.