M.Phil. Research &Thesis

Protocol was circulated and some comments by Junaid Memon were also received. An integrated proposal containing guidelines for M.Phil. research is under preparation, and will be posted for comments shortly

There is a very large group of students who are now in the research and thesis writing phase of their MS degree. Even though there is a huge group of researchers at PIDE, it appears that most have not taken ownership of the university and degree program. There is a small number of regular faculty, and the students feel like orphans.

STEPS TO BE TAKEN: There are six research groups at PIDE. Every student will be assigned to one of the six research groups as an intern. The group will be responsible for grooming the student and for evaluating her/his proposal and guiding the research. The research group will hold weekly meetings to discuss their own research progress as well as evaluate progress of interns assigned to the group. All HOD’s should make lists of students who have finished coursework, and are in research/proposal phase. All such students should be assigned to one of the six research groups. Please submit this list to me. We will ask for each research group to meet weekly with their student/internees. Potentially, we can create a seventh research group for Econometrics, which I would head.

PROTOCOL for MS RESEARCH: A basic set of procedures for defending a proposal and for completing research has already been circulated. This protocol also formulates and outlines goals for MS Research, and as well evaluation criteria for proposals and theses. Putting these procedures into effect should substantially improve the quality of the proposals. The point is to get constructive criticisms and feedback on the proposals from a large group of experts. This way the student get pointed towards fruitful directions of research. When proposals are not screened carefully, students invest a lot of time and effort on non-viable topics, and it is too late to make significant corrections when a final thesis is submitted. Protocol has been circulated for comments, and will be finalized after suggestions have been received from PIDE Faculty.