Research is taking a new role in the context of publish or perish policy-  VC Prof. Sandhu

Workshop on Qualitative Research and its types organized

Amritsar,  October 9 (Punjab Post Bureau) – A three days workshop on Qualitative Research and its types was organized by School of Education of Guru Nanak Dev University under the aegis of PMMMNMTT, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. Over seventy participants from various Institutions and diverse parts of India collaborated for knowledge sharing and assimilation with the best experts of the country.

                  In the valedictory address, Prof. (Dr.) Jaspal Singh Sandhu Vice chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University said that research is taking a new role in the context of publish or perish policy. He said that the role of research in any academic institution is a pre-requisite for its sustainability and growth. The quality of research work is reflected in the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom, thereby benefiting the students, the society and the country at large. He suggested to organize sequel of such workshops and also congratulated the team of School of Education for this event.

              The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. Mohammad Miyan, Former Vice-Chancellor, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad. Speaking on the occasion, he shared  that “Qualitative research” is a new catch word in Educational Research as it addresses the “how” and “why” research questions and enables deeper understanding of experiences, phenomena and context. He further emphasised on the growing interest in qualitative data, as the result of the dissatisfaction of Social science researchers. As it is the study of people, the traditional approach to science is not seen as an appropriate way of carrying out research, since it fails to capture the totality of human experience and the essence of what it is to be human.

            In the welcome address, Dr. Deepa Sikand Kauts Head School of Education of the University elucidated that the workshop aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of different types of research methodologies, especially Qualitative research & its types including grounded Theory, Ethnography, Phenomenology and Case Studies; their relevance and applicability; enhance skills in the data collection & data analysis to prepare a quality research proposal. She said that the aim of the workshop was to sensitize and appraise the teaching faculty and research scholars in the research world

              A rigorous schedule of technical sessions was conducted to familiarize and facilitate the conduct of Qualitative research. Besides the technical sessions, prayer and yoga sessions were also conducted on daily basis. During the workshops experts from varied central institutions like Prof. S.C Panigrahi Faculty of Education & Psychology, M.S University of Baroda Vadodra, Gujarat, Prof. Anil Sutar, Professor and Associate Dean School of Research Methodology in Tata Institute of Social Science,. Mumbai, Prof. S. Srinivasa Rao Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) New Delhi. Prof. Indoo Pandey Khanduri Director FDC HNBGU Srinagar Garhwal Uttarakhand, Prof. Amruth G Kumar Department of Education SOE Central University of Kerala & Dr. Deepa Sikand Kauts Head Department of Education Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar were invited to take up  various technical sessions.

              The experts took up variety of issues concerning qualitative research like paradigm of  Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research; Types of qualitative research including grounded Theory, Ethnography, Phenomenology and Case Studies; Steps of Qualitative Research ;Writing a proposal for Qualitative Research; Tools of Qualitative Research for data collection, like Surveys, interview &Questionnaires; Data Analysis in Qualitative Research&Report Writing and Ethics.

                Prof (Dr.) Amit Kauts, Project coordinator, presented the report of the three days workshop.He said that to make the workshop practical oriented, the participants were divided into four groups; they were continually monitored and facilitated for the group assignments. They prepared four research proposals, i.e Grounded Theory, Ethnography, Phenomenology and Case Studies as the outcome of the workshop sessions. He further shared thatthe collaborated work of participants and experts of the workshop would be translated into a resource book for the reference of researchers.

            Dr. Preeti Saxena presented the report of the workshop and the Participants, namely Dr. Debabrata Das, Manu Mahajan and Dr.Tannoy De shared their reflections on the faculty programme during the valedictory session.

             Dr. Deepa Sikand Kauts congratulated the participants on the successful completion of the programme. At the same time, conveyed her gratitude to all the speakers for enriching sessions & appreciated support of the administration for such faculty development programmes in the university.