Novice Researchers Research Articles

A Brief Review on Good Clinical Practice and its Training Methods

Abstract The field of clinical research continues to advance, and for ethical conduct of research, researchers need to have a strong foundation in good clinical practice (GCP). GCP guidelines are internationally recognized standards that govern the conduct of clinical trials, ensuring the protection of human subjects and the generation of reliable data. However, novice researchers or postgraduate medical students who would delve into research activities may face difficulty getting avenues for GCP training. Hence, in this brief review article, we discuss the significance of GCP in the field of clinical research with a glimpse of its history, development, and key principles. We provide a list of online courses, benefits, and disadvantages of those courses, and a list of organizations that conduct GCP workshops or continued medical education programs in India.

Publishing a Research: Shared Experiences of Preservice Teachers as Novice Researchers in Research Journals

<p style="text-align: justify;">Publishing research is crucial and is of utmost significance. However, it is a daunting task for most researchers, especially if one is a beginner with very limited experience. The generalizability of much of the previously published research was limited to the negative aspects of the publishing process rather than the whole circumstances they had to face. Therefore, this article sought to explore the experiences of preservice teachers as novice researchers in publishing their research outputs in a research journal. This study employed a qualitative-phenomenological approach. Five major themes emerged from the interview with eight purposively selected former preservice teachers who had first-time encounters in publishing that the research investigates. These themes were encapsulated through the acronym “FLAME,” namely: (a) facing personal circumstances, (b) leveraging positive dispositions, (c) acknowledging dependency on research promoter, (d) meeting publishing standards, and (e) encountering poor physical and mental well-being. This article concludes that the journal publishing process is a multidimensional and enriching experience, providing the full spectrum of positive and negative experiences for novice researchers. This paper highlighted some implications that can be used as a guide to support novice researchers in the publication process.</p>

“But our worlds are different!”: reflexivity as a tool to negotiate insider–outsider dilemmas

PurposeIn ethnographic research, negotiating insider–outsider perspectives is essential in order to get closer to the participants’ lives. By highlighting the importance of empathy and reflexivity, the paper attempts to trace my reflexive navigation as a novice researcher as I enter the field as an outsider. The process of co-creation between the researcher and the participant is mediated by the nuances of the researcher’s identity, thereby shaping the researcher–participant relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe current study elaborates my journey as a Ph.D. scholar in an ethnographic study of persons with spinal cord injury or amputation. The different themes organised around my personal reflections discuss the various challenges I faced and how I navigated through them.FindingsThe paper reflects on how different aspects of my identity, such as being non-disabled, a female and differences in socioeconomic status shaped the researcher–participant relationship. Additionally, it highlights how I traverse through the blurred worlds of insider–outsider and explore the role of reflexivity and empathy in creating a horizontal researcher–participant relationship.Originality/valueThis reflexive journey offers potential insights into budding researchers who often face dilemmas whether or not it is necessary for qualitative researchers to be members of the population they are studying. The paper also contributes to an understanding around practising reflexivity while working with a sensitive population. It argues researchers to look beyond the insider–outsider debate and utilise reflexivity as a tool for a nonhierarchical researcher–participant relationship.

Importance of patient and public involvement in doctoral research involving people living with dementia.

There is increasing recognition of the need to include patients and the public in the research process. There is extensive literature about patient and public involvement (PPI) in research, but fewer articles report on PPI in doctoral research. To reflect on establishing an advisory group for a doctoral study, exploring the opportunities and challenges associated with including patients with dementia in the research process. The authors discuss the practicalities of establishing an advisory group, the challenges of being a novice researcher, long-term commitment to PPI, the overall approach to PPI and ethical considerations. Establishing an advisory group for a doctoral study can facilitate mutual learning and enhance the study's quality. Achieving high-quality PPI in health and social care research can ultimately improve its quality and relevance. An important aspect of the doctoral journey is developing knowledge and skills to facilitate PPI as part of a researcher's apprenticeship.

Comparison of Point Cloud Registration Techniques on Scanned Physical Objects.

