Research & Development Cell, Govt. Khawzawl College organized One Day Workshop on “Research Methodology in the Light of NEP 2020”

           One-day Workshop on “Research Methodology in the light of NEP 2020”

Organized by: Research & Development Cell, Govt. Khawzawl College under the aegis of IQAC, Govt. Khawzawl College

Date: 20.10.2023, Time: 1 pm, Venue: Meeting Hall: Govt. Khawzawl College

Report

Research & Development Cell, Govt. Khawzawl College, Khawzawl, Mizoram organized a one-day workshop on “Research Methodology in the light of NEP 2020” on 20th October, 2023 at 1 pm at Meeting Hall, Govt. Khawzawl College. Research & Development Cell, Govt. Khawzawl College however proposed to conduct the workshop on 22^nd September, 2023 in its meeting and two teaching staff members having Doctorate degrees Dr. Lalliantluanga Ralte, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Education, Govt. Khawzawl College and Dr. Soukarja Ghosal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Govt. Khawzawl College were picked up as the two speakers. However, the programme could not be conducted on 22^nd September, 2023 due to an institutional programme and was postponed and conducted on 20^th October, 2023. In absence of Dr. Lalliantluanga Ralte who was on Election Duty, Dr. Soukarja Ghosal agreed to address the students on the Research Methods in Humanities & Social Sciences in the light of NEP 2020.

On the day of the workshop that is on 20^th October, 2023, there was another speaker Mr. Manish Kumar, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India working at the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Khawzawl district, who addressed the students of Govt. Khawzawl College and motivated them to become IAS/IPS Officers through UPSC Examination.

The workshop began with a Welcome Address delivered by the Coordinator, IQAC, Govt. Khawzawl College Mrs. Lalruatmawii who welcomed both the speakers of the workshop Dr. Soukarja Ghosal and Mr. Manish Kumar. She also thanked Research & Development Cell, Govt. Khawzawl College for organizing the workshop particularly for the students under NEP 2020 curricula.

Mr. P.C. Lalrindika, Chairman, Research & Development Cell, Govt. Khawzawl College introduced both the resource persons and delivered a Key-Note address delineating the Concept of the Workshop. He talked about the various nuances of the term Research and mentioned why it is important to pursue Research in academia.

Mr. Manish Kumar was the first speaker who addressed the 1^st semester UG students of Govt. Khawzawl College and shared his own personal experience of UPSC Examination. He interacted with the students and explained why it is important to choose Administrative Services. He also motivated the students and discussed why it is particularly important for North Eastern States like Mizoram to have IAS/IPS Officers for the benefit of the state and its people. He also discussed some model questions from UPSC Examinations.

Dr. Soukarja Ghosal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Govt. Khawzawl College was the second speaker and he delivered a lecture on the topic “Research Methods in Humanities & Social Sciences: A Heuristic Approach”. Elucidating the term “heuristic” which means ‘self-learning”, he addressed the students that more than one-way lecture, the lecture would be an interactive one as the workshop catered to the needs of the students and aimed at honing their research skills. As mentioned by him, the objectives of his lecture were:

1. To help students understand various research paradigms & issues related to research in Humanities & Social Sciences
2. To familiarize them with skills to analyze different types of research data and explore various tools & software for analyses
3. To familiarize them with research ethics and avoidance of plagiarism

He began by explaining the meanings of the term “Research”: both denotative and connotative. The dictionary meaning of research is careful investigation or inquiry for finding new facts in any branch of knowledge. As Redman & Mory have said, Research is “systematized effort to gain knowledge”. Research can also be termed as “re-search”. Dr. Ghosal then mentioned the different steps of Research as mentioned by Clifford Woody (quoted in C.R. Kothari’s Research Methodology: Methods & Techniques):

1. Defining & redefining problems
2. Formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions

• Collecting, organizing & evaluating data

1. Making deductions and reaching conclusions
2. Examining conclusions to determine whether they are supported by collected data

He then explained about Primary & Secondary Sources. Primary Sources refer to the books, films, performances etc. analyzing which the research is done. Secondary Sources refer to commentaries on an analysis of an idea available in another book or source. He then interacted with the students and explained about plagiarism and how to avoid it. Plagiarism simply speaking is copying or borrowing other’s ideas or comments without acknowledging the source. As per UGC Guidelines, less than 10% similarity is only acceptable and above 10% may invite penalty depending on the degree of plagiarism. There are various software like Urkund & Turnitin that are used by HEIs to detect plagiarism. There are various way to avoid plagiarism like summarizing & paraphrasing and using quotations. He then explained about Different Citations Manual like APA (American Psychological Association) for Social Science Discipline and MLA (Modern Language Association) for Humanities Discipline. He then mentioned about three books which are to be consulted while doing Research:

1. Techniques related to Thesis Writing: MLA Handbook 8^th/9^th Edition
2. Conceptual Frameworks of Research in Social Sciences: Research Methodology: Methods & Techniques by C.R. Kothari
3. Methods of Conducting Research in English: Research Methods in English by P. Sinha

He then interacted with the students and told them that library is very important for pursuing research and explained to them about various ways to search for books using OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue), Boolean Search, How to search for books as per Call Number and Accession Number, Searching for materials on internet and also taught the students how to prepare Works Cited as per MLA style and References as per APA style.

After Dr. Soukarja Ghosal’s lecture, there was a brief Q&A session where the students clarified their doubts.

The workshop concluded with a Vote of Thanks delivered by Mr. K.C.Lalrindika, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Economics, Govt. Khawzawl College & One of the Members of Research & Development Cell, Govt. Khawzawl College.

The take aways/outcomes of the workshop were:

1. The participants were acquainted with various steps of conducting research
2. The participants were made aware of the consequences of plagiarism & avoiding it
3. The participants were acquainted with various citations manual
4. The participants were made to realize the importance of conducting Literature Survey
5. The participants were made to realize the efficacy of using library resources of HEIs

The Workshop was attended by 26 teaching staff members and 32 students of 1st semester UG, Govt. Khawzawl College. Since the 1^st semester students are supposed to carry out Research in the 4^th year of their UG programme to earn “Undergraduate Honours Degree with Research”, only 1^st semester UG students under NEP 2020 curricula introduced from the AY 2023-24 were only asked to attend the above-mentioned workshop. The certificates were later issued to all the participants, both the teaching staff members and the students of the college.