“Research is what I'm doing when I
don't know what I'm doing.” ― Wernher Von Braun
Recently I had the opportunity of
attending the authors’ conference organized by a prestigious publication in
India. As an author of 30 books with 250 publications in international journals
and magazines, I thought it was a great opportunity to attend and interact with
others, and to understand the latest trends and developments in the publishing
industry. I am aware that the quality of research in India is not as strong as the
developed countries. But I came to know in the conference that the quality of
Indian research is inferior to other developing countries in the world. Here
are my views on this topic:
Reasons
for Poor Research in India
There are several reasons for poor
research in India. The funding by government is not adequate. There are politics
and bureaucratization in Indian research. Some of the researchers are not
equipped with research tools and techniques to pursue quality research in
India. Above all, there is a lack of research ambience in India. When you look
at some of the Indian researchers, they excelled in western countries
especially in America due to ambience, facilities and network. They brought
laurels to our country. It shows that Indians have the attitude and aptitude
for research for lack the right infrastructure, facilities, funding, ambience
and opportunities in India.
Be
Visible or Vanish!
“Having instant feedback on twitter to
research material I'm considering is an enormous help.” ― Sara Sheridan
It is unfortunate that the visibility
of Indians in research is lower than the other developing countries. That means
Indians don’t market themselves on social media. In fact, social media is an
effective tool to enhance visibility for research. Currently the slogan is ‘be
visible or vanish forever!’. Hence, Indians must make use of social media tools
and techniques to promote and market their research. There are many websites
that help enhance visibility of research including ORCID URL: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1855-7969
and KUDOS. URL: https://www.growkudos.com/profiles/9351.
They help enhance visibility and citations for the published research. They must be aware of altmetrics that helps
the authors and researchers to track their research and reach of their
articles. Altmetrics assesses the impact of research and publications.
Are
Indians Shy to Market Themselves?
Indians are culturally shy to market their
goods and services as they often think that it is showing off. There is nothing
wrong in marketing themselves. Remember the slogan, ‘more display; more sales’.
Hence, they must avoid cultural inhibitions, and must market and promote
themselves to get noticed. When American authors start writing books, they
immediately market their titles and work on social media. It helps brand themselves
and promote their books to become bestsellers globally. In contrast, Indians
market their titles and books only after publication of their books. It makes a
huge difference in marketing and promoting of their books. Additionally, most
Indian researchers and authors think that marketing their research is the job
of their publishers. It is not correct. As researchers and authors, they must
also be very active on social media to promote their research to enhance their
visibility.
Research
and Teaching in India
“What is research, but a blind date
with knowledge.” ― William Henry
There are too many politics involved
in research in India. There is lack of recognition for researchers in India.
There is no much importance attached even in educational institutions. Indian
educational institutions want research only on paper and CVs, not in reality.
They don’t count the amount of time invested in quality of research. Indian
educational institutions count only the number of teaching sessions conducted. There
is a step-motherly treatment for researchers in India. In fact, teaching and
research must go together to add value to education. In western countries, more
importance is accorded to research than to teaching and training. In fact,
research provides the adequate platform for the educators to share their
knowledge effectively in the classroom. When students raise questions in the
classroom, the educators do research and come back to classrooms with more
confidence to share their knowledge with students. Hence, teaching and research
are interwoven. Above all, there must be industry-academia interaction in
India.
Conclusion
“Research serves to make building
stones out of stumbling blocks.” ― Arthur D. Little
If we emphasize on quality research, India
can become a strong country in the world. Research is the foundation of any
country. It is the knowledge counts, not money. Currently knowledge workers are
more respected globally. And to enhance knowledge, it is essential to emphasize
on quality research.
“The color of leadership is bright
orange. The color of leadership research
is slate gray.” ― Jerry Hunt, Texas Tech
University
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Professor M.S.Rao, India
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Leadership Consultants India
Recipient
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