This paper presents a comparative analysis of six prominent registration techniques for solving CAD model alignment problems. Unlike the typical approach of assessing registration algorithms with synthetic datasets, our study utilizes point clouds generated from the Cranfield benchmark. Point clouds are sampled from existing CAD models and 3D scans of physical objects, introducing real-world complexities such as noise and outliers. The acquired point cloud scans, including ground-truth transformations, are made publicly available. This dataset includes several cleaned-up scans of nine 3D-printed objects. Our main contribution lies in assessing the performance of three classical (GO-ICP, RANSAC, FGR) and three learning-based (PointNetLK, RPMNet, ROPNet) methods on real-world scans, using a wide range of metrics. These include recall, accuracy and computation time. Our comparison shows a high accuracy for GO-ICP, as well as PointNetLK, RANSAC and RPMNet combined with ICP refinement. However, apart from GO-ICP, all methods show a significant number of failure cases when applied to scans containing more noise or requiring larger transformations. FGR and RANSAC are among the quickest methods, while GO-ICP takes several seconds to solve. Finally, while learning-based methods demonstrate good performance and low computation times, they have difficulties in training and generalizing. Our results can aid novice researchers in the field in selecting a suitable registration method for their application, based on quantitative metrics. Furthermore, our code can be used by others to evaluate novel methods.

"Switching Hats": Insights From Experienced Clinical Interviewers Turned Novice Research Interviewers.

Health professionals/clinicians interview people regularly as part of their role. However, a qualitative research interview differs considerably to a clinical interview. If clinicians approach qualitative research interviewing based on their expertise in clinical interviewing, it could cause insufficiencies in qualitative data generation. In this reflection article, we, a team of four experienced clinical occupational therapists with no previous experience in qualitative research interviewing, share our experiences while learning to become qualitative research interviewers before undertaking our first qualitative research project. We engaged in self-directed reading, formal training on qualitative interviewing, and practice interviews and used peer feedback and reflection to prepare ourselves to conduct qualitative interviews. We drew upon the work-role transitions theory to work through our adjustment to the new role. Although we set out to "switch hats" as the research topic itself was not clinical, interviewing people on health-related topics will mean bringing our clinical instincts into our research role, while still recognizing the difference between a clinical and research interview. This article can inform experienced clinicians/novice qualitative researchers as they develop this new skillset.

I Didn’t See It Coming: Navigating an Uncomfortable Episode During Doctoral Research Fieldwork

In this article, I revisit my experiences during my doctoral fieldwork from the lens of a novice qualitative researcher. Initially embracing the role of narrative inquirer, I was in the midst of navigating my inquisitive journey by re-examining my personal practical knowledge as a means to confront my puzzle of practice. Six months of fieldwork allowed me to re-experience my classroom teaching practice through a pair of new eyes. As my research was ending, events took an unexpected turn, leading to the delicate issue of female teacher/lecturer-student relationships during research fieldwork and the dilemma of deciding whether to include or ignore this so-called "uncomfortable episode" in my thesis. This article employs an autoethnographic approach to further explore the sequence of events I experienced during and after an interview session with a male research participant, as they happened. By sharing this story from an autoethnographic lens, I hope to shed some light on the implications of such an episode. The lesson learnt suggests that rigour, honesty, integrity, respect, responsibility, and reflexivity are among the principles that an ethical researcher upholds and are frequently embedded in one's own personal belief system. As such, a novice qualitative researcher should constantly embrace these values when faced with an unforeseen occurrence during research.

How to code gerunds in constructivist grounded theory research: an example.

Coding for gerunds is useful in developing theory in grounded theory. However, it can be confusing for the novice researcher to recognise these words, which consider actions more abstractly. To explain how to identify, analyse and code gerunds, using the example of a constructivist grounded theory study investigating the design of operating rooms. Coding for gerunds helped to illustrate participants' actions and sequences in the example study and added depth to the researcher's understanding of certain topics. Coding gerunds can improve the insights obtained in grounded theory studies. This article may encourage nurse researchers to focus on actions to add depth to their qualitative analyses.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY CONFUSION AMONG NOVICE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES RESEARCHERS

Research methodology in the social sciences and humanities entails a methodical approach to studying social phenomena, context, and human behaviour using qualitative, quantitative, or hybrid research techniques. However, the intricate nature of research methods in the social sciences and humanities often poses substantial difficulties for inexperienced researchers and may result in perplexity and mistakes. The objective of this study is to review the research methodology confusion among novice researchers in the social sciences and humanities. This study entails a content analysis approach to discovering pertinent material on the difficulties faced by inexperienced researchers in comprehending research methodology. This study has identified several points of research methodology confusion among novice researchers in the social sciences and humanities, namely: (a) normality tests and validity/reliability tests; (b) parametric and non-parametric tests; (c) sampling determination between experiments and social research; (d) literature review and manuscript analysis; (e) a review and an original qualitative paper; (f) specific terminology of research paper types; and (g) independent and dependent of sample and variable. In conclusion, this study reveals the widespread lack of clarity among inexperienced researchers in the social sciences and humanities when it comes to fundamental ideas, concepts, and research methods.

