Research skills

De enero a diciembre del 2004, desde los proyectos del CEPROS se fomentó, proactivamente, a través de capacitación EN EL TRABAJO, el desarrollo de competencias para la recolección, procesamiento, análisis y exposición de información en ciencias sociales.  Al finalizar el año, se procedió a certificar estas competencias.  El documento muestra diferentes modelos de informar sobre ello, por escrito.

Serious games are games with a purpose beyond entertainment and are widely acknowledged as fruitful tools for learning and skills development across multiple domains, including specifically educational enhancement. ‘How To Fail Your Research Degree’ is a serious game developed to deliver knowledge and understanding of research processes and techniques, within the context of a postgraduate training programme at Glasgow School of Art which guides students transitioning from undergraduate to Masters. Development focussed on encouraging creativity and risk-taking within a safe game environment and learning by (potentially) failing. Intended learning outcomes (ILOs) are to: highlight various risks of research projects and suggest their impact on projects; reinforce dependencies between tasks at different stages of research; directly reinforce the interrelations of different risks with the activities taken to negate or ameliorate them; and replicate the time-critical nature of short resea...

This is the definitive guide to successful study as an international postgraduate student. Chapters cover all the core academic skills, including time management, reading, referencing, critical thinking, doing research, and writing and speaking for assessment. The book features a wealth of examples, activities and checklists to help students hone their skills.
The 2nd edition features:

- New content on managing digital sources, using electronic databases and poster presentation
- Additional activities on referencing and critical thinking
- Practical pointers to help students hit the ground running and quickly get to grips with the expectations and conventions of postgraduate study

This skills-focused book is written for international students completing postgraduate degrees in western tertiary institutions. It outlines what I think all students need to know to survive in the tertiary sector, and is based on my experience in teaching international students over a 30 year period. The book offers a range of relevant exercises, models of good (and bad) practice, and practical suggestions for making the transition from undergraduate to independent, resourceful and self-reliant graduate student. It was first published with Palgrave MacMillan in 2011. Two weeks after its release, it sold over 1600 copies, and become a recommended text in institutions in the UK, Australia, Japan, India and Dubai. It is now being translated into Arabic.

• 'Study Skills for International Postgraduates" is an excellent introduction to the culture and demands of Anglo-American post-graduate education. The sections on how to construct papers are especially useful, even for those already familiar with Anglo-American practices. This is a valuable "how-to" manual for those undertaking study abroad.' – Professor Herman Schwartz, University of Virginia, USA.

• 'Extremely comprehensive and detailed, Study Skills for International Postgraduates is a 'must-have' for all graduate students. The writing is clear and concise, with excellent descriptions and examples provided throughout. Students will find the suggestions for time management, study skills, and oorganizing research and the writing process invaluable.' – Associate Professor Kristen P. Williams, Clark University, USA.

• 'Extensive in its coverage, Study Skills for International Postgraduates is written in a friendly, accessible style and is sure to be a great, practical resource for international students.' Professsor Hayo Reinders, Middlesex University, UK.

• 'The most concrete and practical guide on the market on how to achieve a postgraduate degree, with a maximum of how-to skills and competencies.' Lotte Rienecker, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

*“Davies effectively distils many years’ pedagogic experience with international postgraduate students, within a Western, English-speaking higher education culture, usefully brought up to date by addressing some of the challenges of increasingly prevalent online delivery, informed by the recent COVID-19 related actions forced on HE Institutions. The book therefore delivers wisdom, both historic and forward-looking, making it ideal as a reference tool to take the newly arrived international postgrad, for whom it is primarily intended, from the early days of settling in and making friends, through their academic programme, closing with suggestions about doctoral research. Offering the book to all incoming international students as part of a ‘welcome pack’ would be an excellent idea. …  Academics who might be teaching these same international postgraduates would benefit from reading the book, firstly to enhance their knowledge of the challenges faced by their students and secondly to identify approaches which they could incorporate into their future pedagogical approach. Indeed, with international students’ relevance and their importance to many HE Institutions it would make good sense for this book to become required reading for both newly appointed academics, through their PG Certificates in Higher Education or Academic Professional Apprenticeships, so that they could develop their pedagogy from its inception with the international student in mind.”  Dr Ivan Newman, Higher Education Specialist. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 24 (2022).

