ASSIGNMENT

1.Explain the problems to be encountered by researchers in India.

Problems Encountered by Researchers in India:
Research Methodology is a study subject in some of the under-graduate courses and most of
the Post-graduate courses. Still there is a lac! of a"areness of the purpose of research and
the purpose of including research methodology in the curriculum. Many students hate this
subject and the hatred is increased "hen they see the numerical in biostatistics "hen it is
clubbed "ith research methodology.
#here are se$eral problems encountered by students and no$ice researchers. Some of them
are%
Lack of Scientific Trainin: #he research methodology is not systematic. Many researchers
underta!e research "or! "ithout ha$ing actual !no"ledge of the research methods. #hey just
loo! for similar studies and copy the methodologies listed in it. E$en the research guides do
not ha$e a thorough !no"ledge of the $arious methodologies. #his scenario "arrants the
need for some sort of short-term training to be imparted to researchers prior to underta!ing
research acti$ities. #here is a paucity of competent researchers. #he scenario in most cases is
li!e a blind leading the blind. Most of the people "ho hold the position of research guides are
themsel$es not thorough "ith the $arious methodologies. #hey lead the researcher&students to
copy methodology of similar studies.
Insufficient Interaction: #here is no proper interaction bet"een researchers and the business
establishments go$ernment institutions etc. #his leads to a great deal of data going
untapped. Interaction programs should be organi'ed bet"een researchers and other
institutions on a regular basis. #his "ill highlight "hat issues need to be researched "hat
data is re(uired for conducting research and ho" the study "ill be useful.
Lack of !onfidence: Most of the business establishments are of the opinion that researchers
can misuse the data pro$ided by them. )s such they are reluctant to di$ulge details of their
company. #his affects the research studies for "hich that particular data may be of utmost
importance. #hus confidence-building measures should be adopted "hich "ill con$ince the
business units that their data "ill be put to producti$e purposes and "ill not be misused in
any manner by the researcher.
Lack of !ode of !onduct: *o specific code of conduct exists for the researchers "hich
leads to inter-departmental and inter-uni$ersity ri$alries.
The outlook of the researcher"research student: )ll students before being selected by the
guide interact "ith their senior students. #hey already finding difficulty "ith research tells
the hardships they suffer or suffered. #his changes the outloo! of the students. Research is
the "ay you ta!e it. It can be either.
Lack of confidence to take u# a ne$ study es#ecially e%#lorati&e study: #his may be due
to any of the abo$e-mentioned reasons also the fear of the result and fear of not able to
ans"er (uestions during presentations. +ne should be dare enough to disseminate the result
of the study as it is the truth he&she has come to !no" after the research process. ,imitations
of the study are al"ays considered and no one is going to blame on that unless until the
research is re-done. #his leads to under ta!ing of o$erlapping studies as there is a "ant of
information.
'na&ailability of #ermission to do research in s#ecific centers: -ospitals and business
establishments usually don.t allo" third party inside to conduct research. #his may be due to
security reasons or may be due to lac! of confidence in !eeping the confidentiality of the data
or names. *o establishments "ill agree a third person to get in and find out the problems
"ithin and it being gets published. Some organi'ations charge hea$y fee or donation
/"hate$er it may be0from students to allo" doing research "ithin.
Research( a mere formality to fulfill course re)uirement: 1es of course research is a part
of curriculum. 2ut most of the students find it as a mere formality to fulfill their course
re(uirement. #hey just "ant to finish off the study. 3or this they search the shortcuts. 2ut the
fact is that once a study is done it "ill be referred in future by other researchers. #hey "on.t
be a"are if the study "as sincerely done.
Publishin may be e%#ensi&e: Research study once it is completed the further step "ill be
the publishing of the same. Printing and binding may turn to be expensi$e. )lso it "ill be
$ery expensi$e the paper has to be published in any international journals or conferences.
#hese expenses may not be affordable by the student researchers.
Lack of a&ailability of s#onsors: #his may be due to lot of reasons.
). -esitation to contact sponsors
2. *ot able to con$ince the sponsors
4. ,ac! of confidence of sponsors o$er the researcher
Inade)uate Assistance: Researchers in India ha$e to cope "ith the non-a$ailability of
ade(uate and timely secretarial assistance "hich affects the schedule of their research study.
Mani#ulation of data: E$ery researcher tries or does one or the other !inds of manipulation
of data. May be multiplying the sample si'e or to ma!e the result in the "ay they "ant. #he
lac! of confidence o$er the result they may get after the completion of study is the reason for
manipulation of result. #his ne$er re$eals the reality as the intuition of the researcher is
guided by mere theoretical !no"ledge. In reality sometimes theory and practicemay be
contradictory. Some researchers just finish off their study by simply sitting intheir home5 they
don.t e$en interact "ith their subject or ha$e any one.