How Do Praxis-Oriented Themes Inform the Unity of Language Teachers’ Beliefs, Practices, and Identities? A Narrative Inquiry

Abstract Praxis, according to the Vygotskian thoughts and tenets, entails the unity of and dialectical relationship between theory and practice. As a vital concept grounded in sociocultural theory, praxis has received increasing attention among language teacher education scholars, typically over recent years (e. g., Johnson et al., 2020, 2022). Yet, there remains scant research through the lens, thus requiring extended efforts from researchers. To join the existing literature and bridge the gap, we explored how praxis- oriented themes may inform the development of professional beliefs and practices between mentor-mentee duos through TESOL-related programs. In addition, we investigated how the development of beliefs and practices may, in turn, inform the mentorships and contribute to the identity development of these duos. We adopted the narrative inquiry method and captured the participants’ experiences and emotional episodes over their mentoring journeys. We reported a common developmental path along the two duos’ mentoring journeys, while they differed in a few places. These journeys were found to unfold through a 3E pattern with three distinct stages, each contributing to the evolution of their beliefs and practices. These stages were identified as enhancing learning, embodying the mentor, and embracing heritage and identity. Accordingly, three different types of identities, including learner and apprentice, mentee and novice researcher, and language teacher and Chinese culture embodiment, were identified in the stages. Our study provides valuable insights for language teachers and teacher educators by shedding light on praxis-oriented themes that can enhance teacher professional development programs.

Using collaborative autoethnography to investigate mentoring relationships for novice engineering education researchers

Abstract Background The National Science Foundation Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (RIEF) program aims to increase research capacity in the field by providing funding for technical engineering faculty to learn to conduct engineering education research through mentorship by an experienced social science researcher. We use collaborative autoethnography to study the tripartite RIEF mentoring relationship between Julie, an experienced engineering education researcher, and two novice education researchers who have backgrounds in biomedical engineering—Paul, a biomedical engineering faculty member and major professor to the second novice, Deepthi, a graduate student. We ground our work in the cognitive apprenticeship model and Eby and colleagues’ mentoring model. Results Using data from written reflections and interviews, we explored the role of instrumental and psychosocial supports in our mentoring relationship. In particular, we noted how elements of cognitive apprenticeship such as scaffolding and gradual fading of instrumental supports helped Paul and Deepthi learn qualitative research skills that differed drastically from their biomedical engineering research expertise. We initially conceptualized our tripartite relationship as one where Julie mentored Paul and Paul subsequently mentored Deepthi. Ultimately, we realized that this model was unrealistic because Paul did not yet possess the social science research expertise to mentor another novice. As a result, we changed our model so that Julie mentored both Paul and Deepthi directly. While our mentoring relationship was overall very positive, it has included many moments of miscommunication and misunderstanding. We draw on Lent and Lopez’s idea of relation-inferred self-efficacy to explain some of these missed opportunities for communication and understanding. Conclusions This paper contributes to the literature on engineering education capacity building by studying mentoring as a mechanism to support technically trained researchers in learning to conduct engineering education research. Our initial mentoring model failed to take into account how challenging it is for mentees to make the paradigm shift from technical engineering to social science research and how that would affect Paul’s ability to mentor Deepthi. Our experiences have implications for expanding research capacity because they raise practical and conceptual issues for experienced and novice engineering education researchers to consider as they form mentoring relationships.

Reviewers should not destructively assume the role of a researcher

It cannot be nullified that the peer review process is characterized by reviewers who tend to destructively assume the role of researchers. In so doing, this behavior undermines the intellectual ability of researchers, especially novice researchers, who dedicate their time attempting to contribute to scholarly epistemology. Effectively, this concerning behavior of assuming the role of a researcher may denote that the reviewers downplay the reality that researchers certainly know something; no matter how little or greater it is. Thus, it cannot be fair-minded for reviewers to regard themselves as if they are gods of knowledge. With this in mind, this particular paper aims to explore and open a dialogue concerning the challenge of reviewers who destructively assume the role of an author or researcher, thereupon sabotaging the peer review process by imposing their personal scholarly interests. This is against the reality that such conduct may deter potential epistemologies that may potentially make a constructive social impact within and outside the arena of scholarship. In parallel, such behavior from the reviewers may lead to the rejection of scholarly contributions that can generate change in the academic community. By the same token, the rejection of papers, in large part, by the recommendations of destructive reviewers who assume researchers’ roles may demoralize novice researchers who have a strong determination to construct and assemble original, and innovative insights into the body of knowledge. In view of this fact, reviewers ought to appreciate the importance of recognizing the voices and narratives of the authors without imposing their personal interests that may compromise the quality and publication of valuable and well-deserving scholarly papers. On account of this, I conclude this scholarly dialogue by presenting some of the recommendations that may be considered to mitigate the problematized phenomenon.