For more details and reviews, see: http://martindavies.com.au/publications/

With an emphasis on practising evidence-based medicine, medical schools encourage students’ participation in research as well as providing opportunities to present their findings at conferences. Recognition of such work is a credit to the individual, adding to the list of achievements in their portfolio. In the UK, as part of the standards laid out by the General Medical Council in Tomorrow’s Doctors, it is expected that doctors should function as clinicians and scientists by being able to critically appraise medical literature to provide the best possible patient care. This can encourage students to become involved in projects to gain experience in these skills and also to publish this work in academic journals.

"With the complexity of today’s business transactions, accountants are continuously challenged to cope with the changes to survive in the profession. Such changes require academic institutions to emphasize the development of knowledge and skills among accountancy students.

This paper focuses on the development of three skills: analytical, communication, and research skills in the accountancy education as perceived by Accountancy students and faculty members. Using the data from the surveys gathered from accountancy students and faculty members of De La Salle University, results show that all problem solving, evaluating and interpreting financial data/systems, business cases, and design of theoretical questions discouraging memorization are perceived by students to be highly significant to the general development of analytical skills. On the other hand, faculty members only perceive business cases, evaluating financial systems, and design of theoretical questions to be significant in the analytical skill development. Despite this result, both students and faculty agree that problem solving is the number one factor in the development of the skill, while on-the-job training is considered to be the least factor.

In terms of communication skills, students perceive all areas such as oral communication, written communication, non-verbal communication, and listening skills, with the exception of essay writing, to be highly significant with the general evaluation of communication skills. Faculty members, on the other hand, perceive writing essays, debates, and graded recitation to be highly significant factors in the development of the skill. It was also found out that preparing written reports is the number one sub-skill that develops the communication skills, as evidenced by high mean scores.

For research skills, all factors such as awareness on plagiarism, reference to other school materials, basic and applied research, taking research methodology courses and other related subskills are highly significant as perceived by students. Faculty members perceive only preparing basic and applied research, feasibility and industry studies, and formal course on research methods to be the highly significant factor in the development of research skills. It also noted that awareness on plagiarism and reference to other school materials are the main factors in the development of the skill, as perceived by students and faculty members, respectively.

Students perceive Mandatory CPE programs to be helpful in the development of ACR skills, whereas faculty members do not. While the notion that the development of ACR skills is developed more through experience than classroom learning are not highly significant to both faculty and students, students placed high significance on DLSU’s participation in the development of the skill in contrast with the faculty perceptions. At the end of the paper, conflicting opinions as to why the development of ACR skills is hampered in accounting education are presented. 

Future research for this study should be geared towards formulation of policies and programs toward the development of ACR skills, increasing the geographical scope of the study, the consideration and assessment of other skills necessary in the accountancy profession.

N.B. This paper was written for the course ACT612M (Philosophy of Science and Scientific Methods) taken during Term 3, SY 2005 - 2006. Please do not cite. Thank you."

