The Researching Enterprise

                With one of my manuscripts getting published in the RABSEL – the Centre for Educational Research and Development (CERD) journal, I have now a few publications under my belt. 

                In 2016, I have presented at the National Seminar for Combating Sexual Violence for a Better Society hosted by the Samtse College of Education. In early spring last year, I was also one of the presenters during the first International Conference on Challenges of Anthropocene held at the premier learning institution in Bhutan – the Sherubtse College. 

                In May 2017, the Ministry of Education granted a research grant of Nu. 20,000 under the Sherig Endowment Fund for my research proposal entitled, “Effect of 5E Learning Instructional Unit on Students’ Understanding of the Law of Mechanical Energy Conservation, which is currently under a blind peer-review process. excitingly, this year, two of my manuscripts got published in the Bhutan Journal of Research and Development and RABSEL – the CERD Educational Journal respectively.

Abstract of the published manuscript

            I have realized that stimulating oneself to continue with an interminable research interest is one thing while doing without any enticements is dreadfully another. But engaging in such research enterprise within a dense teaching schedule and that too, under sterile internet paraphernalia is simply draining and madness-provoking. 

            But one thing is certain: the downpour of self-contentment follows when one’s hard work takes the shape in the form of publication. It academically decorates the Curriculum Vitae and boosts the stamina to work further.       

     

            Academic writing is not a cup of tea for everybody. It is quite technical and hence has lots of i’s to dot and t’s to cross. It is a journey and not a destination. At times, if we are uncertain of what we express in the findings, we are doomed to academic suicide in the hands of the reviewers in the middle of the journey towards publication. If we are caught with the fever of being impassionate and uncaring, such writing jobs become needlessly complex because it’s like pitching our ideas on a fixed template. Fiction lovers or for that matter, suspense or thriller addicts will certainly hate academic writings because there is no room to garnish the words with humour. The constitution of communication in research is such that it has to be direct, simple and comprehensible.

            Nonetheless, as one tastes the taste of academic writing, dissipating the time swimming through the pool of journals and academic papers is worth repeating. Even if our publication – though small and young, do not garner better job, promotions and yearly bonus as prevalent in other countries, keeping ourselves on track with researching enterprise certainly keeps us abreast of research temperaments and unwavering inclinations towards it.

Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought” – Albert Szent Gyorgyi