DESCRIPTION & OBJECTIVES

The research process allows you to gain expertise on a topic of your choice, and the writing process helps you remember what you have learned and understand it on a deeper level. Knowing how to write a good research proposal, paper, thesis or dissertation is a valuable skill that will serve the students well throughout their career. Whether you are developing a new product, studying the best way to perform a procedure, or learning about challenges and opportunities in the field of employment, the one will use research techniques to guide his or her exploration. The students may even need to create a written report of the research findings. Since effective communication is essential to any company, employers seek to hire people who can write clearly and professionally. The purpose of this course is to develop technical writing ethics and skills in students in the field of agriculture. Students will learn different writing styles and they will prepare research synopsis, research proposals and thesis in given writing style. At the completion of this course, the students will be able to develop research project, write and develop scientific articles, papers & reports and cite and quote references in proper writing style.

Objectives

At the completion of this course, the students will be able to:

• Develop research project
• Write scientific articles, papers, reports
• Prepare research project reports
• Cite and quote references in different referencing style

1. AGPS. 1994. Style Manual for Authors, Editors, and Printers, (5th Edition), Canberra, Australia.
2. APS 2005. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Edition)., Washington, DC.
3. Awan, J. A. 2003. Scientific Presentations: Thesis, Synopsis, Seminar, Unitech Communications, Faisalabad.
4. Steppens, A & K. Putman. 1988. Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation, FAO, Rome, Italy.

UNE 1999. Style Guide. The Teaching and Learning Center. NSW, Austrailia

• Introduction to research
• Purpose of research
• Types of research
• Literature search and review
• Selecting a researchable problem
• Identification and classification of variables or factors
• Developing research hypotheses
• Scientific illustration, quotation, citations and referencing in different styles
• Use, writing and interpretations of Statistical techniques in research
• Internal and external threats to the research
• Experimental research in social sciences
• Sampling procedures and selecting appropriate sample size
• Research bias
• Developing an instrument for surveys
• Data collection, coding and analyses
• Use of statistical softwares such as SPSS, SAS, STATISTICA etc
• Research ethics and honesty
• Writing  research proposals or reports
• Editing and proofreading of research reports

Each student will develop three chapters of Research proposal or synopsis on research idea as a project and will present the same in the class for practical portion of the course.

Sessional marks:     08

Mid exam marks:    12

Final exam marks:  20

Practical:                 20

The students should abide all the following rules;

1. 75% percent class attendance
2. Assignments must be submitted well in time