The accurate assessment of research self-efficacy may help identify a given self-identified strengths and weaknesses with respect to research, thereby facilitating research training and guidance. This study focused on the Master Teachers' (MTs) skills and attitudes towards research as basis for research capability building program for MTs in the Schools Division of Zambales. The study used the descriptive-survey design. The data gathered were organized and processed through the SPSS. Majority of the MTs were middle aged, female and married, earned MA/MS units, and have served as Master Teacher I for 1-4 years. A very small percentage of the MTs have attended research-related trainings or conferences and undertaken, published or presented researches. They have average skills in searching, using and evaluating information including their awareness on the various sources of information and where to obtain them. They have fair skills in designing experimental study as well as selecting and developing research instruments, choosing appropriate statistical tools and preparing manuscript for publication. They strongly value training in educational research but moderately apply research findings to real life context. They have high regards relative to the value of doing research to become better educator. Time, efforts and resources in learning about research findings were essential elements to create positive attitudes towards research. A research capability training program is hereby proposed as the output of the study. The program consists of various levels from lectures, hands-on workshop, and writing research articles for colloquium and for possible publication.

One of the significant challenges of the university today is the growth and expansion of the research student population. Research training and doctoral education has exploded around the world, including doctoral education in the creative and performing arts. This development has occasioned many debates – none of them simple. Positions intersect, overlap, concur, and contrast. This paper examines several key issues about the doctorate and doctoral study to ask what aspects of doctoral writing ought to remain the same across all fields.

After more than a decade of teaching the course of research skills, I believe that the need for reference works on proposal writing for students and researchers is an essential handout. Not only to acquire the ability to write successful researched proposals but also to share my experience with them. The purpose of this review is to screen research skills literature to identify how and why proposals are written. Ultimately, to provide a document that guides students and researchers to write an effective proposal for their research projects. I found following accredited proposal guidelines will help to produce an effective successful document. However, there is no one single format but general template. Every institution, journal or funding agency has its own format. But all have this sequence: introduction, objectives, methodology, workplan, budget, references and annexes. 1) Background: There is no single formula for a strong effective proposal. There are a number of precepts that are consistently found in successful proposals. The sooner one learns them, the better. (1) When a social scientist desires to conduct an experiment, he first develops a proposal. The proposal introduces the problem, the significance of a study as well as the experimenter's research question and hypothesis. It also gives a brief explanation of the theory guiding the study, a review of relevant literature pertaining to the theory, and the procedure for the experiment. (2) The goal of a research proposal is to present and justify the need to study a research problem. As well as, to show design elements and procedures for conducting the research. It goes without saying the proposal must provide persuasive evidence that a need exists for the proposed study. (3)

This module will enable students to hone the skills required to undertake research in literary studies and which are necessary to present the results of such research through writing and oral presentation. Students are encouraged to think about how to select appropriate methodologies from a range of possible choices, and consider how these methodologies can be used to shape the forms of research undertaken.

Reading comprehension depends on how students approach texts. Too often students are not told or forget why they have to read what is assigned to them. This can lead to a lot of frustration. After all, reading critically is very different from reading for facts. Analyzing descriptions is also very different from analyzing analysis. Sociological texts, like Marx’s Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, Weber’s Economic & Society (1978), Durkheim’s Rules of the Sociological Method (1982) and Goffman’s Behavior in Public Places (1963), cannot be read like a newspaper. This guide aims to assist undergraduates seeking a critical education in learning how to tackle reading the kind of writing that is dense as a necessity of the arguments themselves. Rather than seeking to reduce it to “plain language”, students can break in down into its orders and classes of abstraction such that the arguments reveal themselves. Instead of emphasizing the instrumental task of coursework, as in the idea of higher education as “knowledge factories”, through briefing, this pedagogy offers a means of showing students how to read for understanding and patience. This prepares students for class discussions where instructors can have students compare their points of confusion, interpretations, and contrast the outlines the students produce. Sample briefs are provided to illustrate the differences formatting makes in sharing understanding with others. By showing students these samples, it is hoped that students will understand that expectations are set high not because instructors are trying to be difficult or “hard graders”, but because of the obligation to assist students in learning to think for themselves. This concludes with a grading analysis of the sample briefs to give students insight into the challenges of evaluation faculty face when grading.

