A STUDY ON ATTITUDE TOWARDS RESEARCH AMONG THE DOCTORAL STUDENTS

Assessing the attitude towards research is the primary problem of this research. Attitude towards research has multiple dimensions. Comprehending the attitudes of the students towards research would bridge the gap between the research supervisor and his ward. Assessing the attitude and diagnosing the areas that needs to be addressed is the need of the hour to find solution to various problems of doctoral students. The study aims to assess the attitude towards research among the doctoral students and find the various dimensions of attitude. This study also explores the top reasons that have high level of importance in their decision to join doctoral course. It also aims to find various factors that have influenced the students to join doctoral program. Acquiring sufficient knowledge to carry forward the research is a key aspect in the research progress. This research also identifies the areas that need trainings at different levels for the students to meet the requirements to complete the program successfully. The methodology to carry forward this research is a self-developed questionnaire to assess the attitude towards research. The sample of this study consists of 159 students who have completed one year of course work in their doctoral program. The factor analysis yielded 6 factors of attitude towards research. The factors are love for research, research fear, research usefulness, difficulties in research, importance of research and benefits of research. Top three reasons that have high level importance in their decision to join doctoral program are interest in subject domain, wanting to work in a first grade research group and availability of an interesting project. Top three factors that influence the student towards doctoral course are teachers, an enthusiastic mentor and friends. Three important training areas are in article writing and publications, identifying journals for publication and communication skills.