A weeklong workshop on ‘Research Methodology in Social Sciences and IPR’ concludes with a modest valedictory at Government Degree College, Baramulla on Thursday. The workshop was organized by Faculty of Social Sciences in collaboration with Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of the college.The weeklong workshop was conducted to upskill the teaching faculty and postgrad students of Psychology with an aim to acquaint them with research process, including research methodology, developmental studies and evaluation, literature review, research ethics, intellectual property rights (IPR) , publication process, and avoiding predatory journals and publishers, among other things. It was also aimed to expose them to fundamental philosophical stances, including ontology, epistemology, and methodology in the world of research. The process of theory-building/theory-testing, steps involved in hypothesis testing, sampling procedures, writing research proposals, publication process, ethics in research, plagiarism, etc. were threadbare discussed during the weeklong workshop.The invited speakers of the weeklong workshop included Dr. Sajad Ahmad Darzi, Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Kashmir (UoK), Srinagar, Mr. G. A. Quershi, Ex DG Planning, J & K Government, Prof. Gulshan Majeed, Department of Central Asian Studies, UoK, Srinagar, Dr. Sarfaraz Ahmad, Department of Social Work, UoK, Srinagar, Dr. Mir Junaid Alam, Department of Law, UoK, Srinagar, Mr. Bilal Ahmad, Central, UoK, Srinagar, and Dr. Sumeer Gul, Department of Library & Information Sciences, UoK, Srinagar.
Prof. (Dr.) Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, Principal of the college graced the valedictory function as the chief guest and Dr Saleem Farooq, Dean Research was the guest of honour on the occasion. While addressing the participants, Prof. (Dr.) Mushtaq Ahmad Lone asserted that trainings/workshops/orientation programs are the best tool through which any organization can achieve excellence in its performance. Periodical refresher training assumes significance in this context as through such programmes teaching staff and students alike get a platform to update their knowledge base and understanding on various themes and dimensions of research. “Investing on such programs could be instrumental in promoting research culture in college sector besides supplementing and enhancing the quality and standard of teaching”, said, Prof. Mushtaq. He also appreciated and acknowledged the efforts of the faculty of social sciences in academic and allied activities and assured all support and help in future endeavours.Dr. Saleem Farooq in his address appreciated the efforts of the organizing committee headed by prof. Riyaz Ahmad Wani, Head, Department of Political Science & Coordinator of the workshop for smooth and effective conduct of the aforementioned workshop. He also stressed on the need to have frequent faculty development programs, refresher/orientation courses, and training programs to refresh and brush-up the concepts of the faculty and students alike. He encouraged the participants that in order to be relevant in the changing spirit of times keep good touch with research enterprise.Later the Principal felicitated the participants of the workshop with certificates.Prof. Zubair Ahmad Thoker, Head Department of History conducted the proceedings of the function and offered a vote of thanks on the occasion.