A challenge to the value of referencing and citations is sometimes heard in design research circles. This challenge questions the value of good referencing and citations to research and practice in design. This article will address the misunderstandings that give rise to these challenges. This article outlines the foundations of referencing and citation. It clarifies central issues in referencing and citation. It discusses literature review as an exercise linked to good referencing and it offers resources and tools for design research. Most important, it discusses the role of evidence in analyzing and solving problems in design research. While some design problems involve taste and interpretation, most design arguments rest on statements of fact. Statements of fact have truth-value established by evidence. References make evidence accessible distinct from the person and claims of the writer. By providing evidence for reasoned argument, good referencing and citation serves both the field of design practice and the discipline of design research. Good referencing is central to the growing literature of design research for four main reasons: reasoned argument, access to common evidence, building the field, and improving the intellectual and practical quality of the discipline.

Contributo presentato al VI Congresso CUCS (Coordinamento Universitario per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo) tenutosi a Trento dal 19 al 21 settembre 2019, durante la sessione parallela "Practices for engaging students in international development cooperation activities". Il lavoro presenta l’esperienza didattica realizzata, a partire dall’anno accademico 2015/2016, all’interno dell’insegnamento “Pedagogia Sociale dello Sviluppo Umano e Cooperazione Internazionale”, del corso di studi magistrale LM-57/85 in Scienze dell’Educazione degli Adulti, della Formazione Continua e Scienze Pedagogiche dell’Università di Firenze.

How can we develop competence in research and professional practice? This essay tries to answer the question from the perspective of critical systems thinking, that is, through an approach that aims to promote reflective research and practice. The paper is written for research students and practitioners in different professional fields. It addresses them in a direct and personal way.

Note: This article is a considerably expanded version of the Lincoln School of Management Working Paper No. 22 of June 1998 (also available in this site).
A further-expanded and updated version was prepared for Ulrich's Bimonthly, July-August 2017 (Vol. 15, No. 4, 28 August 2017) and is equally available in the Academia.edu site, see Section "Philosophy for Professionals – on Good practice," entry "Ulrich, W. (2017)".

The goal of this paper was to develop and validate a research scale that can measure the research skills of SHS students. From review of relevant literatures, an initial draft of the scale was crafted. The initial draft of the scale, composing of five constructs and 48 indicators, was subjected to validation by a panel of research experts where two items were omitted. The scale was administered to SHS students (n=126). Exploratory factor analysis was employed to refine the research instrument and reliability testing was undertaken. As a result, 38 items were identified (α = 0.968) in three dimensions: problem conceptualization with 12 items (α = 0.905), research methods and data analysis with 18 items (α = 0.952) and writing and reporting results with eight items (α = 0.918).

Course Objectives: The overall objective of this course is to help students develop some key research skills for academic, professional and life purposes.

Pre-Requisite skills In order to succeed in this course, learners must have acquired a good ability to 1) Read texts effectively; and 2) Write essays.

Para un desarrollo social óptimo, es indispensable que los profesionales de las distintas áreas reúnan un conjunto de competencias que incrementen su capacidad de dar respuestas efectivas y oportunas a los problemas y necesidades de la población. Una estrategia para lograrlo es a través de la investigación formativa en el ámbito universitario, capaz de consolidar una cultura profesional centrada en la construcción de soluciones creativas, eficientes y eficaces, desde la indagación. Diversas experiencias demuestran que iniciativas como esta contribuyen significativamente al desarrollo sustentable, al preparar a los estudiantes para enfrentar los retos que plantea la creciente demanda social por una mejor calidad de vida, cuya satisfacción implica un abordaje inter, multi y transdisciplinario

