Author: admin

Which Citation System is the best?

Multiple rules are available for authors to do citation for the sources used by them in their research. Researchers carry their own individual strong beliefs in context to which convention is best suited for citation.  Larger professional organisations issue lengthy guidelines in this context. Among the most widely accepted and adopted guidelines are of the … Continue reading “Which Citation System is the best?”

Multiple rules are available for authors to do citation for the sources used by them in their research. Researchers carry their own individual strong beliefs in context to which convention is best suited for citation.  Larger professional organisations issue lengthy guidelines in this context. Among the most widely accepted and adopted guidelines are of the American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA) and The University of Chicago Press. Other than this, some research journals follow their own system.

The question here is, is one better than the other? Well, they are all fine and all of them are merely conventions. It would be a futile attempt to compare these widely accepted conventions as one would not be able to come to any conclusion. Like a discussion which side of the road is better to drive cannot conclude on a decisive note, neither can this.

There is one criterion that has to be adopted for citation. All that is essentially required is that the readers should be able to check for sources of accuracy. As long as this is taken care of, the system is good.

People have their own set of preferences. Usually, the generalised response is not in favour of in text citation system. Researchers and readers usually opt for and approve of footnotes and endnotes for citation. The common concern in this case is that in text citation is annoying and came in the way making the content appear cluttered and confusing. Irrespective of this drawback if in text citation,  The APA uses in text citation system and its presence is very strongly felt in the field of psychology and education and hence people researching on psychology may still feel comfortable with this form of citation but globally the preferred system is as end notes or footnotes.

Narrative Literature Review

There are many techniques that can be used to write literature review.  A technique that is most interpretive and qualitative in nature and can be adopted for writing the review for many kinds of research is the Narrative Literature Review.  Researchers often focus towards the Narrative Literature Review with various objectives. Some of them are: … Continue reading “Narrative Literature Review”

There are many techniques that can be used to write literature review.  A technique that is most interpretive and qualitative in nature and can be adopted for writing the review for many kinds of research is the Narrative Literature Review.

 Researchers often focus towards the Narrative Literature Review with various objectives. Some of them are:

  • Give the description of the current states of Art and Science in a very focussed zone of enquiry.
  • Provide dimensions of insight and application into those areas in the chosen literature review which are missing.
  • Give a critical analysis of the existing work.
  • Arguments of important / controversial topics
  • A focus on “how to” tips to enhance the existing practices
  • An elaboration of the latest developments in the field of study that pertain to existing or emerging  issues that are of importance and relevance and cannot be missed.

Certain guidelines can be followed when Narrative Literature Review has to be conducted. These are more detailed and elaborate in comparison to a standard Literature Review concept as the fundamental here is to add a personal and scientific  perspective to the existing study so as to link it better with the topic of research and at the same time make it more worthy for further research , particularly in the cases where the study needs to be updated in light of the latest developments, lest it appears obsolete.

  1. The first step is to identify the research area. This would aid in concentrating the focus on a specific field of study and help in minimizing the deviations.
  2. Identify and define the specific criteria for inclusion of studies in the research. Ensure to clearly distinguish the parameters so as to be able to have ease in selecting the write research for the study and reduce the chances of incorporating content that does not have any link with the topic of study.
  3. Identify the themes that emerge from the set of studies.
  4. On the basis of these identified themes, draw conclusions that hold relevance and add worth and value to the research topic.

 The Narrative method does have certain limitations which give reasons to its critics to put forth reasons for avoiding this technique:

  1.  The nature of the method is too subjective
  2. There is a strong chance at the end of an amateur researcher to draw misleading conclusions which are largely because of subjectivity at the end of the researcher and failure in being able to link the output and the characteristics.

A lot of complications occur when a large set of studies are involved which may lead to confusing conclusions.

Participatory Research: Methods and Practices

The participatory methods are focussed towards the planning and conducting the research process in the presence and involvement of people, those people whose life, world, actions and thoughts are under the process of research. As a consequence of this, the means and methods of enquiry and the different questions of research are created from the … Continue reading “Participatory Research: Methods and Practices”

The participatory methods are focussed towards the planning and conducting the research process in the presence and involvement of people, those people whose life, world, actions and thoughts are under the process of research. As a consequence of this, the means and methods of enquiry and the different questions of research are created from the synchronisation of two different views and practices, involving both practice as well as science. Research bestows its benefits on both the sides. Practices that have been established as daily basis activities bring forth their own view point and perspective, always a new way to deal with a challenge. The participatory research process widens the horizons of the researcher and offers the freedom to co researchers to move beyond the limitations of standard routines, interactions in a more cognitive fashion. It helps to challenge and rework on established practices and interpretations. However, just by conducting participatory research, it is not ensured that there would be a convergence of science and practice. It is much more than that and a demanding process that is developed on two different spheres of action, both science and practice come into coherence with each other, interacts, develop lead to an understanding of each other.