Im#ro#er Library Manaement: #he libraries are not managed systematically. Much of the
precious time of the researchers is spent in loo!ing for boo!s reports ne"spapers etc. rather
than searching rele$ant information from them.
*ih !ost of Publishin: +nce their research is completed the researchers ha$e to loo! for
a means to publish it. Publishing in international journals is highly expensi$e. #his
discourages most of the researchers from ta!ing up research "or!.
!o#yin of data +Plaiarism,: Some researchers /as they call themsel$es0 merely copy
other international studies or studies "hich ha$e been done by researchers&students of other
uni$ersities. #his is a crime and should not be promoted. ) Researchers can re-e$aluate
others study by considering and o$ercoming the limitations of pre$ious study but at no cost
should be copied or repeated. +ne should learn to respect others hard "or!. #he act itself
leads to lac! of a"areness in research methodology.
Lack of a&ailability or access to literature needed% #his is a major problem faced during
the literature re$ie". #he lac! of a$ailability of access to Internet ignorance of the "ay to
search needed articles from journals and other databases are other problems. Searching boo!s
and ne"spaper articles from con$entional libraries consumes a lot of time and effort. #hese
!ind of libraries especially "hich are situated a"ay from the capital cities lac! copies of ne"
acts&rules published by the go$ernment. #here is also timely una$ailability of published data.
6.Explain the contents of a research report in detail.
a, Preliminary Materials
#he preliminary materials include the title page the abstract ac!no"ledgements table of
content list of tables and list of figures.
Title Pae:
)lthough title page may differ from one institution to another they usually include%
/10 the name of the topic
/60 the name of the author
/70 the relationship of the report to a degree re(uirement
/80 the name of the institution "here it is to be submitted and
/90 the date of presentation /see box on the right0.
#he title should be concise and should indicate clearly the purposes of the study. :eep in
mind its possible usefulness to the reader "ho may research the database in "hich it may be
listed.
#he title should not claim more than the study actually deli$ers. It should not to be stated
broadly and ma!e it difficult for the reader to pin point "hat the study is about. 3or example
the title ;#he Self-4oncepts of <rban Poor 4hildren= is too general and a more precise title
"ould be ;#he Effecti$eness of the Inducti$e Method in Enhancing 4reati$ity among
Primary School 4hildren=.
#he title should be in capital letters single-spaced and centred bet"een the right and left
margins of the page. If the title goes beyond one line the "ords in the title should be di$ided
into lines so that each successi$e line is shorter than the one abo$e it and is centred belo" it
in an in$erted pyramid style /see 3igure0.
Abstract
#he abstract should be be not more than 1 page and should be in one to t"o paragraphs. It
should be a self-contained summary of the most important elements of the proposal.
Ackno$ledement:
)n ac!no"ledgment page is included if you ha$e recei$ed unusual assistance in the conduct
of the study. #he ac!no"ledgement should be simple and restrained. >o not indulge in
flattery and excessi$e recognition for routine participation of family members lecturers
super$isors librarians and clerical helpers.
Table of !ontent :
) table of contents ser$es an important purpose in pro$iding an outline of the contents of the
report. >ifferentiate bet"een headings and subheadings using capitalisation and small letters.
Page references for each topic should be indicated.
List of Tables and -iure:
If tables and figures are included in the report a separate should be included to list each table
or figure. #he full titles of figures and tables "orded exactly as they appear in the text are
presented "ith corresponding numbers and page locations.
Note: )ll pages in the preliminary section are numbered at the centre of the bottom
margin "ith lo"er-case Roman numerals /i ii iii i$0.
b, .ody of the Re#ort
It is usual for this section to be di$ided into 9 sections or chapters.
!ha#ter /: INTR01'!TI0N
#he first chapter ser$es as the introduction to the area under consideration. ) clear statement
of the problem "ith specific (uestions to be ans"ered or hypothesis to be tested is presented.
1ou should present the significance of the problem and its historical bac!ground
appropriately. )lso include assumptions and limitations of the study. )ll important terms
that are operationally defined should be included in this chapter. #his is important because
terms such as gifted underachie$er and many other terms are defined differently by different
researchers.
!ha#ter 2: RE3IE4 0- RELATTE1 LITERAT'RE
#his chapter is a re$ie" of important literature related to your study. Extracts from pre$ious
research studies and significant "ritings of authorities in the area studied are re$ie"ed. #his
chapter pro$ides a bac!ground for the de$elopment of your study and brings the reader up to
date about research and thin!ing in the field. It also gi$es e$idence of your !no"ledge of the
field. 1ou should a$oid an article-by-article presentation but should indicate areas of
agreement or disagreement in findings or gaps in existing !no"ledge. #he journal Re$ie" of
Educational Research can be referred to for examples of good critical re$ie"s of the
literature. )lso a$oid excessi$e use of (uotations. *othing is more tiresome or difficult to
follo" than a re$ie" of literature that is merely an accumulation of (uotations.
