Students, faculty stress on research, knowledge dissemination

PNS | Hyderabad

Universities are centres for knowledge generation and research holds the key to such activity, obsedrved the speakers at the three-day research skills series on thesis writing organised by the Human Capital Development Centre (HCDC) which concluded at the Osmania University on Wednesday.

With the participation of over 150 students, researchers and faculty members, it ended with a call to work with dedication and commitment for not just knowledge generation but also knowledge dissemination.

The programme attracted speakers from the university, affiliated and autonomous colleges. Initiating the lecture series, Prof A Patrick, Department of Commerce, Osmania University, gave insights into the pitfalls of writing, expectations of the adjudicators and gave extensive details on the procedures of submission and post-submission of a thesis. He called upon researchers to remain focused and apply themselves rigorously for the task ahead of them.

Prof Stevenson, Director, HCDC, speaking on how to write an introduction, outlined the steps involved and emphasised the importance of reading and digesting material from diverse sources. Stating that the introduction should establish the research territory, define the niche for the current research, and how to occupy the niche area.

He cited examples of earlier research on the language to be used to define and occupy the niche area. He cautioned participants not to rush with the introduction at the beginning, instead work on the other chapters in the thesis.

Factoring the importance of tapping the right kinds of sources to gather information, Dr P. Ramesh, Senior Technical Officer, Osmania University, familiarised the participants with a wide range of electronic data bases and also spoke at length of the strategies to make information search easier.

Later, Prof. Stevenson, dealt at length on the significance of review of literature where researchers ought to identify different types of gaps and also provide a rationale for the study.Stating that the review of literature helps in crystallising the research questions, which in turn helps in deciding about the methodological approach, he said, the review being the integral part of any project/ research helps the researcher gain a holistic understanding of the subject under investigation.

Dealing with aspects of Scientific writing, Prof C Srinivasulu,  underscored the need for publishing research and the current trend of predatory journals.  He added that researchers should be mindful of the process of reviewing by the publishers.  

Dr AS Chakravarthy, Librarian, Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial Library, said plagiarism checks have enhanced the quality of research output in the university and added that one who plagiarises is a  thief of literature.