Improving Students’ Qualitative Research Competencies through Training in Research Skills Focused on Intercultural Communication

Lely Novia (Universitas Negeri Makassar)
Maemuna Muhayyang (Universitas Negeri Makassar)
Nurdin Noni (Universitas Negeri Makasar)
Yunitari Mustikawati (Universitas Negeri Makassar)
Elfira Makmur (Universitas Negeri Makassar)
Mohd Shamsuri Md Saad Saad (Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka)

Jurnal Pengabdian Sains dan Humaniora
Vol. 5 No. 2 (2026): October Edition

This community service activity aimed to strengthen students’ qualitative research skills through a workshop entitled Sharing Research Skills: Effective Strategies for Conducting Qualitative Research on Intercultural Communication Issues. The activity was conducted in response to students’ difficulties in understanding qualitative research procedures and applying them to intercultural communication contexts. The program was implemented through a participatory workshop consisting of material presentation, interactive discussion, question-and-answer sessions, and guided mini research projects, supported by limited offline mentoring. The participants were 59 fourth-semester applied undergraduate students of English enrolled in the Language and Intercultural Communication course. The results of the pre–post-test and survey showed an increase in students’ understanding of qualitative research concepts, intercultural communication issues, methodological skills, confidence, cultural sensitivity, and research readiness. These findings indicate that experiential and mentored learning approaches are effective in developing students’ research competence in intercultural communication.