The changing nature of higher education and research is demanding a revision of the role and function of research management and governance. A plethora of meta-dynamics contribute to the need for the revision of research management and governance. Research governance and management is currently experiencing challenges to improve best practices and reshape the facilitation of research and knowledge production. Challenges experienced in research and higher education is systemic in nature and a ...

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2021-Jun-19 19:42:21

This study is a critical analysis of Public Administration doctorates in South Africa between 1994 and 2007. The methodology utilised was that of a content analysis of completed Public Administration doctoral abstracts (116 in total). A 10 percent sample of completed theses was also examined. Four main analytical variables were used namely the focus of the field, the research purpose of the thesis, type of methodology used and whether the doctorate contributed significantly to new knowledge. ...

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2021-Jun-19 19:38:29

This article builds on previous research and tries to establish the reasons for the selection of non-applicable research methods by Public Administration researchers in South Africa. For the purpose of this paper the hypothesis has been set that the methodological preference of the authors of the selected Public Administration articles and theses is determined by an association between the variable “research method” and the variable “institutional affiliation”. Two dat ...

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2021-Jun-19 19:33:46

T centralised government initiated evaluation of state entities in the field to his article firstly, locates the present enthusiasm in our country for discuss evaluation methodologies, plans specifically, broadening the field since the seventies. Second and drawing on experience in South Asia, it shows too nascent moves for downward and horizontal accountabilities at meso- and microlevels, to discuss three evaluation plans enlarging evaluation from present macro methodologies used in the publ ...

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2021-Jun-19 19:28:50

In recent years support for community development and participatory research has been revived and people’s participation and empowerment has become a major concern in development thinking. The importance of involving people in their own development is driven by the Millennium Development Goals set for community and societal development. The renewed strength of the participatory approach is clearly evident. Although the theoretical position of participatory action research is still conte ...

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2021-Jun-19 19:24:36

Survey research is the most frequently-used mode of observation in the social sciences. The basic idea of a survey is to measure variables by asking people questions and then examining the relationships among the measures. Survey research has three important features. Firstly, it uses a large number of respondents who are chosen through probability sampling procedures to represent the population from which the sample is selected. Secondly, it uses a systematic questionnaire or interview proce ...

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2021-Jun-19 19:19:38

The mixed methods paradigm is still in its adolescence. Therefore it is still relatively unknown and many researchers find it confusing. Mixed methods research represents a research method that involves collecting, analysing, and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or a series of studies that investigate the same underlying phenomenon. This is done to answer the research questions with the view of drawing on inferences using both qualitative and quantitative appro ...

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2021-Jun-19 19:14:38

Good quality research is essential. However ensuring the quality of qualitative research is not as easy as it sounds. An important question in qualitative and evaluation research is centred on the question of how the credibility of the research could be enhanced? This is especially true in research aimed at theory development when a case study strategy is utilised. This is the main theme of this article. Utilising criteria for quality research is one way of doing it. However, as pointed out i ...

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2021-Jun-19 19:07:24

The aim of a proposal, or research plan, is to describe and justify a subject a researcher wants to study according to specific values and norms of the social science research community. This article aims to outline the major considerations in preparing a research proposal to enable a departmental committee, a funding agency, and/or other reviewers, to judge whether the envisaged study is worthwhile and valid. In this article the relationship b ...

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2021-Jun-19 19:01:42

This article argues that no science can be value free, especially in the social sciences. The problem of values goes further than merely the values of scientists influencing the design of a study and the interpretation of results. It is argued that science may establish new, or maintain existing, values in society which may lead to the oppression of certain groups. By using the South African apartheid system as an example, it is illustrated how value laden and unethical research may contribut ...

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2021-Jun-19 18:50:30