Should Undergraduate students involve themselves in research?

Think Tank @ Writers’ Nook

The Ideators’ Rendezvous

25th February 2025

Session Summary

By Ms. Shannon Patricia

Topic: Should Undergraduate students involve themselves in research?

The session started off with the staff-student dialogue.

Dr. Hans Freddy was the first one to express his ideas. He stated that research has substantial value to it. He also defined research as “A unique interpretation to an already existing problem.”  It is about trying to interpret things in one’s own way. The more convincing the statement, the more chances of it getting published thereby adding substantial value to the existing source of knowledge. He also presented the steps of research which are listed below.

1. Good understanding of what is already available. This forms the agenda in literature review.

2. Identifying the gap in research

3. To be able to tune one’s mind to a particular idea.

In research, one is constantly striving to strengthen the limited availability of research which already exists.

Additionally one must possess the ability to expand your ideas. William Shakespeare’s quote in his play ‘Macbeth’ was also cited.

Dr. Tabitha Durai started her talk with her personal experience and orientation towards research.  She also added that with regard to research, there’s always room to learn more. Additionally it is associated with developing new skills which in turn open up your stream of thought. Researching can also be related to the idea of ‘connecting the dots’. 

Research at undergraduate level proves to be an advantage where students can identify potential mentors thereby they can travel “with someone who’s already been there”.

Dr. Vijay Solomon emphasised the Indian problem of failing to document the rich repository of research that exists in the academia. He also stated that research is inevitable and added that “the world expects us to document it”.  He also suggested the evolving trend in research which lays emphasis on research articles over books. Adding something new to the existing body of knowledge was the definition of research that was presented by him. He also emphasised the significance of reading which gradually paves way to writing. Finally, he also stressed the importance of data in research as well.

Professor Adarsh Vijay also cited that Undergraduate degrees are fundamentals of building conceptual knowledge. He also cited that publications aren’t necessary at an undergraduate level but it is always better to have one. He delineated the challenges in incorporating research at undergraduate levels as follows -

1. Student’s background and interest can effectively alter the process of research

2. The mentoring system may prove to be time-consuming and the idea of labour cannot be ignored.

3. In case of field work, safety issues form a stern concern which further adds to the complexity of the issue.

4. The crisis in finding research experts with a common area of interest serves to a steep task in qualitative challenges.

5. Knowledge of the discipline plays a vital role as undergraduates are still in the process of building their fundamental understanding.

Professor Christina also emphasised the dire need or the ‘thirst’ to get better which in turn fuels students towards the realm of research. It kindles their spirits to ‘learn something new’ she added. She insisted that allowing oneself to be what he or she is, coupled with consistency forms the road to success which is also hardly acknowledged.

Finally Dr. Nirmal Thyagu presented the bifurcated challenges in both denying and approving to implement research at undergraduate levels. He underlined the significance of summer internships in fostering research acumen in students. He also cited the pitfalls that are involved in implementing this idea as he added that the territory is still unclear. He also added that research is all about finding “time to channelise one’s thoughts”.

The session also included contributions from students including Mr. Althameez and Ms. Lakshmi Ramaswami. While the former highlighted the need for structuring one’s thoughts which can effectively be achieved by mentoring, the latter emphasised the need to cultivate the idea of research in schools. Additionally Mr. Rishikesh also stressed about the growing need to cultivate the research mindset in students.

The session also witnessed the poetic talents of the members of the poetryX team who presented a wide array of poems which belonged to the theme of ‘The Poesy of Ordinary Things’. This was then followed by the Newspaper Quiz by Mr. Ben Francis Abi, which then culminated in a vote of thanks by Ms. Shannon Patricia.