Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Objective: The study attempts to explore the perception and understanding of research supervisors regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the novice researchers in terms of developing a concise but effectively motivating research proposal. Method: This is a pure qualitative research, employing the thematic analysis approach, critically analyses the emerging themes and sub-themes from in-depth interviews. The findings of this research are based on 18 in-depth interviews conducted from guides/supervisors of 6 public universities and private degree awarding institutes in Karachi. Findings: The overall findings reveal that these novice researchers prefer supervisor’s suggested topic and possible research questions/ objectives for research instead of identifying a research gap/problem and then discussing with possible research guide. Majority of students select research topic without a substantial literature review, hence, the problem statements in the most of research synopses do not address the gaps in the literature. Improvements: The study strongly recommends that a systematic mechanism of training on research skills and various analytical instruments/software (i.e. SPSS, NVIVO) must be ensured in the universities. Besides, there must be a quarterly review of the students and they should be inquired about the required assistance for completing their research work.

Keywords: Novice Researcher, Perception, Proposal Writing Skills, Thematic Analysis Understanding