Nowadays there are multiple forms and methods of technology-mediated communication widely used by researchers: 1) electronic mail for sending / receiving letters and text files; 2) Internet platforms for on-line live communication in video-conferencing and consultations (Zoom, Skype, Discord); 3) search engines for collecting, selecting and processing data / information; 4) Big Data Bases (British National Corpus, American National Corpus); 5) social networks and applications for exchang-ng messages (Twitter, Telegram); 6) programs for making presentations, graphs and tables (Power Point, Excel ); 7) researchers' professional forums where people can share opinions, discuss different topics, publications and announce incoming events and many others.
Undoubtedly, research field is greatly affected by modern communication technologies. Emerging information and communication technologies offer multiple advantages with respect to other technologies by improving communication between scholars and other interested parties. In particular, they reduce time for exchanging information, save labor inputs, minimize efforts for getting a feedback and discussing topics, increase quality and quantity of contacts or consultations, relieve from necessity of physical presence while consulting, and bring other positive moments. Effective communication in research process is essential for student success. Research is the ongoing process, in which students, in consultation with the research paper supervisor, plan their research and carry it out in close contact with a supervisor. It implies regular visits and close interaction between two participants of the research process. Computer-mediated communication positively affects research processes, problem solving, writing, decision-making, argumentation, and overall quality of scientific and research process and its result.
But despite all these advantages, modern communication technologies have not significantly changed students' attitude to research and their ability to conduct research. Abundant technological presence and its various formats speed up the process of exchanging information, making interaction faster and easier, but neither improve the quality of research works nor enhance research interaction. The big paradox of “information era” is that information is perceived as “low cost”, marking the simplicity of information extraction that makes the real independent knowledge to be “more valuable and more expensive”.
Availability and accessibility of online resources hinders students' performance and decision-making processes, especially when they have to plan research process on their own. Without proper guidance information available online decreases students imagination, creativity, curiosity, overall motivation; diminishes the value of reading and create big challenges students face when working with large volumes of data. Modern scholars point out students' lack of analytical skills, literacy and motivation for reading, despite their technical and computer proficiency [8, p. 357].
Thus, considering all the arguments, the most important conditions for effective communication and productive interaction in the research sphere at undergraduate level include students' active participation in the research activity, students' clear understanding of the research goals, deep personal involvement, and genuine interest in successful completion of a research project.
On the need of introduction a research course at undergraduate level
Master's students at Baikal State University have enough opportunities to develop their research skills by taking special seminars and courses on scientific research [10, p. 150]. Some departments have a clear strategy, worked out for research and scientific activity at master's program, such as interdisciplinary approach of research activity at the department of psychology [11, p. 334].
Unlike Master's program, which offers “Research Methods” and other similar courses, undergraduate program lacks any formal way of training students in research, which creates a sense of lack of academic orientation and leads to students' academic underperformance. At the same time, there are several course papers bachelor / specialist students are required to write during the course of their studies, as well as a graduation research paper that undergraduates are expected to write with-out any proper formal training. Considering all the challenges junior researchers face it is reasonable to argue that students should take special research courses earlier in their academic career, particularly at bachelor / specialist programs of studies.
Since writing course papers and final research papers is an integral part of any curriculum at bachelor / specialist programs, the biggest pressure of organizing research process is usually put on a research supervisor. This person has to educate inexperienced students, compensate for lack of their skills and research experience, explain main procedures and requirements of a research process, motivate students to read academic literature, design a study, and do many other things within a constrained advisory framework. Generally, the completion of course / graduation research paper of a student solely depends on enthusiasm and patience of a research supervisor, his / her ability to organize systematic interaction with a student, as well as on his / her capability and possibility to cover an extensive theoretical material during several consultations.
In case the supervisor is not able to address all those challenges the process of writing a paper may get out of control. Student may stop conducting research altogether and opt for ready-made or commissioned course paper online. It is a flourishing business thanks to available technologies and Internet. In general, paper-writing companies and their services undermine the integrity of higher education.
It is quite clear, that it is necessary to offer formal research training to students earlier in their academic career, educating them about main characteristics of the research process. Otherwise, writing course papers and graduation research papers would remain a problem for bachelor / specialist students and lead to a proliferation of illegal academic ghostwriting.
Introduction of “Research Methods” course at undergraduate level may improve the situation at stake. This academic course can be a required course (basic component) or a course from an elective group (elective component), but it should be a part of the curriculum of those undergraduate programs that require course and graduation papers.
