Research? No, thank you

Come the final year at any university, and the thought which plagues the minds of students (apart from the fact that they now have just one year to brave through university) is whether they should opt for research. Research is optional in many instances. It is entirely up to the student to decide whether or not he or she feels up to the task. It is, after all, no easy feat. But the fact that research is optional at university level can become the very reason for the decline of the research culture in this country.

Why is that? The simple reason is that when research is something that one can opt for, then more often than not, many students choose not to opt for it at all. And when you have a whole generation of students who is disillusioned with the thought of doing research, then who will lead the next generation when they come at this stage?

Putting aside the question of the future, the present quest is to discover what exactly is it that makes students opt out of research? Why do they feel that research is not something which is worth undertaking? When approached, students explained the nature of research in their respective institutes and the general attitude of their peers towards it.

Summaiyah Ali has recently graduated from a business school. She explained that her institute has facilities for research at every level, but students are not willing to undertake it. The time factor plays a crucial role in this as instead of being spread over the entire year, the research work is too concentrated towards the end of the semester.

“The time schedule for the research project is usually not very carefully planned, and depends on the whims of the teachers,” she said. “As a result of this, students end up doing it as a pressure peeve in the last days of the semester, whilst studying for the exams too.”

She felt that the attitude of the teachers towards research was also questionable, and that students were not the only ones to be blamed. “Teachers usually don’t take an interest in the research itself,” she said emphatically. “Very few teachers actually read the research reports, and on the rare occasions that they do actually read them, they misuse them. For instance, one professor asked us for online copies of our reports, and then he erased the name of the student and put his own in, and sent the report to some international conference.”

Plagiarism of course is another story altogether, and an issue which has been much written about. However, it continues unabated by students and teachers alike, and hence definitely acts as a deterrent to those who are honestly looking to undertake something original.

Provision of facilities is also something which many universities lack. They allow students to do research but do not assist them properly by for instance, providing them access to international research journals and papers and providing them with the knowledge of modern and Internet-based research methods and statistical analysis. Hence, students feel they are left mostly on their own to fend for themselves.

“Our teachers help us to the best of their abilities,” said Farah Inam, who undertook social sciences research in her final year. “But they cannot give you what they don’t have. The university just provides you with guidance or what we say lip-service. Yes we need their guidance but this is not the only thing we need for research. We need facilities — things in concrete terms like Internet facility, proper record of periodicals, photocopier, printer, etc. The attitude of the non-teaching staff also gets to you. For instance, I found the library staff cooperative but sometimes they show rigidity and don’t realize your sincerity for work.”

The phenomena of being left on your own once you decide to undertake research is a very real fear amongst some students. Research already is something which is new, and something which has only been theoretically taught. Applying theory to actual research is definitely something which seems to be an overwhelming task. And once students have decided that they will not be getting any guidance, they seem to believe that there is no use undertaking any research project. Some students, however, feel that this no-guidance theory is rather overstated.

“It is tough to do research at any level and you definitely need to have interest as well as stamina,” emphasised Nida Khan, who also took up social science research in her final year. “But students too lack clear ideas and interest. They want quick results. They are not willing to put in their time and effort into something long-term, so they simply shy away from research.”

When it comes to IT research, the scenario is not too different from business and social sciences. Zenia Arshad, who is majoring in computer science, felt that many students in her institute were there simply to gain a degree and a job –- the general mindset which rules. Research does not feature in the picture at all.

“Research requires dedication, enthusiasm and interest. These three things are, unfortunately, what most of the students don’t have. The rewards of research are not very obvious,” she said. “But still there are some who do opt for it. I’ve a couple of classmates working on research projects as a part of MIC (Microsoft Innovation Center). They are the ones enthusiastic about their field of study. In the end, it’s a matter of interest.”

So what should be done about this? There are very real factors deterring students from research and surely they need to be dealt with. On the personal level, if the students themselves are lazy and not willing to invest their time in research, there is little any management can do, no matter how efficient. But surely some changes can be initiated for those who are really interested in pursuing a career in research and starting at university level.

Farah Inam felt that the idea of research being optional was very correct, as worthless researches were worse than no research at all. “Not every student should be given research projects; only those who are capable. The university should carefully evaluate every student before allowing him/her to do research projects. But once they decide upon the capability, they must then invent in those students as well and provide them with the proper facilities.”

Shireen Azfar, who taught as a cooperative teacher in Karachi University had the following suggestions. “The overall environment should be conducive and students from the very commencement of their professional degrees should be given assignments and projects which are research focused and require a lot of information digging. This nurtures their minds in the direction to find it interesting and challenging to do a research study.”

At the end of the day then, until some serious steps are taken, research will continue to be treated with a certain degree of wariness. Of course there will always be some students who choose to take the initiative in spite of the odds, but that is no reason why others cannot be motivated to do the same.