Report R1.4 Toward the Unknown Region--Challenges and Choices in Research Seminar Leader: B. M. Kitching, QUT, Australia randbkitching[at]bigpond.com Issues Covered: To do research or not to do research--from the very beginning a research career involves making decisions, making choices; Is research for me? What are the qualities that characterize a researcher? Which research area shall I choose? Where should I go to study? Who should I choose as a supervisor? Now I have a research area, what about research questions? Will I test a theory? Will I extend theory? Will I fill in a gap? Will I work within a paradigm or seek to develop new paradigms? The vexed question of methods! Quantitative or qualitative? Experimental design or political analysis? Having chosen a path, how do I deal with blocks and barriers? With a PhD successfully achieved, what next? Continuing the journey towards the unknown region. Dr. Beverley M. Kitching started with a brief introduction of the courses offered at her university and emphasized that they have to maintain quality with very limited resources. The discussion started with a question, which an individual planning to go for research faces, i.e., "whether to do research or not to do research." She said that most individuals are not clear about their goals when they join their graduate course; they have the limited goal of attaining their graduate degree and start earning at the earliest. She said that she focuses on identifying the right candidate for research and higher studies through various exercises and teaching styles and tries molding their interest towards research/entrepreneurship. She provides information to them about research work and generates interest. A student has a free choice to make the decision for joining research or not. She emphasizes that a research candidate should make the decision on his or her own. She focused on the characteristics of a researcher. According to her the different qualities that characterize a researcher (or entrepreneur) are: (a) imagination, (b) clear vision, (c) originality, (d) creativity, (e) independence of taking decisions, (f) strong analytical skills, (g) effective communication skills, (h) hard work, (i) dedication, and (j) lateral vision (imagination and vision of broad category of thinking). She said that an individual to reflect on whether he/she is capable of pursuing research career could use these characteristics. She further said that carrying out research is going through a path of strange, exciting, challenging edges, where one can fall off at any time. A researcher should be have some clarity about the research area to be taken, the place to carry the research work, selecting for the right supervisor, practicalities and constraints to be faced in terms of time, money and future career. After going through the first step, the researcher has to find out the research questions. He has to choose the theoretical framework for designing the research work and start reviewing the literature. The research work might involve testing a theory, extending a theory, or filling in a gap in the literature. One has to decide whether to stick to a particular paradigm or seek to develop new one. In this context, the facilitator shared her own experience of research while pursuing her PhD. She discussed the pitfalls and "pratfalls" (i.e., the self-created difficulties) to be faced. The researcher should then select a model and find out whether a hypothesis is needed to test the model. She further viewed that multidisciplinary approach should be taken in research where a researcher has not to stick to his/her narrow research area but should also look out of the box to have an idea of the other areas. She shared that, during her research she had to delve into different subjects, such as philosophy of science, political science, sociology of science, history, anthropology economics and Chinese literature, to carry out her research on the topic "Science Policy in the Peoples Republic of China: The Role of a Scientist." The next issue for a researcher is to select the method that should be used in the research. The vexed question of whether to use quantitative, qualitative, experimental design, or political analysis is of great importance. The important points to take care at this stage are to know the best method providing the data, to test the various research questions, add any new work found, and have a sound knowledge of the topic. In this context, she discussed a model for multidisciplinary research. She said that one should not stick to one’s paradigm forever, but should get out sometimes and explore (overcoming various pitfall and pratfalls) other areas, and aim to produce new paradigms. Example: Mathematics, physics, and biology were combined to produce a new field known as mathematical ecology. Then a researcher needs to overcome various blocks and barriers, after choosing a path. In a research career, there may be various blocks and barriers. Some people who suffer from dyslexia are very intelligent and are good entrepreneurs; but their condition may cause some problem in a particular area of their work. Moreover, moving to a new place for getting ideas, family hurdles, and personal problems are some other factors that hinder a researcher’s job. The researcher should have a positive attitude to overcome these barriers and move forward. The next step for the researcher is to decide what he/she has to do after the completion of PhD. She said that the various options that are available are to go for postdoctoral fellowship, a job in a university or research institute, or into private consulting, etc. The facilitator said that completion of PhD is not the stop for research work but it is actually a starting point in search of new ideas. Research never stops. She gave her own example of continuing her research journey from science policy to Sino/Australian relations to Female entrepreneurship. She suggested that research is a never-ending process; therefore she and other researchers have to continuously move towards unknown regions. Reported by Srikant Panigrahy, with inputs from Amar K. J. R. Nayak and D. P. Dash. Copyleft Xavier Institute of Management, Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar 751013, India Research World (ISSN 0974-2379) http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/Home |
