Developing and validating tools to assess postgraduate service quality and the postgraduate service experience

Abstract

This paper reports on further attempts to develop and validate instruments to improve the measurement of higher education quality, more especially postgraduate research service. A 26-item postgraduate research service quality (PGSQUAL) instrument as well as a six-item postgraduate service experience (PGSERVEXP) instrument were developed and validated among recent postgraduates at a large research university in South Africa. From a response rate of almost 53%, after subjecting the data to factor analysis and, determining the Cronbach's alpha values, it was ascertained that the respective research instruments were found to be fairly reliable and valid measures of postgraduate research service quality and of the overall postgraduate research service experience.