Growing body of studies has stressed the role of research in teacher education since conducting research informs both teachers and students, and contributes to professional skills. Therefore, this study aimed to find out and compare the perspectives of pre-service and in-service English teachers in an EFL context with regard to finding sufficient resources to conduct research, whether they are involved in research-related activities and find research findings applicable. Qualitative research method was used to get detailed responses from the participants and form a theory upon emerging themes and categories. The qualitative findings were further supported with numbers in the form of frequency and percentage tables to include both qualitative and quantitative means, utilize complementary purposes of words and numbers, and get the outmost profit from numerical and non-numerical data. There were 340 participants and it took more than about one year to collect the data. 290 pre-service English teachers from four different state universities and 50 in-service English teachers from 15 different cities participated in the study. The participants reflected their perspectives upon the importance of research in teacher education by answering questions in a written interview protocol (WIP). Statistical procedures were applied to form the frequency and percentage tables whereas constant comparison of grounded theory was used to code and categorize interview items, and form a theory summarizing the macro-level and micro-level factors affecting participant responses. The findings showed that there exist similarities and differences between pre-service and in-service English teachers. More than half of the pre-service participants (N: 147) and high majority of the in-service participants (N: 43) reflected unfavorable perspectives upon finding sufficient opportunities, following publications and feasibility of research findings. Additionally, the emerging categories of pre-service answers are more varied compared to in-service teachers. In general, the in-service participants were found to be more pessimistic about educational research more than the pre-service participants. At the end of the analysis P.I.S. Theory emerged to cover the determinants of research in teacher education. According to P.I.S. Theory, there exist three macro-level determinants namely Personal, Institutional and Stakeholder-related issues which shape the route of research in teacher education and include micro-level determinants. The findings point out the gap between university classrooms and school classrooms in terms of promoting research among teachers. Participant quotations also draw attention on their changing flow of teacher identity relating research in the course of trainings they go through in years. In light of the findings, it can be said that promoting research skills among students should go beyond integrating a compulsory course at graduate level, be handled with an across-the-curriculum understanding and further expand to bridge pre-service and in-service teacher education with a systematic approach through university-school collaboration and teacher-researcher collaboration.

There is a growing concern in scholarly literature indicating that college students struggle with conducting research and using information effectively (Head, 2013; Lawrence, 2013; Head & Eisenberg, 2011). This research study examines the elements and causes of information illiteracy from a secondary education perspective. The methods used assess the information literacy skill levels of high school juniors, intervene with information literacy instruction, and evaluate the merit of the intervention. The project purpose is threefold: (1) establish a baseline of students’ ability to seek, use, disseminate, and communicate information; (2) determine what instructional strategies (including self-paced resources, collaborative instruction, and assessments) will increase student capacity to locate and integrate information; and (3) measure student and teacher perceptions of the importance of information literacy.Currently, the Common Core State Standards Initiative (2012) treats information literacy as a skill component to be integrated into the curriculum. Since there is not a state-sanctioned assessment examining information literacy within North Carolina, this study will serve as a springboard for capturing data related to information literacy. Whenimplemented at the district level, this intervention method will use existing standards (specifically curriculum) to increase student readiness for career and college-level course work.

Purpose: This paper provides an overview of the literature on digital games designed or adapted for information literacy instruction, as well as practical design recommendations.

Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents an analysis of a compiled set of peer-reviewed articles on games in the provision of information literacy instruction published between 2013–2018, categorized by game mechanics utilized.

Findings: Application of the inclusion criteria led to 12 papers considered relevant. Synthesis of the papers suggests that although studies indicate positive outcomes for information literacy games, such games continue to rely on transcription of declarative tasks to digital environments.

Originality/value: While previous literature reviews provide summaries on information literacy digital games, this paper not only presents an up-to-date review but also provides step-by-step instructions and worked examples for aligning information literacy learning mechanics with game mechanics.

Best Paper Award InSite 2018-
The digital divide and educational inequalities remain a problem impacting low income, first-generation, and minority learners and higher education is challenged to meet the needs of students with varying levels of technological readiness.

