Challenges facing young researchers

• Capacity Building for Research: a
Young Researcher Perspective.
• By
• Andika D.O (PhD)
• JOOUST(School of Agricultural
and Food Sciences)
06/24/13 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
researcher06/24/13 Young Researcher's perspective

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
down06/24/13 Young Researcher's perspective

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.06/24/13 Young Researcher's perspective

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?

• 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

Challenges facing young researchers

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