Article A5.1 Research Training in Perspective: Transformations in Individual Researcher Badrinarayan S. Pawar Professor, Organisational Behaviour XLRI, Jamshedpur, INDIA pawar[at]xlri.ac.in I understand that the Research Training Seminar (RTS) activity seeks to facilitate discussion on various aspects of research with a view to providing research-related inputs to students pursuing doctoral-level education in the area of management. In this foreword I outline some aspects that may be relevant to the objective of RTS. For this, I have tried to understand the objectives of RTS, considered the nature and range of topics covered in RTS 2007-2008, and cursorily read through a few of the write-ups on RTS 2007-2008 seminars available at the RTS website. The topics covered in RTS 2007-2008 address a broad range of aspects relevant to doctoral students. These include the nature of research in the area of management, entering a research program, working through various phases of doctoral dissertation work, theory development, communicating research, and publishing research. These also include specific methods (e.g., case study) and specific substantive topic areas (e.g., developmental studies). Through the thoughts outlined below, I do not go into the details of individual RTS 2007-2008 topics. Rather, I seek to place the RTS activity in a broader context. I outline below some thoughts based on my research-related training, reading, and practice of research over the last decade and a half, which may be of relevance to the RTS objectives. Developing into an academic researcher may possibly require a transformation in an individual. Facets of this transformation may include intellectual, social, value-based, and spiritual. Intellectual transformation may include acquisition of knowledge of various aspects of research, such as philosophy of knowledge and science, the nature and role of research in knowledge generation, and various research methods, procedures and techniques (e.g., research design, scale development), and acquisition of skills of actually carrying out research. Social transformation may come from the possible changes in aspects such as one’s central life interests, adoption of the new role of an academician centring on teaching and research, and change in the social networks. Value-based transformation may come from acquisition of research values of objectivity, integrity, and so forth. Spiritual transformation may come from the possible and gradual weakening of one’s ego through the process of suspending one’s preferences, opinions, and so forth, with a view to accept the meaning emerging from other sources (e.g., literature, data). It may also come from the realisation of the inadequacies of the process and outcomes of research (e.g., several definitions of a concept, tentative theoretical frameworks, small variances explained in the outcome variables). I wonder if it will be useful to have an activity for doctoral students which: (a) provides them with inputs on the above outlined and other facets of transformation that they may undergo during a doctoral program, (b) helps them understand implications of this transformation for one’s job satisfaction, career development, and life-fulfilment, and (c) helps them to facilitate, accept, and respond to this transformation. The above thoughts may place RTS 2007-2008 topics and RTS in a broader perspective. They may also facilitate readers to grasp the significance of various topics covered in RTS 2007-2008, to integrate them as parts in a larger view and see other inputs that may be needed for their more complete transformation as prospective researchers and academicians. I pray that RTS evolves into an activity that will help doctoral students to receive inputs for a meaningful research career that may help in their evolution as human beings and for a meaningful life that evolves to provide peace and happiness to others around them and, through that, facilitates their own peace and happiness. With prayers, Badrinarayan S. Pawar Copyleft Xavier Institute of Management, Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar 751013, India Research World (ISSN 0974-2379) http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/Home |
