Pendampingan Penyusunan Proposal Skripsi Berbasis Identifikasi Research Gap untuk Meningkatkan Kualitas Karya Ilmiah Mahasiswa Tingkat Akhir

Abstract

Final-year students often encounter difficulties in preparing thesis proposals, particularly in identifying research gaps, developing a coherent background, and determining research topics that meet academic standards. These challenges affect the quality of the proposals and may delay the completion of their studies. This community service program aimed to improve students' competence in preparing thesis proposals based on research gap identification to enhance the quality of their academic writing. The program was implemented through mentoring activities consisting of lectures, interactive discussions, proposal-writing practice, and evaluation using pre-tests and post-tests. The participants were final-year students preparing their thesis proposals. The results indicated an improvement in participants' understanding of identifying research gaps, developing systematic research backgrounds, formulating research problems, and selecting relevant research topics. In addition, participants became more active during discussions and were able to produce better-structured proposal drafts. Therefore, this mentoring program proved effective in strengthening students' competence in thesis proposal preparation and can serve as an academic support strategy to improve the quality of scientific writing in higher education.