Challenges facing young researchers

• Capacity Building for Research: a Young Researcher Perspective.

• By • Andika D.O (PhD)

• JOOUST(School of Agricultural and Food Sciences)

04/09/23 Young Researcher's perspective

Ohhhhh Nooo!!!!!!!! A gain, proposal writing? Where do I start? I will quit!!!!


Thinking: Young Researcher’s Dilemma

The human brain tries its hardest to simplify life by setting up routine patterns of perception and action.

Once you identify the pattern you flow along it without further effort.

For example, if you had to think through which order to put on 6 pieces of clothing you would never leave the house as you need to sort through 47,000 combinations, but we get

dressed quickly each day. Why?-application to young researcher


The problem we have is that in young researchers, this mechanism kicks in all too frequently.

That is, when they are faced with a problem / opportunity they implicitly rely on these patterns of perception (which have developed from a combination of their skills, experience and knowledge) to solve it – this is NOT thinking

Thinking is the discipline of restraining the natural impulses and forcing the brain to deal with what is in front of it, not what it ‘perceives’ is in front of it


What makes thinking difficult?

• “Birds fly, when they get tired they land. Man thinks, when he gets tired he says ‘I understand’” (Japanese proverb)- case of students in class and exam– Thinking is made more difficult by the confusion of

two forms of complexity:Detail complexity – the type of complexity that occurs

due to the number of variables- based around ‘how’ to bring the detail together and create order

Dynamic complexity - The type of complexity that occurs due to the nature of the interrelationships between variables- based around ‘identifying’ the variables and ‘understanding’ the interrelationships between them.


Is young researcher lazy?Natural for most young

researchers– Left to Right-Start at the

beginning and work our way through to the end (this is easier because you always move into an area you already know)

– Outcomes are whatever we end up with

– Bottom Up-Primarily concerned with how to pull information together

– People naturally start at a level of detail they are comfortable with, but not necessarily related to the problem / opportunity

– Limits the development of insight

Natural for few young researchers

– Right to Left-Start at the end (outcomes) and work back to the beginning identifying how to get there (this is more difficult because you have to ‘think’ about where you are going)

– Outcomes are planned and rarely adjusted

– Top Down-Primarily concerned with the develop of insight (interrelationship between variables)

– Requires starting at the level of problem / opportunity and working down


What is a proposal: Does it require thinking?

• It is a plan or a scheme that persuades its readers/panel to accept the idea written by one firm/researcher as a response to a request from another firm and can be also written without any prior request. It aims at obtaining commercial contracts.

• It is a written offer to undertake a project for designing, creating something new or for changing or modifying an existing procedure, method, system or structure within a specified period of time.


Types of proposals

• External proposals : A proposal written by a firm in order to win contracts for work.

• Internal proposals : The writer prepares an internal proposal with a motive to convince the person or a group in authority to allow him to implement his ideas. It is submitted within a company.


• Solicited proposals : It is a proposal prepared in response to an invitation from a firm or some government or non- government organization. These invitations are published in the news papers as tender notices. The writer is required to supply relevant particulars, as demanded by the firm to win the project.

• Unsolicited proposals : It is a proposal prepared by an individual on his own initiative, without any external encouragement or request , to solve a problem or to meet a specific need as perceived by him and convince the authority to allow the writer to implement his idea.


• Have you ever written a proposal?


Characteristics of a proposal- Can the young researcher understand?

• Since it is persuasive in nature it should be based on the AIDA plan

• Attention• Passive attention-the involuntary process directed by external

events that stand out from their environment, such as a bright flash, a strong odor, or a sudden loud noise.

• Active attention-multidimensional cognitive process that includes the ability to select and focus on what is important at any given moment, the ability to consistently maintain mental effort while performing tasks that require mental energy and the ability to inhibit action or thought while previewing alternative actions or thoughts

• Interest is created by pointing out how the work will be executed. Do you have the expertise?


• Desire has to be generated to accept the proposal by highlighting the benefits and advantages- can you foresee outputs?

• Action is induced by persuasive reasoning- Can you stand up and gather your tools?


Common Mistakes by young researchers in Proposal Writing:

• Failure to provide the proper context to frame the research question.

• Failure to delimit the boundary conditions for the research.

• Failure to cite landmark studies-limited knowledge

• Failure to accurately present the theoretical and empirical contributions by other researchers.

• Failure to stay focused on the research question.


• Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research.

• Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues.

• Too much rambling going “all over the map” without a clear sense of direction.

• Too many citation lapses and incorrect references.

•


Why are young researcher’s proposals turned down?

• The problem is trivial or is unlikely to produce new or useful information- total lack of originality.

• The proposed research is based on a hypothesis that rests on doubtful, unsound or insufficient evidence- the researcher does not have evidence

• The problem is more complex than the researcher realizes- case of water hyacinth

• Intellectual immaturity• The problem as proposed is overly involved with too

many elements required to be investigated simultaneously- Lack of focus

• The description of the research leaves the proposal diffuse and without a clear aim.


Critical challenges living with young researcher!!!!!

• Plagiarism- Case of German Minister of Ed.-

• submitting someone else’s text as one’s own or attempting to blur the line between one’s own ideas or words and those borrowed from another source, and

• carelessly or inadequately citing ideas and words borrowed from another source.

• Question: why is plagiarism rampant?04/09/23 Young Researcher's perspective

• Model Roles- compare research models to sports, entertainment, politics………..

• Social and economic-

• Work environment- library resources, teaching load, office environment………

• Institutional policies- what is JOOUST policy regarding research?


• Addiction to social networks

• Quality of training and supervision- statistical methods, problem identification (other components of proposal)

• Identity with funding agencies-are you known?????????


Way Forward

• Research policy

• Measurement of research and extension proportion by individual researchers

• Established researchers to pull up their socks

• Research groups/networks established and monitored

• Frequent fora organized


• Research and publications are sister and brother



Education

Challenges facing young researchers