Research support and development skills a comparative study of doctoral students of select Indian universities

Abstract

The significance of research in improving society and the overall future of the world is certain. Ph.D. is considered the initial stage in research career in any discipline. University level doctoral researchers in AHSS from India s top five state universities were examined in terms of their Research Development Skills (RDS) and satisfaction with their university library s Research Support in the present study to understand their needs and how library can support them better. AHSS Ph.D. students depend more on libraries during their research work than STEM Ph.D. students. Thus they expect more from their university libraries in support of their research. Research Support (RS) is the collective term for services, resources, and facilities provided by a library to support the research process and development of their researchers. Several studies have confirmed that the number of researchers visiting library is declining. Many factors have been attributed to this. RS is meant to bridge this disconnect between library and its researchers, and aid their development. Researcher Development is the process of development of the research capacity of any individual. To understand RD more, research organizations and researchers formed interpretations, models and frameworks. Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is one such model and was chosen as it is more comprehensive in research skills and behavior coverage. The study thus examined Research Development Skills (RDS) of the Ph.D. students based on Vitae RDF. A structured questionnaire was employed to collect data from researchers, and an interview schedule to collect data from librarians to assess Research Support status of the select university libraries. Assessment of the RDS helps get an understanding of the competencies of the researchers. Based on this assessment, librarians can design tailored Researcher Development programmes through its Research Support.