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

Abstract

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.