Report R2.15 Communication Skills in Research Seminar Leader: K. Ravikiran Sharma, SDMIMD, Mysore k.r.sharma[at]iitb.ac.in The following issues were discussed in the seminar: * Issues related to the choice of a doctoral programme * Support systems for academic decision-making * Communication skills in reporting research Part 1 An exploration of the seminar leader’s personal journey, threw light on factors that affect the process of educational decision-making. These were discussed in detail with respect to how aspiring research scholars chose doctoral programmes. Persons applying to doctoral programmes allow various non-academic factors to influence their choice of an institution. Very often, considerations such as location of the institute, personal perceptions and fantasies, climate of the place, etc., can profoundly influence the decision. In India, the lack of adequate support systems for aiding this process can make this especially difficult for aspiring scholars. In such a scenario, the candidate’s own initiative in seeking relevant information assumes increased importance. A good way to begin this process of decision-making could be to look into the reasons for wanting to pursue a doctoral programme. Once this is done, the general body of literature in one’s broad area of interest should be identified. Becoming familiar with this body of literature will facilitate the formulation of potential research problems. The educational system can facilitate the decision-making process by providing opportunities for exploring various areas of interest starting at the undergraduate level. Aspiring scholars should be guided to choose a university and a programme that fit their interests. The choice of a guide is extremely important and one should strive to ensure that there is a good match between the guide’s expectations and one’s own interests. Part 2 Communication skills form an integral part of the required repertoire of skills for any researcher. There is a need to apply these at many levels in the research process. At the input level, these skills can play a vital role in the choice of methods and in how these are applied. The kind of information that the researcher wants to elicit from a sample or population informs how these skills would be used in the collection of data. At the output level, communication skills are employed in reporting one’s research within a community of scholars and to the larger public. The seminar leader chose to dwell at length on heuristic rules that are commonly applied in reporting one’s research, focusing on skills related to the twin aspects of written communication and oral presentations. The need for adequate skills in absorbing and assimilating information was emphasized. This included literature review skills, reading skills and data skills. The seminar leader identified clarity, correctness, completeness and conciseness as desirable qualities of a written report. He emphasized the importance of following emerging conventions such as the preference of endnotes over footnotes in a document. The structure of a typical research report and the order of various elements in it were also discussed. In an oral presentation, it is desirable that the content is presented in a logical order. The role of audience feedback in oral presentations was specially emphasized. The researcher can use information about the structure, typical age, ability, attitude and size of the audience to customize the presentation. The ability to present one’s work to a wide range of audience is most often an indication of the depth of the researcher’s understanding of the topic. Researchers often have to interact with groups of other researchers. Designing effective conversations that facilitate purposeful communication among these groups requires skills and expertise. Thus reporting research is a continuous process that involves communication at various levels involving diverse participants. Reported by Jacob D. Vakkayil, with inputs from 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 |