The participatory method is an orientation of enquiry. Participatory research can be called a method that challenges concrete and fundamental research methods and supports the benefits of research that may lead to the involvement of the research partners to enhance productivity of knowledge. The approaches suggested for participatory research are not different and distinct from the standard empirical social procedures. The main characteristic of participatory research is it’s individuality and self-determination. It is not suggested and possible to canonize them in the form of a single, cohesive, methodological approach. Incorporation of processes is all the more important in participative research than in any other. If the purpose and desire is to gain a further deep understanding of the contextual structured of meaning and the dynamism that in embedded in social action, it becomes worthy to incorporate participatory research at the design stage itself.

To conclude, participatory research does pose certain questions in context to knowledge and research in a very radical fashion. It is so strong an area of research that it has the capacity to bring attention to the neglected areas of the methodology and kindle their further development.

Tips for Writing Online Questionnaires

Web Based Surveys are the most commonly used method for data collection these days. It helps to fight against the constraint of paucity of time, long distances and also helps to largely eliminate human error. Some of the rules for preparing online questionnaires are Short is the key:  The survey takers get alienated by long … Continue reading “Tips for Writing Online Questionnaires”

Web Based Surveys are the most commonly used method for data collection these days. It helps to fight against the constraint of paucity of time, long distances and also helps to largely eliminate human error. Some of the rules for preparing online questionnaires are

Short is the key:  The survey takers get alienated by long questionnaires. The researcher must ensure to limit the number of questions to 25. In the situation, when surveys are much longer, people tend to abandon them and then it becomes difficult to use them. To add to it, the same respondent may escape from responding to any future endeavour from your end to fill the questionnaire. A status bar at the top of each page is very advantageous and certainly helps in letter the survey taker know how far or close they are from finishing the survey.

Restrain from Open Ended Questions: People often want to zip through the questionnaire and if too many open ended questions are there which require typing of answers then it goes against the speed of the respondent.  Close ended questions that could be responded with a click on a button do a much better job as compared to these ones. The depth of analysis for closed ended or open ended questions does not differ much.

Persistent: In the case of online surveys it is perfectly fine to send more than one invite to a prospective respondent, more so to those who have earlier shown interest and willingness to participate. However, permission from people is very important.

Patience: This is the last but the most important rule for online surveys. Researchers, particularly business researchers tend to get very impatient when the results do not come right away.

It could be concluded that, online surveys do reduce a lot of work. The designing and administering of these web based surveys takes much longer and when the results pour in, the interpretation of online surveys is all the more time consuming. There should be one picked person to shepherd the process is what the experts often indicate

Designing of Research Issues

There is a general trend amongst the academic community to develop many different methods of looking at research and develop many categories and approaches which could be used describe these activities. There are largely three ways in which a design could be made into a research issue: The first one is that any specific research … Continue reading “Designing of Research Issues”

There is a general trend amongst the academic community to develop many different methods of looking at research and develop many categories and approaches which could be used describe these activities. There are largely three ways in which a design could be made into a research issue:

The first one is that any specific research programme that has the purpose of a degree or has a publication cause has to be planned before and all the options that be adopted in the plan may be called or referred to as the research design. Undertaking a research programme without a carefully conceived and structured research design will lead to questions related to its authenticity and validity.

The second approach is focus on the design science research methodology which is an important discipline in itself focussing on the creation of successful artefacts. Research focussing on creation of successful artefacts may have its own challenges but irrespective there should be a collaboration of this in research programme development.

Academic research for the purpose of degrees and publishing has to ensure some contribution in the field of study. There may be trouble faced by some academicians in defining this but it has to be understood that there has to be a constructive contribution and input into the theoretical is knowledge through the research. To add to it the research has to be conducted in a scholarly manner keeping in mind what is already known by the academic community about this specific topic.

For a lot of years all this was sufficient for quality academic research. In an attempt to be sure of the success of a degree of a paper publication the researcher should have the content, ability and potential to point out the ways in which the addition to the body of theoretical knowledge can be of use solving practical problems. Not all universities giver their consent for the translation of the new theoretical contribution into practical guidelines but there indeed is increasing support towards this approach. New distinctions in research should be named and recommended in such a way that they do not confuse and complicate some researchers.