Qualities of A Good Researcher

QUALITIES OF A GOOD RESEARCHER
By
Dr Freddie Mupambireyi (PhD)
Senior Lecturer and Chairperson: Business
Enterprise and Management Dept
Faculty of Business Management Sciences
and Economics: University of Zimbabwe
Email: [email protected]
Expectation of the Presentation
 The end product (ie a Good Research Output) is
as good the process.
 A good research, among other things, is a
function of the qualities of the researcher carrying
out
 The objective of this presentation is therefore to
acquaint the student with the qualities,
competencies and skills of a good researcher
Qualities of a Researcher
The success of a research to a large extent depends on the
qualities of the researcher hence certain competencies and
skills are expected. A Researcher requires a number of
qualities and skills some of which are:
Communication skills
Intellectual skills
Organisational skills
Independence
Personal SW (OT) strengths and weaknesses
Information technology skills
Motivation
a) Communication Skills
 A researcher should be able to communicate his/her
understanding of the research area (written and
verbal)
 Applying for funding (written)
 Discussing your project with clients (verbal)
 Negotiating access to sources of data (verbal)
 Designing your research instruments (written)
 Leading focus groups (verbal)
 Writing your report (written)
 Presenting your findings to clients (verbal/written)
 Writing academic papers for publication (written)
b) Intellectual Skills
 Knowledge (memory); the ability to recall facts,
classifications, theories, practical techniques, certain
calculations etc
 Comprehension; the ability to translate data from
one form to another, to interpret or deduce the
significance of data,
 Application; ability to apply knowledge, experience
and skills to a new situation
 Analysis; ability to break information into its
various parts
 Synthesis/creativity; ability to build up information
from other information given
 Evaluation; ability to make qualitative and
quantitative judgments ie to criticise constructively
c) Organisational Skills
This involves proper management of the 4Ms:
Manpower available,
Material resources available
Monetary resources and
Machinery available as well as the time.
Develop a schedule for all the activities to be done (what
should be done first and at what time, by who etc Come up
with a Gantt Chart)
You need systems to manage the administration of the
research process itself ie record keeping, filing,
correspondences, keeping related articles etc
Endevour to stick to the research protocol
d) Intellectual Honesty
 Researchers should not be influenced by others to
“doctor” the data or the research findings
 The success and failure of researchers entirely
depends on their honest collection and
interpretation of data
 Researchers should be empowered, self-motivated
and highly independent in terms of their thinking
 No stereotypes: Insights should be based on facts
and data collected and not on pre-informed opinions
or societal prejudices or personal experiences. Give
up personal likes and dislikes
e) Self Assessment (Strengths and Weaknesses)
 Researchers should self introspect and be honest
with themselves about their strengths and
weaknesses
 Researchers should not cheat themselves because
there is a massive risk if one’s ignorance or
ineptitude is exposed
 This enables them to assess whether they can do the
research on their own or not
f) Information Technology skills
 Any researcher should have basic appreciation of
ICT skills and how to perform “elementary” data
analysis and interpretation.
 Knowledge of some statistical packages would

even be better eg : SPSS, STATA, Epi-Info, SAS,
NVIVO etc
g) Motivation
 Motivation is essential to successful completion of
any research project.
 Should have that internal drive in you to see the
project/research through
 Motivation may fluctuate during the course of the
project and should not tire.
 To maintain motivation, choose a project/topic you
have a passion in
 Have courage and conviction, forced work is
boring and tiresome
 Ideally any researcher should possess all the core qualities and skills
to a greater extent
Additional Attributes
 Intellectual curiosity:- someone with an inquisitive mind.
Raises questions and searches for answers through reading
related literature and use of primary data. Think deeply
about something
 Tolerant to constructive criticism: Objectively evaluate
divergent views and be open to suggestions
 Ability to stay clam: Researches by their very nature are
not smooth sailing at all stages, they are stressful and
challenges will always be there. Remain clam
 Agile mind: Flexible in thinking fast
 Approachable and friendly: Relate well others
 Research focused and not method focused: Understand
the needs of project and then decide the methods to use later
Attributes Cont
 Adequate education and training: To be able to
understand and solve problems. Should be cquainted
with the latest techniques of research to avoid
methodological, processing and analytical errors
 Familiarity with the respondents: This facilitates
easy data collection
 Sharing knowledge: Be open to scrutiny by sharing
research output through written publications or oral
presentations on eg seminars and conferences
 Patience: Results or findings may not come by easily,
patience must be a virtue.
THE END
Asante Sana
Good Reading

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QUALITIES OF A GOOD RESEARCHER

 Knowledge of some statistical packages would

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