The main objective of the study was to determine the research skills and traits of first-year Social Studies students at the College of Teacher Education (CTE) in Batangas State University- Pablo Borbon. Further, this study also ascertained the students' description of themselves as student researchers, their assessment of their research skills relative to the formulation of the research problem, gathering literature, methodology, and interpreting the results. The researchers utilized a descriptive method of research in this study with the questionnaire as the primary data gathering instrument. Findings revealed that the students are displaying a high level of intellectual honesty and integrity. With respect to their research skills, they consider their possible respondents when conceptualizing the problem, while in terms of gathering literature, they are very much aware of the copyright and plagiarism policies; in terms of methodology, they begin by choosing the appropriate res...

Se presenta la base de datos, conteniendo información recolectada a través de entrevistas estructuradas, de estudiantes a cargo de proyectos de investigación, en la División de Ciencias Sociales, Economicas y Administrativas de la UQROO en Chetumal.  En un ambiente académico formal que gira sobre el profesor, estas investigaciones, a menudo no reconocidos como tal,  adoptan la forma de trabajos parciales y finales de cursos, tesis, monografías, informes de estancias e informes de servicio social, entre otros.

La actitud hacia la investigación es un tema a tomar en cuenta para quienes desean iniciar a los estudiantes universitarios en el mundo de la investigación, ya que los prejuicios y actitudes negativas pueden obstaculizar el aprendizaje. El objetivo de esta investigación fue diseñar y validar un cuestionario para evaluar la actitud hacia la investigación en estudiantes universitarios. A partir de la técnica de redes semánticas, se creó un cuestionario de 28 reactivos, que fue aplicado a 212 estudiantes de Psicología de 3 universidades. Se obtuvo un Alpha de Cronbach de .726 y en el análisis factorial resultaron  2  factores  (actitud  positiva  y  negativa)  que  explicaban  el  30.24%  de  la varianza. Se encontró que los estudiantes de primer año tienden a tener mejor actitud hacia  la  investigación  y  esta  va  disminuyendo  conforme  avanzan  en  la  carrera.  En conclusión, el cuestionario mostró valores psicométricos aceptables para su uso.

Objective: To design a proposal that allow first-year students of dentistry from Central University of Venezuela, an approach to research activities through the development of a literature review based on analysis of evidence, within the framework of the program's objectives of the subject "Biochemistry" for the school period 2008-2009. Methods: Feasible project in which are defined strategies for the incorporation to the teaching/learning process of the subject "Biochemistry", knowledge about search, valuation and use of evidence, and in addition has settled the methodological guidelines for conducting of a documentary research work by students studying this subject. Results: The proposal was made by defining of the objectives, the approach of the justification, the analysis of the feasibility in terms of human and technological resources available, and the description of the stages of the project implementation with their execution schedule. Conclusions: There are many initiatives across the globe attempting to give a new approach to dental education, for adapt the professional practice to the needs of the contemporary society. The pillars of this reform of the curricula are the research and the Evidence-Based Dentistry. The first will contribute to the development of core competencies such as critical thinking, teamwork, ethics and social responsibility. The second will allow the integration of these competencies to the decision making at various levels of the institutions providing dental services and general health

