A Personalized Service to Academic Researchers: the Experimental Information Service in the Social Sciences at the University of Bath

1973 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Evans ◽  
Maurice B. Line
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Information Service ◽  
Experimental Information ◽  
Personalized Service ◽  
The Social ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
The University

The Problem

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mats Alvesson ◽  
Yiannis Gabriel ◽  
Roland Paulsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Prestigious Journal ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
History Of ◽  
Wide Gap

This chapter introduces ‘the problem’ of meaningless research in the social sciences. Over the past twenty years there has been an enormous growth in research publications, but never before in the history of humanity have so many social scientists written so much to so little effect. Academic research in the social sciences is often inward looking, addressed to small tribes of fellow researchers, and its purpose in what is increasingly a game is that of getting published in a prestigious journal. A wide gap has emerged between the esoteric concerns of social science researchers and the pressing issues facing today’s societies. The chapter critiques the inaccessibility of the language used by academic researchers, and the formulaic qualities of most research papers, fostered by the demands of the publishing game. It calls for a radical move from research for the sake of publishing to research that has something meaningful to say.

scholarly journals Assessing Undergraduate Student Learning in Political Science: Development and Implementation of the “PACKS” Survey

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (01) ◽  
pp. 204-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Sydnor ◽  
Nicole Pankiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Faculty Involvement ◽  
University Of Virginia ◽  
Assessment Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
Full Participation ◽  
Online Assessments ◽  
The University ◽  
Assessment Requirements

ABSTRACT This article describes the creation and implementation of a new online assessment program (“PACKS”) for the department of politics at the University of Virginia. It discusses the benefits of online assessments, including the ease of administration, minimal faculty involvement, ability to link assessment data to existing student data (e.g., GPA and courses completed), and ability to track student progress over time. The assessment can be easily adapted for use by other departments in the social sciences and by other colleges and universities. The authors discuss the drawbacks to this type of assessment, including the challenge of obtaining the highest number of respondents. They recommend using a strong incentive to ensure full participation, such as an advising hold that prevents students from registering until they complete the assessment. The authors contend that implementing survey-based assessment tools is an ideal way for departments to meet their accrediting institutions’ assessment requirements.

scholarly journals Curriculum design in theology and development: Human agency and the prophetic role of the church

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Development Programme ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
The Social ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
The University ◽  
The Church

The field of theology and development is a relatively new sub-discipline within theological studies in Africa. The first formal post-graduate programme was introduced at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa during the mid-1990s. In the early years it was known as the Leadership and Development programme and since 2000, as the Theology and Development programme. Over the past twenty years, this programme has graduated over 160 BTh Honours, 100 MTh, and 15 PhD students. This article outlines the history of the programme, addresses its ideological orientation, its pedagogical commitments and preferences in curriculum design. It further argues that theological reflection on “development” must seek to understand the prophetic role of the church in responding to the complexities of the social issues facing the African continent.  Key to this discussion is the contested nature of “development” and the need for theological perspectives to engage this contestation through a social analysis of the global structures of injustice. This requires an engagement with the social sciences. It is this engagement of the social sciences with theological reflection, the essay argues, that has enabled the students who have graduated from the Theology and Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal to assist the church and faith-based organisations to become effective agents of social transformation.

Edward Shils and Michael Polanyi: the terms of engagement

2019 ◽  
pp. 79-105
Author(s):  
Phil Mullins
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Michael Polanyi ◽  
University Of Chicago ◽  
Scholarly Writing ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
The Social ◽  
Edward Shils ◽  
The University

This essay examines the thirty-year personal and intellectual friendship of Edward Shils and Michael Polanyi. Shils identifies Polanyi as one of his three important mentors; he is aware of and often involved in many Polanyi projects after the mid-forties and absorbs elements of Polanyi’s developing post-critical philosophical perspective. Shils helped Polanyi better understand the social sciences and he was a trusted friend whose scholarly writing apparently inspired Polanyi; Shils was also a capable younger figure on whom Polanyi often relied to organize endeavours such as Polanyi’s long term affiliation with the University of Chicago.

Creating a Modern Profession

2021 ◽  
pp. 200-243
Author(s):  
Larry Abbott Golemon
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
New York ◽  
Religious Education ◽  
Theological Education ◽  
Research University ◽  
Theological Schools ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Social ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

The sixth chapter analyzes theological schools that realigned themselves with the modern research university. Several narratives are explored: the struggle between Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia and seminary founders like John Holt Rice; the influence of the German university through immigrants like Phillip Schaff and theologians who studied abroad; the pragmatic adaptation of the German encyclopedia for organizing theological studies; the impact of the American university’s pragmatism, social sciences, and social reform on seminaries; and the influence of progressive education and the religious education movement on theological schools. University Divinity schools led this movement, especially the University of Chicago built by William Rainey Harper, but a number of independent schools, like Union Theological Seminary in New York, sought such realignment as “theological universities.” This realignment of theological schools had significant benefits, as it increased elective studies, developed specialized fields of ministry, and brought the social sciences to theological education. However, the realignment had unforeseen problems as it widened the gap between academics and those of professional practice; distanced faculty from interdisciplinary work and church leadership; replaced the Bible as a unifying discipline with “the scientific method”; and replaced the integrative role of oral pedagogies with scholarly lectures and the research seminar.

Literature Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 158-162
Author(s):  
Mathieu Ouimet ◽  
Pierre-Olivier Bédard
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
Review Protocol

This chapter highlights literature review. Reviewing the published literature is one of the key activities of social science research, as a way to position one’s academic contribution, but also to get a bird’s eye view of what the relevant literature says on a given topic or research question. Many guides have been created to assist academic researchers and students in conducting a literature review, but there is no consensus on the most appropriate method to do so. One of the reasons for this lack of consensus is the plurality of epistemological attitudes that coexist in the social sciences. Before initiating a literature review, the researcher should start by clarifying the need for and the purpose of the review. Once this has been clarified, the actual review protocol, tools, and databases to be used will need to be determined to strike a balance between the scope of the study and the depth of the review.

Planning for Knowledge Management Implementation in Academic Libraries: Empirical Evidence From Federal University Libraries in Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (04) ◽  
pp. 1850039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyprian. I. Ugwu ◽  
I. J. Ezema
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
The Social ◽  
The University ◽  
Descriptive Survey

The main reason for the failure of many knowledge management (KM) projects is the absence of a well-defined framework or strategy to guide KM implementation. This paper is an attempt to determine the planning needs of the KM deployment process and propose a framework that could be used specifically by the federal university libraries in Nigeria to guide the KM implementation process. Quantitative research approach was adopted in this study and the design was a descriptive survey. A total of 300 librarians responded to the survey that sought their opinions on the planning needs for KM implementation process. The survey instrument was a questionnaire, and it was used to collect data from the respondents. Data collected were analysed using mean, standard deviation, ranks and percentages obtained with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results of the study revealed the planning needs for KM implementation as consisting of the goals which the university library intends to achieve through KM, the KM process, skills and tools required as well as the type of partnerships needed. Based on these needs, this study proposes a KM framework made up of strategies and tactical moves to guide the KM implementation process.

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