Institutional Support, Research Skills and Online Information Searching Strategy: A Structural Equation Model on Research Motivation of Graduate School Students

Research motivation is vital for self-development and influences graduate students' engagement in research and professional growth. It is in this context that this research sought to determine the most suitable model for research motivation. It aimed to determine the significant relationship between the exogenous variables: institutional support, research skills, and online information searching strategy, to the endogenous variable which is research motivation among graduate students. A correlational research design and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used in this study. Data was gathered from 400 graduate students enrolled in Master of Arts in Education (MAEd) programs in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Region XI, Philippines through adopted survey questionnaires and was treated using mean, Pearson r, regression and SEM. Among the exogenous variables, research skills is very high while institutional support and online information searching strategy were high. Research motivation, the endogenous variable, is likewise high. The exogenous variables have significant relationship to research motivation and model 3 was determined to be the best-fit model, establishing a partial mediation of research skills on the relationship between institutional support and research motivation. Thus, providing institutional support enhances research skills and subsequently boosts research motivation among graduate students. This emphasizes the need for HEIs to prioritize these factors in designing programs and interventions to support graduate research.