1. INTERACTION WITH NEW LECTURERS OF GC UNIVERSITY, LAHORE
HOW TO BE RESEARCH ORIENTED ?
INTERACTION WITH NEW LECTURERS OF GC UNIVERSITY, LAHORE
DECEMBER 15, 2007
Presentation by:
Dr. Khalid Hamid Sheikh
Professor Emeritus
GC University, Lahore

2. 1. DICTIONARY MEANING OF 'RESEARCH':
“Careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in some field of knowledge, undertaken to discover or establish facts or principles”
To do research on or in: “to investigate thoroughly”

3. RESEARCH: to find solutions to unanswered questions
3. FUNCTIONS OF A UNIVERSITY
  Transmission of existing knowledge through teaching
Creation of new knowledge through research
A UNIVERSITY WITHOUT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES WOULD ONLY BE A DIGNIFIED COLLEGE
GC ESTABLISHED IN 1864 BECAME GCU IN 2002

4. Tradition of research at GC and GCU
GCU is publishing 13 research journals
SR. #
JOURNAL
PUBLISHED BY
STARTED IN
ISSUED
FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 1
Biologia
Biological Society of Pakistan, Biological Laboratories
1955
6-monthly 2
Journal of Natural Sciences & Mathematics
Department of Physics
1961 3
The Journal of Prime Research in Mathematics
Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences
2005
yearly

5. FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES SR. # JOURNAL PUBLISHED BY
STARTED IN
ISSUED
FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 4
GC/GCU Economic Journal
Department of Economics
1968
6-monthly 5
The Journal of Political Science
Department of Political Science
1980
Yearly 6
Quest
Department of Philosophy & Interdisciplinary Studies
1991 7
Journal of Statistics
Department of Statistics
1994 8
Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology
Department of Psychology
2003 9
The Historian
Department of History
             

6. FACULTY OF LANGUAGES, ISLAMIC & ORIENTAL LEARNING
SR. #
JOURNAL
PUBLISHED BY
STARTED IN
ISSUED
FACULTY OF LANGUAGES, ISLAMIC & ORIENTAL LEARNING 10
Explorations
Department of English Language & Literature
1990
Yearly 11
Kawish
Department of Persian Language & Literature 12
Tahqeeq Nama
Department of Urdu
2003 13
Journal of Islamic Research
Department of Islamic Studies
2006
6-monthly

7. 7. RESEARCH PLANNING AND EXECUTION
Defining a research question
Applying creativity to develop new research ideas
Ensuring that the proposed research has relevance to prior knowledge: through literature search (Internet access facilitates this now)
Ensuring that the proposed research is technically feasible and can be completed with available resources and within allotted time
Determining how conclusions can be drawn
Collecting data
Using statistics to interpret the results
vi. Making a synthesis for drawing inference

8. 8. WORKING IN THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY
Writing a research paper for publication in a Journal (following the “Instructions for Authors” of the Journal to which paper is to be submitted)
Peer review
Problems of quantity and quality
9. RESEARCH FUNDING
Preparing a convincing research proposal for funding
10. FRAUD AND MISCONDUCT IN RESEARCH
Plagiarism

9. 11. INTERDISCIPLINARY WORK FOR FINDING SOLUTIONS TO SOME OF THE GREAT UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Borders between physics, chemistry and biology continuing to disappear
Study of economics is touching on everything from psychology to ecology
Global Warming: here physical sciences and social sciences are to work together
Sustainable Development Study Centre at GCU

10. MY OWN RESEARCH INTERESTS:
I am a student of Ecology which may be defined as study of what is found where and why!
Soil-plant relationships: salinity & waterlogging
Soils, plants and termites
Cement dust pollution (worked in Turkey)
Wastewater effluents from various industries and their effects on plants
Conservation and Sustainable Development

11. READ, THINK AND CHALLENGE
EPILOGUE: BE HONEST AND HUMBLE
 