View about my research on
http://ssrn.com/author=655781
http://ssrn.com/author=655781
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
Friday, 4 July 2014
Topics for Research leading to PhD in Indian Universities- some thoughts
With my engineering background and subsequent transition to Business Management domain, I thought of sharing some issues and challenges that young research scholars face when registering for Doctorate.
The registration for PhD itself is quite a challenge, as there is no uniformity in admission procedures for Doctorate programs and each University or Institute announces their schedules at different schedules. Assuming that a scholar has registered, some Universities stipulate that Guide's consent must be obtained before applying for PhD program.
You have scouted for the University/ Institute; now scout for the guide, his/her quota about research scholars (whether any vacancies are there under him/her), then his/her specialization and finally his/her accepting the topic.
Some guides suggest a topic, while others ask you to bring few topics and then discuss, which one to pursue.
If you have passed through all these hurdles, it is good.
If you are stuck up at the likely topic of research- here comes the hitch.
Our education system being a replica of the UK model, with affiliation to Universities, has its own merits and demerits. In the current context, demerits are more. The system tests the patience of research scholars, as well as guides, as there are several regulations (I am not against the regulations, but against the bureaucratic delays, procedures).
When you are looking for a topic for research, on your own, I am sure you would have identified a broad area. Look for the list of published/ submitted theses in this broad area - you can get a list of these in your University library or AIU (Association of Indian Universities) weekly bulletin or Google-search. This will avoid duplicity or overlapping.
Then you can fine-tune.
I will illustrate this with an example:
Suppose you want to work in the area of "Compensation & Benefits" under HR.
Define the scope of your chosen topic.
Is it related to Executives, CEOs or workers- again is the work going to be in Public Sector Undertakings or Private or a mix of both or SMEs?
If you are looking at CEO's compensation - what theories would you like to test: for example: Tournament theory or Human Capital Theory or Deferred Compensation or Labor (CEO) market theory or Job hopping model.
What would be the period of your study: 5 or 10 or 15; or is it related to events: Change in CEO in a particular company or tracking a CEO over 10 years when he/she switched over 2 or 3 companies.
Thus the pursuit goes on. Choose a topic in which there is scarcity of research. Do not worry whether you would be able to get data. A good, innovative topic, which can add new layers to the body of knowledge, would be great, as you would feel happy, excited (and may be exhausted, as well) and fulfil your need for achievement.
The registration for PhD itself is quite a challenge, as there is no uniformity in admission procedures for Doctorate programs and each University or Institute announces their schedules at different schedules. Assuming that a scholar has registered, some Universities stipulate that Guide's consent must be obtained before applying for PhD program.
You have scouted for the University/ Institute; now scout for the guide, his/her quota about research scholars (whether any vacancies are there under him/her), then his/her specialization and finally his/her accepting the topic.
Some guides suggest a topic, while others ask you to bring few topics and then discuss, which one to pursue.
If you have passed through all these hurdles, it is good.
If you are stuck up at the likely topic of research- here comes the hitch.
Our education system being a replica of the UK model, with affiliation to Universities, has its own merits and demerits. In the current context, demerits are more. The system tests the patience of research scholars, as well as guides, as there are several regulations (I am not against the regulations, but against the bureaucratic delays, procedures).
When you are looking for a topic for research, on your own, I am sure you would have identified a broad area. Look for the list of published/ submitted theses in this broad area - you can get a list of these in your University library or AIU (Association of Indian Universities) weekly bulletin or Google-search. This will avoid duplicity or overlapping.
Then you can fine-tune.
I will illustrate this with an example:
Suppose you want to work in the area of "Compensation & Benefits" under HR.
Define the scope of your chosen topic.
Is it related to Executives, CEOs or workers- again is the work going to be in Public Sector Undertakings or Private or a mix of both or SMEs?
If you are looking at CEO's compensation - what theories would you like to test: for example: Tournament theory or Human Capital Theory or Deferred Compensation or Labor (CEO) market theory or Job hopping model.
What would be the period of your study: 5 or 10 or 15; or is it related to events: Change in CEO in a particular company or tracking a CEO over 10 years when he/she switched over 2 or 3 companies.
Thus the pursuit goes on. Choose a topic in which there is scarcity of research. Do not worry whether you would be able to get data. A good, innovative topic, which can add new layers to the body of knowledge, would be great, as you would feel happy, excited (and may be exhausted, as well) and fulfil your need for achievement.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)