What is Plagiarism in Academic Writing and How to Avoid it: Guiding Novice Researchers

What is Plagiarism in Academic Writing and How to Avoid it: Guiding Novice Researchers

An exploration system to effectively analyze the visual metaphor used in sentiment visualization

In the field of data visualization, there has been a recent trend of using a complex type of visualization with a multidimensional structure or using several visualizations in parallel when summarizing the results of sentiment analysis. Although this trend may be useful for sophisticated sentiment analysis, such analysis is difficult for the general public and novice researchers. To address this issue, there has recently been a trend of visualizing sentiments using visual metaphors. To facilitate the understanding of related cases, it is necessary to have a systematic means of grasping the sentiment target, the purpose and motivation of research, and the representations used as substitutes for visual metaphors. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to develop an exploration system that can analyze the visual metaphors used in the case of sentiment visualization. For this study, (1) sentiment visualization cases in which visual metaphors are used were collected. (2) After a taxonomy composed of the categories of “target, intermediation, representation, visual variable, and visualization technique” was constructed, it was used to analyze sentences of visual metaphors appearing in sentiment visualization cases. (3) An exploration system capable of grasping the semantic relationships of sub-elements within the five categories of the taxonomy and intuitively interpreting visual metaphors was developed so that appropriate cases can be recommended to sentiment visualization researchers. (4) The approach and usefulness of the exploration system were explained using user scenarios. (5) A case study was conducted to show that the provided system can be analyzed from various perspectives. (6) The usability of the exploration system was demonstrated through a verification targeting experts. The proposed system allows researchers and analysts to intuitively grasp “what types of visual metaphor method and idea should be equipped to visualize sentiment data in an easier way to understand.”

From Interpretation to Interruption: Embracing disruptive analysis

Qualitative analysis is, inherently, a complex, messy and nuanced process. In the context of contested notions of validity, for novice researchers there is therefore an attraction in adopting established, systematic and formulaic approaches. Yet, in prioritising methodical processes, over critical engagement and methodologically coherent quality criteria, these approaches can risk limiting research to a process of cataloguing and reporting face value readings. This research note reflects on an attempt to address and examine this risk in a doctoral research project by progressing from an initial thematic interpretative approach to data analysis to a secondary stage informed by ideas of interruptive analysis. The paper introduces a conceptualisation of interruption as prioritising interrogation of aspects of presentation, over a focus on the interpretation of content or a shift from analysing what is said, to how it is said. Empirical data from research exploring doctoral students’ methodological decision-making is utilised to illustrate the approach and to provoke consideration of the value of embracing disruption. Analysis of two narrative accounts from the study is presented, providing a snapshot of the different understandings and an insight into the learning it generated. The learning in this research note is intended to act as an illustration and provocation for thinking rather than any form of procedural guide.

An Insider Within

This article utilizes doctoral research on access to justice and clinical legal education to reflect on the positionality that the researcher embodies from their diverse professional affiliations. It adds a nuance to the debate on positionality by relaying it as a concentric experience. The article offers insights on navigating layered insider status through the use of reflexivity journals, removing familiarity in the interview environment and returning to the literature after fieldwork. Noting that one may still be perceived as ‘other,’ it outlines the role of go-betweens to access research participants, follow-up questions to allow for participant voices to be heard and a friendly demeanour to build rapport. The article supports training of novice researchers in reflexivity and grounded theory research as ways of facilitating rigour. It will be useful for socio-legal researchers who have a propensity to embody layered insider status from their diverse professional affiliations when researching in their own countries.

Deep learning based computer aided diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease: a snapshot of last 5 years, gaps, and future directions

Alzheimer’s disease affects around one in every nine persons among the elderly population. Being a neurodegenerative disease, its cure has not been established till date and is managed through supportive care by the health care providers. Thus, early diagnosis of this disease is a crucial step towards its treatment plan. There exist several diagnostic procedures viz., clinical, scans, biomedical, psychological, and others for the disease’s detection. Computer-aided diagnostic techniques aid in the early detection of this disease and in the past, several such mechanisms have been proposed. These techniques utilize machine learning models to develop a disease classification system. However, the focus of these systems has now gradually shifted to the newer deep learning models. In this regards, this article aims in providing a comprehensive review of the present state-of-the-art techniques as a snapshot of the last 5 years. It also summarizes various tools and datasets available for the development of the early diagnostic systems that provide fundamentals of this field to a novice researcher. Finally, we discussed the need for exploring biomarkers, identification and extraction of relevant features, trade-off between traditional machine learning and deep learning models and the essence of multimodal datasets. This enables both medical, engineering researchers and developers to address the identified gaps and develop an effective diagnostic system for the Alzheimer’s disease.