In order to change the existing unfavorable state of research activity at undergraduate level in general, and at Baikal State University in particular, we propose to introduce the course on research methods and research activity into the curriculum of some bachelor and specialist programs, for example into linguistic program.
The content of the “Research Methods” course may include the following topics:
goals and objectives of research activity in general, as well as of research process in a particular professional sphere (for example in the professional activity of a future philologist, linguist-scholar or interpreter);
modern research methods, including methods for philological research;
features and requirements of research and scientific discourse (language style in research texts and publications), specific terminology;
typical structure of a research paper (theoretical and practical aspects of research activity),
technical standards, requirements for text format and presentation;
research process, its stages and necessary organizational components (what to start with, how to collect and analyze data, the importance of timeline etc.);
fulfillment of scientific expertise procedures, necessary for completing research work (national antiplagiarism search engine ANTIPLAGIAT);
course paper / graduation thesis defense procedure.
In conclusion it is necessary to highlight that the existing format of research activity at our universities has some disadvantages, which prevent students from obtaining true motivation for research activity. Undergraduate curriculum needs to offer a special course on research methods that is supposed to compensate for the lack of knowledge and academic experience young researchers have, as well as improve interaction and communication between the participants of the research process.
References
1. Cummins R.G. MCOM 6364-002: Selected Research Methods (Communication Research). Spring, 2018. Available at: http://appserv.itts.ttu.edu/PACI/Pages/Courses/Cours-eSyllabus.aspx?6964=523030353231313233&63707265666978=4D434F4D&636E756D=36333634&73656374=303032&7465726D=537072696E6720545455&79656172=32303138.
2. Chabers T. Research Methods MCOM 5364. Fall, 2016. Available at: http://appserv.itts.ttu.edu/PACI/Pages/Courses/CourseSyllabus.aspx?6964=523030353239333833&63707265666978=4D434F4D&636E756D=35333634&73656374=303031&7465726D=46616C 6C20545455&79656172=32303136.
3. Christensen L.B., Johnson R.B., Turner L.A. Research Methods, Design, and Analysis. London, Pearson Education Limited, 2015. 543 p.
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5. Gordon L.E. Real Research. Research Methods Sociology Students Can Really Use. New York, SAGE Publications, 2016. 438 p.
6. Barebina N.S.; Kostyushkina G.M. (ed.). Kritika i kontrargumentatsiya v lingvistich- eskoi nauke [Critics and Contr-Argumentation in Linguistic Science]. Irkutsk, Baikal State University Publ., 2019. 154 p.
7. Lazar M.G. Communication in Modern Science: Sociological and Ethical Aspects. Gidrometeorologiya i ekologiya = Hydrometeorology and ecology, 2011, iss. 18, pp. 236-245. (In Russian).
8. Kravchenko A.V. On How Structuralism Harms the Well-being of Society: Language as the Ecological Niche of Humans. Ekologiya yazyka i kommunikativnaya praktika = Ecology of Language and Communicative Practice, 2016, no. 1, pp. 354-370. (In Russian).
9. Samarukha V.I., Gulyaeva L.V. Application of Innovative Technologies in Research and Educational Process of Higher Schools and Formation of Students' Competences in the System of Research and Technological Parks. Izvestiya Irkutskoi gosudarstvennoi ekonomicheskoi ak- ademii = Izvestiya of Irkutsk State Economics Academy, 2010, no. 6 (74), pp. 172-176. (In Russian).
10. Khlebovitch D.I., Baeva O.N. Sovremennyi universitet v usloviyakh institutsional'nykh izmenenii [Modern university in conditions of institutional changes]. Irkutsk, Baikal State University of Economics and Law Publ., 2012. 238 p.
11. Terekhova T.A., Trofimova E.L. Scientific and Pedagogical Traditions and Innovations of the Department of Social and Economic Psychology. Izvestiya Irkutskoy gosudarstvennoy ekonomicheskoy akademii = Izvestiya of Irkutsk State Economics Academy, 2015, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 330-335. DOI: 10.17150/1993-3541.2015.25(2).330-335. (In Russian).
Информация об авторах
Боброва Екатерина Александровна -- кандидат филологических наук, доцент, кафедра иностранных языков, Байкальский государственный университет, г. Иркутск, Российская Федерация,
Рыбалко Светлана Александровна -- старший преподаватель, кафедра иностранных языков, Байкальский государственный университет, г. Иркутск, Российская Федерация