La educación odontológica debería estar orientada a desarrollar competencias en las nuevas generaciones de profesionales que les permitan dar respuesta oportuna y efectiva a los problemas de salud bucal de la población, sustentándose este modelo de educación en la incorporación de actividades de investigación en pregrado vinculadas a la valoración o generación de evidencia, y en tal sentido, diversas experiencias han demostrado la eficacia de este enfoque de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Sin embargo, el éxito de la implementación de este modelo depende de su aceptación por parte de la comunidad estudiantil, aunque la calidad del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje en este contexto va mucho más allá de tal aceptación, por lo que el grado de satisfacción de los estudiantes como resultado de dicho proceso se constituye en un valioso indicador de la calidad del mismo. Objetivo: Determinar el grado de satisfacción obtenida por los estudiantes del primer año de la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad Central de Venezuela como resultado de la integración de la investigación al proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje en la asignatura "Bioquímica" en el período lectivo 2008-2009. Métodos: Para la realización de este estudio transversal se encuestó a un grupo de estudiantes seleccionados aleatoriamente (40% del total de cursantes de la asignatura en el mencionado período lectivo). En la selección se excluyeron a aquellos alumnos que no realizaron el trabajo de investigación asignado. Resultados: 81,9% de los encuestados (77 estudiantes) señalaron estar "Muy Satisfechos" con la experiencia, luego de valorar cualitativamente los aspectos positivos y negativos que de acuerdo a ellos se desprendieron del enfoque dado a la materia. Conclusiones: De acuerdo al presente estudio existe un alto grado de satisfacción en los estudiantes derivado de los conocimientos adquiridos a partir de la incorporación de la investigación al proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje en la asignatura. Trabajos como el aquí descrito son una importante fuente de retroalimentación para el docente y su institución al permitir identificar fortalezas y debilidades en dicho proceso, así como oportunidades para enriquecerlo. Este debe ser el enfoque de una educación odontológica que responda a los retos que impone la creciente demanda por profesionales que aporten soluciones creativas a los problemas de salud oral que surgen en el marco de un sistema sanitario con recursos cada vez más escasos

Background. Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the process by which a clinician evaluates the quality of evidence before applying it in the management of a patient. Many practitioners struggle to integrate this research-based evidence into their professional practice. Blogs have been identified as useful pedagogical tools that can facilitate the sharing of ideas and clinical experiences among peers to reflect on diverse learning experiences.
Objectives. A qualitative research design was used to examine the use of reflective blogging to teach the process of EBP in physiotherapy.
Methods. A conveniently selected group of postgraduate students who were registered for an EBP module participated in the study. Blogging was used to teach the process of EBP in physiotherapy using Kolb's cycle as a guiding and an evaluative framework. Students reflected on and shared their learning experiences in ways that exposed the limits of their understanding around certain concepts.
Results. The results reflect how students moved from assisted to independent performance by identifying gaps in their own understanding and finding the answers themselves.
Conclusion. Reflective blogging was found to be a valuable tool for promoting meaningful learning activities among participants and assisted students in making sense of their shared experiences. It was also an effective tool to be used in teaching the process of EBP

To prepare students to face the world of work, universities should ensure that engineers graduating from their campuses demonstrate entrepreneurial skills and the ability to understand market forces alongside domain knowledge. This exploratory study focused on the design, application, and evaluation of a research-based coursework assignment in a business communication course offered to undergraduate level engineering students at a university college in Oman. The assignment aimed at developing students' entrepreneurship skills, basic business concepts, creativity, critical thinking, communication skills, and research skills. Student perceptions on the role of assignment in developing the above-mentioned skills and in influencing their affective domain were gathered using a survey questionnaire carrying closed and open-ended questions. The data were analyzed using SPSS and frequency tables were generated. The results of the survey revealed that the students enjoyed working on the assignment and showed strong agreement for most of the items on the role of assignment in developing their skills and knowledge. The assignment model used in this study can support teachers in designing assessments that target the development of entrepreneurial skills alongside other meta-skills and can help solve the problem of unemployment in due course.

In the current article, I describe a case of experiential learning that can be used to enhance learning, students’ research skills and motivation in academic institutions. We used the already existing process of hackathons – intense computer programming events – and conducted a social science research marathon. Fifty-two graduate students participated in the event working in seven research teams for 12 straight hours. The teams designed and ran empirical experiments ‘from scratch’ under a specific challenge (the Israeli elections) and then collected data, analysed it and shared their results. Our main goals were: (a) to enhance participants’ research skills and (b) to strengthen their intrinsic motivation through hands-on experiential learning, and finally, (c) to conduct high-quality empirical research that could be the basis of peer-reviewed scholarly articles if further developed. According to a post-event survey, all three goals were fulfilled successfully.

