Research Guidance and mentoring Support to cater wider need of Academic & Scientific Research Population

 

Research Guidance and mentoring Support to cater wider need of Academic & Scientific Research Population: Mentors from Tutors India

Tutors India has introduced several Academic & Scientific Research guidance and mentoring services to cater the needs of UK, and the US Students are pursuing their master’s and PhD Degrees in the US and the UK Universities


-References Collection

Common mistakes in writing a literature review have been identified by several authors (Scribendi.com, 2013). Not familiar with using keywords (MeSH terms; use AND to combine keywords, Use truncation (an asterisk), and wildcards) to search for literature, not able to identify appropriate and relevant sources (University of Illinois, 2018) from wide range of scholarly database (SDSU Library & Information, 2018) (PsychINFO, EMBASE, PubMed, CQ Researcher, LexisNexis Academic etc.); not able to differentiate web vs library databases (e.g. Google, Wikipedia, About.com) (Yale University, 2018) could not able to relate the literature with study findings or problem being investigated and finally they could not be able to critically analyse the literature reviewed. Referencing mistake is also one of the problems noted in a dissertation submitted by the students (National University of Malaysia, 2008). Give the above challenges; Tutors India has come up with fine-tuned deliverables for our academic students. Our reference article collection for researchers has the following features

  • Developing Research Search Strategy
  • Identifying relevant database and journals
  • Finding and evaluating information resources
  • Discovering alternative search terms for your topic
  • Using advanced search technique for specific scholarly database
  • Narrowly advanced search technique for a specific database
  • Narrowing your search results
  • Sharing of primary articles
  • Secondary articles
  • Supporting articles

Besides, our support services include – sharing of primary and secondary literature in eLibrary; sharing of base papers that are highly relevant to your study and many more.

- Research Gap & Topic Selection: Writing a Problem Statement

Studies conducted among students revealed that almost 84% of the statement of the problems showed problems or has no problem statement or lack of clarity (Kikula & Quorro, 2007; Charema, 2013). While almost 71 per cent of the titles were too broad, too wordy, lacked consistency with the text and again lacked focus (Kombo & Tromp, 2011).

  • Background
    • Introducing the field
    • Introducing the general topic (within the field)
    • Introducing the particular topic (within the general topic)
    • Defining the scope of the particular topic by:
  • Statement of the Problem
  • A critical review of identified literature
  • Purpose of the Study
  • Mind mapping (visual relationship with topics with pre-search and research
  • Gap identification both from industry and academic perspective
    • Indicating a possible extension of previous research
  • Research aim/s
  • Research Questions
  • Describing briefly the work carried out
  • The significance of the Study
  • Delimitations of the Study
  • Limitation/s of the Study
  • Proposed methodology
  • Operational Definitions

- Scholarly Literature Review

Failure to cite landmark studies, too much detail on minor without enough detail on major issues. Besides, they are a failure to present theoretical and empirical contribution by other researchers. Academic students also fail to delimit the boundary conditions, and too much rambling – going all over the map without a clear sense of direction. Incorrect references and too may citation lapses. The other common mistake while writing the literature review, they ended up answering their research question with their literature rather than identifying gaps. They do not discuss literature, instead agree with every book they read.

  • Coverage – Justified criteria for inclusion and exclusion from review
  • Synthesis –
    • Differentiated what has been done in the research field from what needs to be done
    • Placed the research topic or problem in the broader scholarly literature
    • Placed the research in the historical context of the field
    • Articulate important variables and phenomena relevant to the topic
    • Synthesized and gained a new perspective
  • Methodology
    • Identified the main methodologies and research techniques that have been used in the field
    • Related ideas and theories in the field
  • Significance
  • Rhetoric
    • Coherence, a clear structure that supported the review

- Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses [Statistical Analysis]

Studies also noted that the researchers did not protect against limitations or error inherent in the process of data collection, analyses and interpretation of data. This, in turn, leads to confusing statements and poor interpretation that lead to unconscious bias (Best & Kahn, 2015).

  • Qualitative Analysis
    • Conducting Interviews (Online Interview or face to face interview)
    • Taking Interview’s notes or memos and field notes
    • Recording and transcribing verbatim
    • Identification of Semantic Units and related codes will be extracted
    • Content Analyses using Nvivo, or MAXQDA Software
    • Accuracy and rigour of the findings, Lincoln and Guba’s criteria including credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability
  • Qualitative Analysis
  • Data Coding
  • Data Analyses
    • Descriptive
    • Explorative
    • Inferential
    • Predictive
    • Casual
    • Mechanistic
  • Types of data analysis
    • Descriptive
    • Regression analysis
      • Multiple, logistic, ridge, nonlinear, life data, and many more
    • Factor analysis
    • Dispersion analysis
    • Discriminate analysis
    • Time series
    • Neural networks
    • Decision trees
    • Evolutionary algorithms
      • Genetic algorithms
      • Genetic programming
      • Coevolutionary algorithms
    • Fuzzy logic
  • Presentation
    • Communication and Visualization
  • Decision support
  • Problem solving
  • Data profiling
  • Data audit

