Report R5.8 Research Training Seminars at XIMB: Experiences and Expectations Seminar Leader: D. P. Dash, XIMB dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in The session was an attempt to review the Research Training Seminars (RTS) at XIMB. Reflecting on the RTS series of seminars held at XIMB over the last 4 years, the participants recalled their experiences and identified areas and initiatives for improving the RTS. The process of brain writing was used to gather ideas and opinions. Some trigger questions were shared a few days in advance. This allowed the participants to write their response freely, independently, and at their own convenience. The responses were compiled and discussed in this session. The trigger questions were the following: (a) Which factors triggered or facilitated your learning in the RTS? (b) Which factors inhibited or prevented your learning in the RTS? Facilitators of Learning Figuring prominently among the factors that facilitated learning was the diversity of the seminar leaders invited and the range of topics discussed. The reading guides for the seminars helped broaden the knowledge base of the participants. As new topics were broached, awareness of and familiarity with research topics increased. This also facilitated easier understanding of some of the subjects in the coursework. The interaction with seminar leaders who had successfully completed their doctoral studies was a source of inspiration for doctoral students at various stages of their programme. More importantly, it gave the doctoral students an opportunity to learn from the experiences of those who have gone before them. There was a consensus that the informal nature of the seminars and lack of the usual faculty-scholar hierarchy had enabled free exchange of ideas. The duration of the RTS being 3 hours helped to explore a topic at some length and aided thought processes to develop. The seminars helped to develop critical thinking abilities in some participants. Participants opined that the practice of writing the seminar reports had invariably improved and honed their academic writing skills. The report writing exercise becomes a collaborative effort to understand the seminar topic. The writer takes up issues discussed at the seminar and presents his/her image of the topic. This helps to look at the seminar topic through a different lens. Doubts were raised regarding the relevance of adhering to the APA guidelines even in draft reports used for private circulation. It was emphasised by the seminar leader that APA writing was a skill and it helps to make a habit of following the APA guidelines. The refreshment breaks, a regular feature in the RTS seminars, has assisted informal interactions between the speakers and the participants. It was also expressed that the presence of supportive research community plays a major role in facilitating learning. Inhibitors of Learning Participants expressed that, at times, the pace of the seminar influenced their learning. A slow pace which might be necessary for elaborating a point sometimes disinterested some participants. The seminar leader might be assuming something about the participants' background knowledge. Giving the seminar leader an idea about the backgrounds and expectations of the audience could make the seminars more effective. Similarly, the selection of seminar leaders and seminar topics should also take into account the needs of the participants. It was suggested that some seminars should focus on the current issues in management research. Sometimes, the inhibitors originated from the participants’ side such as not reading the requisite guide for the seminar. Unfamiliarity with the basic vocabulary of research in the early stages of one's doctoral study was identified as one of the key obstacles. The demands of the coursework and its pedagogical emphasis being different from that of research training accentuates the difficulty. To make research vocabulary more familiar it was suggested that a compendium of terms could be prepared by the participants working together. Mobilising the rich internal resources of the Institute was suggested as a means to ease the new student into the world of research and its vocabulary. There should be more discussions among colleagues before and after the seminars in order to facilitate understanding of the seminar topic. Suggested Initiatives (a) Choose topics and seminar leaders to address participants' learning needs (b) Prepare a document containing the FPM students' backgrounds and expectations from RTS (c) Arrange for structured inputs on basic research concepts and skills (d) Create a compendium of research terms (starting with a set of terms used in the issues of Research World) (e) Read and discuss the important management writers (Ackoff, Mintzberg, and others) (f) Learn and use the APA guidelines with respect to writing style, citation formats, and so forth Reported by Mousumi Padhi, with inputs from D. P. Dash. [September 28, 2007] Copyleft Xavier Institute of Management, Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar 751013, India Research World (ISSN 0974-2379) http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/Home |