In this article, the authors, based on a process developed in the context of US higher education, demonstrate a model for undergraduate student research skill development that involves academic staff writing collaborative book reviews with undergraduate students and librarians, especially librarians that are also academic staff with relevant content expertise. This model can and should be modified to fit various disciplinary contexts and academic circumstances, potentially around the world. The authors acknowledge that this model will be more useful for academic staff in the social sciences and humanities as compared to the so-called hard or natural sciences. The authors reimagine book reviews based on the notion of ‘scholarship as conversation’ in library science. As evidence, the authors describe the origins of this unique collaborative process and document the impact of academic staff, librarians, and undergraduate students partnering to increase the academic rigor of book reviews. Contributing to scholarship at the intersection of research skill development, information literacy, and embedded librarianship, this article identifies a strategic opportunity for collaboration that makes writing reviews more engaging and educationally productive for students, academic staff, and librarians.

Abstract: One of the guiding assumptions of the IS2002 Model Curriculum is that all Informa-tion Systems professionals “must have good interpersonal communication and team skills; ” namely writing skills. In this paper, the author addresses one way of giving information systems students practice with writing skills. The Non-Technology Report is a writing/research paper that helps the student develop both their writing skills as well as critical thinking skills in finding and evaluating information.

Aim: This paper considers how changes in the research landscape are simultaneously changing the skills needs of library staff, and opening up new opportunities for researchers to pursue careers within libraries. It explores what skills, competencies and knowledge staff with doctoral qualifications can bring to library research support services. Context: Librarians working in research support areas need different skills to the skills academic librarians have traditionally needed. There is currently a gap in the training which those undertaking professional librarianship qualifications receive, in relation to the skills needed for research roles. Simultaneously , expansion in the numbers of PhD students in the UK in recent years has been accompanied by the professionalisation of researcher skills development , equipping students with transferable skills for careers outside, as well as inside, academia. Methodology: This paper compares the skills' needs of research librarians with the competencies and skills of doctoral graduates, specifically in the UK context (as articulated in the Vitae Researcher Development Framework). It also surveys and discusses the skill-set and qualifications of research support staff employed at three UK research libraries. Results: Understanding the needs and, importantly, the behaviours, of researchers is integral to the provision of a successful library research support service. Many of the skills which are necessary for library graduates to have, are those that are already identified as essential researcher skills. The peer-level support offered by library staff with research backgrounds has a role in developing stronger relationships between the library and the academy.

Desde una perspectiva analítico-reflexiva las instituciones de educación superior (IES) deberán cuestionarse ¿de qué manera el currículo aprovecha las potencialidades de las tecnologías de la información y comunicación (TIC) y el internet para el desarrollo de competencias de los universitarios?. Particularmente las IES deberán reconocer el paradigma de la educación mediada por tecnología (EMT) asociado con los procesos cognitivos, la usabilidad pedagógica de las TIC y las competencias para la investigación, lo anterior con el propósito de establecer la fundamentación didáctico-pedagógica para el empleo de los recursos digitales y tecnológicos en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje, así como para la formación de jóvenes investigado- res. Por otra parte, el paradigma de la EMT deberá explicar ¿de qué manera internet contribuye con el desarrollo cognitivo?, es decir, ¿cómo la usabilidad tanto de las TIC como de la red de redes (www, por sus siglas en inglés) estimulan los procesos de pensamiento básico y avanzado de los universitarios? y ¿de qué manera impacta en su desarrollo de habilidades para la investigación formal?. Así mismo, resulta apremiante que las IES clarifiquen ¿cómo el empleo deliberado de internet se deberá insertar en su planeación curricular?, permitiendo valorar los aportes didácticos de la mediación tecnológica, así como su relevancia para el logro de los objetivos de aprendizaje.

Palabras clave: Competencias universitarias, desarrollo cognitivo, TIC, formación de investigadores, planeación curricular.