- Data Collection Services

  • Online Survey using structured questionnaire or open-ended questionnaire
  • Interview
  • Focus group discussion (FGD)
  • Twitter feeds data
  • Image and Video data collection
    • Entity tracking and object recognition
  • Multilingual data collection
  • Text to speech data
    • Text
    • Handwriting
    • Image
    • Video
    • Speech data collection
  • Natural language utterance
  • Terminology development
  • Lexicon development
  • Data annotation and tagging
  • Multilingual transcription

- Quantitative or Qualitative Research Methodology Approach

Students fail to articulate the epistemological and ontological consideration when they write their research proposal or dissertation. Many of the dissertation lack clear statement on how instruments and methods of data collection and analyses would be used to meet the objectives (Manchishi et al., 2015).

  • Research Design
    • Philosophical Worldviews
      • Postpositivist
        • Determination
        • Reductionism
        • Empirical Observation and measurement
        • Theory verification
      • Constructivist
        • Understanding
        • Multiple participant meanings
        • Social and historical construction
        • Theory generation
          • Transformative
            • Political
            • Power and justice-oriented
            • Collaborative’
            • Change-oriented
          • Pragmatic
            • Consequences of action
            • Problem-centered
            • Pluralistic
            • Real world practice oriented
        • Quantitative Approaches –Type of Design
          • A Descriptive Design
            • Comparative Descriptive Design
            • Cross-Sectional Designs
            • Longitudinal Designs
          • A Correlational Design
            • Descriptive Correlation Designs
            • Predictive Designs
            • Model testing Designs
          • A Quasi-Experimental Design
            • Pre and Post-test design
            • Posttest only designs
            • Interrupted times series designs
          • Experimental Designs
            • Class Experimental Designs
            • Randomised Designs
            • Crossover designs
            • Nested designs
        • Types of Qualitative Research
          • Case Study
          • Narrative Research
          • Grounded Theory
          • Phenomenology
          • Ethnography
          • Historical
        • Mixed method research
          • Explanatory sequential
          • Convergent
          • Exploratory Sequential
          • Transformative, embedded or multiphase
      • Target Population
      • Sample Size and Sampling Techniques
        • Sample Size
          • For Quantitative Research, the sample size will be calculated based on the following factors
          • Research Design
          • Sampling method
          • The degree of precision required
          • The variability of the factors being investigated
          • The incidence of a particular variable in the population
        • Sampling methods in Quantitative Research
          • Random Sampling
            • Simple random
            • Systematic
            • Stratified
            • Cluster
          • Non-random Sampling
            • Convenience
            • Consecutive
            • Snowball
            • Quota
      • Research Instruments
      • Data Collection Procedure
      • Data Analysis

      References

      Best, J.W. & Kahn, J.. (2015). Research in Education. [Online]. Prentice Hall of India Private Ltd. Available from: http://www.sciepub.com/reference/125216. Charema, J. (2013). Getting Started in Research. In Tichapondwa, M (ed) Preparating Your Dissertation at a Distance. A Research Guide. Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth. [Online]. 2013. Available from: https://www.arcjournals.org/pdfs/ijhsse/v2-i3/14.pdf. [Accessed: 21 December 2018].

      Kikula, I.. & Quorro, M.A.. (2007). Common Mistakes and Problems in Research Proposal Writing. Dar es Salaam: Research on Poverty Alleviation. [Online]. 2007. repoa. Available from: . [Accessed: 21 December 2018].

      Kombo, D.. & Tromp, D.L.. (2011). Proposal and Thesis Writing. [Online]. Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa. Available from: https://www.arcjournals.org/pdfs/ijhsse/v2-i3/14.pdf.

      Manchishi, P.C., Ndhlovu, D. & Mwanza, D.S. (2015). Common Mistakes Committed and Challenges Faced in Research Proposal Writing. International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE). [Online]. 2 (3). p.pp. 126–138. Available from: https://www.arcjournals.org/pdfs/ijhsse/v2-i3/14.pdf.

      SDSU Library & Information (2018). What is a scholarly journal? [Online]. 2018. Available from: https://library.sdsu.edu/research-services/research-help/peer-reviewed-articles. [Accessed: 21 December 2018].

      University of Illinois (2018). Determine If a Source Is Scholarly. [Online]. 2018. Available from: https://www.library.illinois.edu/ugl/howdoi/scholarly/. [Accessed: 21 December 2018].

      Yale University (2018). The Web vs. Library Databases – A comparison. [Online]. 2018. Available from: https://www.library.yale.edu/researcheducation/pdfs/Searching_Evaluating_Resources.pdf. [Accessed: 21 December 2018].