Daily Times

In the scenic University of Malakand, I was given an opportunity as a keynote speaker to talk about ‘The Missing Links in Pakistani Research Culture’ at a national conference on Applied Management Research to Solve Indigenous Problems in April 2019. The key takes are presented for a general discourse.

Higher education is entering the stage of adolescence since its establishment after restructuring of the University Grant Commission in November 2002. Although research culture in Pakistan has substantially improved, there are some missing links which need serious consideration of those at the helm. These missing links are both internal and external. By internal, I mean a lack of a researcher’s adeptness to sort out the missing components in a research work; whereas, the external missing links are the constraints imposed by a lack of resources for conducting research.

Researchers usually deplore the unavailability of the external variables as reason for the shortcomings in research culture, such as a lack of databases and infrastructure, anomalies and ad hocism at the HEC etc.

One important missing link is a lack (or absence) of philosophical assumptions underpinning a research. Many scholars who claim to be Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) do not know the philosophy of their dissertations. Philosophy gives us a bigger picture of a phenomenon to zoom out the narrative and counter-narrative. The gist of any research is based on critical thinking and reasoning; philosophy encourages and sharpens the ability to logically see a problem and find a solution. Philosophical assumptions give justification to opt for a particular methodology i.e., qualitative, quantitative or mixed. It extends the concept of using a particular paradigm (functionalist, interpretive, radical humanist, and radical structuralist etc.) in a research design.

Along with the missing philosophical assumptions, the theoretical framework is not given proper importance. Many researchers are of the view that literature review and theoretical framework are one and same thing. Where literature review refers to the past studies in an area, the theoretical framework gives a ‘logical’ explanation of a phenomenon and the ease of looking at the same problem from different ‘lens’. Every researcher has to deal with a theory in any form of research i.e., inductive, deductive or adductive. Both philosophical assumptions and theoretical framework influence the way of conducting research.

Critical thinking and reading habit are missing

Pakistani scholars do not have the state-of-the-art databases (such as DataStream and Compustat etc.), and the absence of robust theoretical contribution makes it really hard to publish research based on local data in reputed journals around the world. Though the edge Pakistani scholars have is the nearness with the sources of data, they can utilize this competitive advantage to have linkages with the serious researchers abroad. This way they can increase their presence in international research productivity. This will also attract research projects from international funding agencies for uplift of already financially strained universities.

Another missing link is the reading habit. Most of the time researchers are busy in reading research papers for literature review. Research paper is the most comprehensive way of presenting findings of a research, however, it lacks the depth of knowledge. The reading of books provides the depth in knowledge. The latest survey by Gallup and Gillani Foundation Pakistan strengthens the argument where 75pc of the Pakistani students never read a single book other than their course books and only 9pc are avid readers. However, these statistics are not limited to students. It can be presumed that the same percentage of teachers would not have read books other than textbooks for teaching. Teachers can encourage the book reading habit by giving review of a book in assignment and presentation with dedicated marks.

In Pakistan, many PhD students are in reality part-time though they are officially enrolled as full-time scholars. They can spare only few hours a week for PhD research after their professional, social and family commitments. However, their wish is to get the “degree” in a shorter period of time while comparing himself/herself with a full-time committed student. This may lead them to opt for ‘shortcut’ in shape of academic dishonesty at different levels of PhD study.

Even the selection of a research project is mostly driven by easily and readily available data, whose results may not have meaning for the local problems. A proper linkage between the academia and industry can overcome this missing link. In addition, the temptation of university faculty to get overnight promotion to the higher grade also leads to academic dishonesty. That’s the reason that anomalies exist in publishing research work especially in the local HEC-recognized journals.

The last crucial missing linking is the students’ inability to know correct academic writing. They usually struggle in writing dissertation because English is a second language for them. It can be improved only with a process of drafting and re-drafting a text before publication. It has become a common practice among academics to inquire about the ‘origin’ of research degree in their first meeting. The purpose of such inquiries is to make a perception about the value of researcher and to mete out treatment accordingly. Literally, it has become a complete caste system where a PhD holder from a developed country belongs to an elite class whereas a doctorate degree from a developing country is disparaged and considered low in quality. We should respect the degree of each other. Every country and university has its own competitive edge and one can utilize that aspect. PhD is training about how to do research and affiliation with a university does matter but the most important thing is the output. There are many PhDs from the elite schools but their productivity is literately zero and vice versa. This perception also creates the concept of ‘othering’, instead there should be an approach of ‘inclusiveness’. An interdisciplinary research in social sciences can bring inclusiveness in academia instead of ‘othering’.

The writer teaches at the University of Peshawar