Indian Journal of Science and Technology
DOI: 10.17485/ijst/2019/v12i14/142789
Year: 2019, Volume: 12, Issue: 14, Pages: 1-6
Original Article
Tahir Iqbal1, Mukesh Kumar Khatwani1* and Ishrat Afshan Abbasi2
1 Area Study Centre, Far East & Southeast Asia, University of Sindh, Jamshoro 2 Department of International Relations, University of Sindh, Jamshoro; [email protected]
*Author for correspondence
Mukesh Kumar Khatwani
Area Study Centre, Far East & Southeast Asia, University of Sindh, Jamshoro 2 Department of International Relations, University of Sindh, Jamshoro.
Email: [email protected]
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
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