Thesis Paper: Some Reflections

Relevance. At present, the procedure for preparing thesis papers is being transformed. It is due to changes in the nomenclature of scientific specialties, according to which the scientific specialty 12.00.03 “Civil Law, Business Law, Family Law, Private International Law” has been replaced by an extended scientific specialty 5.1.3 “Private Law (Civil) Sciences”. However, there is still a problem of a low number of thesis papers in private law sciences as a result of postgraduate studies. This makes it necessary for novice researchers to form an idea about the preparation of thesis papers on private law sciences, taking into account their specifics.The purpose of the study is to generalize the author’s idea of preparing a thesis paper on private law sciences.Objectives: to identify approaches to the selection of a thesis paper topic on civil law, to develop recommendations for the application of practice in a thesis paper, to give recommendations on the style of a thesis paper text.The methodology of the study is presented by the dialectical-materialistic method and the system method. There were also applied analysis, synthesis and the formal legal method.The results of the study consist in a generalized idea of the specifics of preparing a thesis paper on private law (civil) sciences, based on the author’s personal experience. The key points of successful completion of a thesis paper research are highlighted, in particular, the justification of the research topic, the use of practice, and foreign scientific literature.Conclusion. Working on a thesis paper is a complex and time–consuming process. In general, the arguments given about how a thesis is “prepared” are not the ultimate truth. Moreover, they do not pretend to be complete ones.This is more a thought-provoking information.

Exploring research trends of metaverse in education: a bibliometric analysis

PurposeBy a thorough bibliometric examination of the area through time, this paper analyses the research landscape of metaverse in education. It is an effort that is focused on the metaverse research trends, academic production and conceptual focus of scientific publications.Design/methodology/approachThe Web of Science (WoS) database was explored for information containing research articles and associated publications that met the requirements. For a thorough analysis of the trend, thematic focus and scientific output in the subject of metaverse in education, a bibliometric technique was used to analyse the data. The bibliometrix package of R software, specifically the biblioshiny interface of R-studio, was used to conduct the analysis.FindingsThe analysis of the metaverse in education spanning from 1995 to the beginning of 2023 reveals a dynamic and evolving landscape. Notably, the field has experienced robust annual growth, with a peak of publications in 2022. Citation analysis highlights seminal works, with Dionisio et al. (2013) leading discussions on the transition of virtual worlds into intricate digital cultures. Thematic mapping identifies dominant themes such as “system,” “augmented reality” and “information technology,” indicating a strong technological focus. Surprisingly, China emerges as a leading contributor with significant citation impact, emphasising the global nature of metaverse research. The thematic map suggests ongoing developments in performance and future aspects, emphasising the essential role of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Overall, the findings depict a vibrant and multidimensional metaverse in education, poised for continued exploration and innovation.Originality/valueThe study is among the pioneers that provide a comprehensive bibliometric analysis in the area of metaverse in education which will guide the novice researchers to identify the unexplored areas.

Transformative Visions of Qualitative Inquiry: Performative, Philosophical, and Artistic Transformations

I am writing this review, Transformative Visions for Qualitative Inquiry, considering performative, philosophical, and artistic transformations as an essential reading for faculty and students—novice and veteran. It inspires readers, writers, and novice and veteran researchers in various social sciences disciplines and educational landscapes to envision innovative approaches to healing from crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and/or earthquakes. These processes encourage resisting, recovering, connecting, finding joy, and embracing life. Likewise, Transformative Visions for Qualitative Inquiry centers on the concept of transformation and its potential for the future of qualitative research amidst a world grappling with the multifaceted implications of COVID-19, climate change, political unrest, inequality, and various forms of oppression. In these times of uncertainty, distinguished scholars from around the world are looking forward with a rejuvenated sense of optimism while staying rooted in the understanding that there is still much work to be done. So, I realized that research must give rise to the challenges of our hopeful yet ever-changing future. The contributors of Transformative Visions for Qualitative Inquiry ponder a variety of topics, including academic healing, environmental justice, the dominance of higher education and its challenges to critical education, arts-based research such as songwriting, participatory workshops, and auto poetics, disruptions to traditional humanist and Western thought, and explorations of empathy and life writing.