!ha#ter 5: MET*010L0G6
#his chapter explains the design of the study in detail.
Sam#lin:
It is here that you explain the si'e of the samples and ho" you selected them. Indicate the
extent to "hich the sample is representati$e of the population. >id you use random sampling?
>id you use stratified sampling?
Settin:
If you are doing a (ualitati$e study you ha$e to explain in detail the setting the
characteristics of your subjects ho" you gained access or entry to the setting and you role in
the study /e.g. obser$er participant obser$er0.
Instrumentation:
1ou should include a description of the data collection techni(ues or instruments you used.
3or example if your study is a sur$ey you ha$e to explain ho" you design and de$eloped the
(uestionnaire or inter$ie" chec!list. Explain the number and types of items included in the
(uestionnaire. If you had used attitude scales achie$ement tests and other psychological
tests5 you ha$e to gi$e e$idence regarding the reliability and $alidity of the instruments. 1ou
may also describe the scoring procedures adopted for the instruments used.
!ha#ter 7: ANAL6SIS 0- 1ATA
In this chapter you present the findings of the study after ha$ing processed and analysed the
data. #his is the heart of the research report. If you are doing a (ualitati$e study tables and
graphs are commonly used to organise and present numerical data. #ables and graphs are
useful in presenting an o$erall picture of the data as "ell as sho"ing trends that ha$e
emerged from the analysis. If you did a (ualitati$e study there "ould less numerical data.
Instead you data "ould consist of concepts categories or themes "hich may be presented in
table form. 1ou "ould also be presenting data in the form anecdotes or excerpts of
inter$ie"s obser$ations and form documents to support your arguments. 1ou are ad$ised to
refer to the @ournal of Educational Psychology and )merican Educational Research @ournal
to see ho" tables and graphs are presented and explained. 3or (ualitati$e studies #he
Aualitati$e Report is a useful journal "hich presents reports of (ualitati$e studies in
education nursing and medicine.
!ha#ter 8: S'MMAR6 AN1 1IS!'SSI0N
#he last chapter comprises of t"o parts.
#he first part includes% a brief summary of the problem methodology and results. 3ocus
should be on a summary of the findings and it should be as brief as possible. Some
researchers present the main findings in the form of list.
#he second part is a discussion of the findings. -ere you identify and interpret the findings.
1ou gi$e possible reasons "hy the results occurred. 1ou could pro$ide reasons by referring
to the findings of pre$ious research /#his is "here the studies cited in 4hapter 6 are useful0.
2ecause you are the one "ho conducted the study you ha$e a deeper understanding of the
study compared to most readers you are expected to discuss the findings and to gi$e your
o"n opinion.
+ne of the most common "ea!nesses found in the "riting of graduate students is that their
reports present important and interesting findings but fail to pro$ide a thoughtful
interpretation of the findings.
+n the other hand there is the tendency for beginning researchers to o$ergeneralise on the
basis of their limited data. Remember your study is not attempting to change the "hole
education systemB 3or example you could ha$e the follo"ing comments about your report%
;1our study to this point has been goodC.
C1our summary is disappointingC.
CDhat you ha$e reported may possibly be true but there is nothing in you study to
justify or support your conclusions=.
1ou should !eep in mind that this chapter is the most used part of the research report by other
readers. Readers "ho scan research literature to find significant studies examine this chapter
before deciding "hether or not further examination to the report is "orth"hile reading.
Reference Materials
#his section of the report comprises the References and )ppendixes /if any0. References are
arranged in alphabetical order "ith the last name of the author listed first. -ere you "ould
include journal articles boo!s chapters in boo!s monographs reports ne"spaper articles
you ha$e cited in the report. #he common mista!es "ith the Reference section are%
1ou had cited an author in the report but it is not listed in the References and $ice-$ersa.
#he method of referencing does not follo" a consistent format /In education the format used
is by the )merican Psychological )ssociation E )P) format0.
A##endices
#he appendix is indicated by the "ord )PPE*>IF capitalised and centred on the page. #he
first page of the appendix is title )PPE*>IF ) follo"ed by )PPE*>IF 2 and so forth.
Dhat may be included in the appendix?
#ables and data E important but not essential to the understanding of the report
4opies of co$er letters used and printed forms of (uestionnaire tests and other data E
gathering de$ices.
Item-analysis data and other materials pertinent to measures
Scoring procedures