A TALE OF TWO STUDIES

Posted by Unknown On Tuesday, June 29, 2010 10 comments
In 2007, I worked hard to draft my proposal for my postgraduate research. The topic of my research then was THE ROLE OF THE INTERNET IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN MALAYSIA. Sadly,before I could submit my proposal, my father passed away in October that year and it took me eight months to fully recover from that loss. By March 2008, my hypothesis was proved correct in the 12th GE which saw the historical tsunami.Since then, I have been drafting a few proposals but again never submitted any because of family commitments. As such, blogging gives me the opportunity to do all kinds of research that I would otherwise be doing for my studies :-). In fact, a number of posts I put up last year (especially the more academic type) were sections from a few abstracts that I had written. :-)

Yesterday, while surfing the net on recent research findings, I came across two studies on almost the same topic. I am still reeling in shock with regards to the differences in:

a) quality of the language used in the articles
b) depth of research
c) maturity in the discussion
d) implications of the research findings
e) etc etc

If you have the time, please visit the following sites and compare the content.

SAMPLE 1: An article from a local university: Malaysian bloggers use cyber space to channel political information
This particular research was carried out by a group of researchers!! Please read the disclaimer and consider the many errors there as well.

SAMPLE 2: An article written by a Malaysian PhD candidate at Stanford University : INTERNET POLITICS AND STATE MEDIA CONTROL: CANDIDATE WEBLOGS IN MALAYSIA
This particular research was carried out by only ONE young Malaysian who also received the Maxis Excellence Award. Well done, Rachel Gong!

So what is the state of education in Malaysia???? I rest my case!

Please leave a comment to share your thoughts and observations. Thanks! Have a nice day!

10 comments to A TALE OF TWO STUDIES

  1. says:

    KoSong Cafe The first one appears to be superficial, based on a simple survey passing off as research done. I have seen good Form 5 students writing this type of article.

    The second one (did not finish reading) seems like one written as a dissertation or thesis (since she is a PhD student) based on well researched materials properly referenced (necessary for her work and would have been second nature to her by now).

    The question is 'Are you comparing like with like in terms of status of the two universities?' because the contrast seems so obvious!

    Sorry if I have jumped to conclusion because these days my attention span is rather limited.

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Kosong Cafe

    I agree with your observations. My Year 9 and Year 10 students wrote that way wrt the first document.

    I am not comparing the status of the two universities but rather, the quality of discussion and also the language used

    The first document was the result of the effort of a group of researchers so that is er...hmmmm...

    Ah - you should see me now. Thanks to the World Cup, I am in a zombie-like status.

    I always have a soft spot for the underdog and am hoping that Japan will win tonight.

    As for Spain and Portugal, I reckon Portugal stands a good chance.

    Saturday will be a real problem cos two of my fav teams are playing - Argentina and Germany! Of course Argentina will win but then again, Germany is a good team!

    See - you are not the only one with World Cup Fever! LOL

    Cheers

  1. says:

    almost-assimilated statistics mean nothing without proper interpretations of the variables involved. alas, this has been the 'way' of learning for the past few decades where young malaysians grew up memorizing theories rather than learning to see it from multiple perspectives.

    of course, there are those who 'really' excel in that they ask questions to gain real knowledge. anyone can get their hands on data but not everyone can turn it into useful information that will turn out be a good knowledge for others. on top of that, only a handful is willing to share those knowledge with others.

    there is a chasm that cannot be breached in many local companies due to the new generation asking too many questions that the seniors embarrassingly know nothing about. as such, productivity often stays stagnant, the so-called young blood that is supposed to infuse an organization ends up being assimilated into an aging system and this is why local companies continue to struggle against foreign companies. this is why monopolies and govt protection still exists today.

    and this is also why our universities are never listed in the top universities in the world. heck, we are not even close to singapore whom we are always fond of comparing with.

    i support japan too btw. looking like a zombie isn't enough for world cup. you have to get fat like us for eating supper to kill time. welcome to the club... LOL

  1. says:

    Anonymous xtcher - One cannot deny the great difference in quality of the two pieces of writing. The first read more like a summary of some work (dare I use the word "research"?) done. Hence it was very general and no authority quoted. Even then there's no excuse for the number of grammatical errors - including one on the usage or non-usage of the articles "a" and "the". The second was more grounded in the discipline required of a good piece of research. So there you are. No comparison! They are poles apart!

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear almost-assimilated

    Thank you for sharing your very erudite and well-informed viewpoint. You are spot on in identifying how poor learning skills resulting from wrong teaching methods have undermined the quality of our human resources.

    I can assure you that when I was teaching and lecturing, it was a real challenge to make students think and question what I was trying to teach them. Even for research projects, many could not discern trends or make intelligent conclusions/deductions from the raw data! I was ever willing yo teach and to guide but only the motivated would want to learn; the rest were contented to take the easy way out and to score a pass or a C grade.

    So, after about 14 years in such an environment, it is no wonder then that our human capital has lost its competitive edge.

    We are really lagging behind many countries and some quarters are happy to keep us at a retarded pace so that we remain docile and dependent on their handouts.

    The first document is evidence of the state of our education system. The second one is evidence of how one who had gone through the system emerged unscathed because of the desire to learn and to reach the top. And how many students are like that today?

    Sighs...

    Btw, I put on weight too lah from the World Cup - all the drinks and snacks at unearthly hours. Strangely, the more exciting the games, the greater the consumption of peanuts LOL!!

    Thanks for sharing. Take care and do keep in touch. I really enjoyed reading your input. Have a great week!

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear xtcher,

    Lovely to hear from you again! You have made sharp observations wrt the two studies. Indeed they are poles apart and there is hardly any basis for comparison.

    It was quite a shock for me and I am sure for many too!

    Take care and thanks for sharing. Do keep in touch. Have a pleasant evening.

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Anonymous PMR math .
    Q : expand (a+b)(c+d).
    A: ( a+b )( c+d )
    = ( a+b )( c+d )
    = ( a+b )( c+d )
    = ( a+b )( c+d ).

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Anon @ 12.14 am

    Haha! Cute! Thanks for sharing!

    cheers

  1. says:

    almost-assimilated peanuts and chips are bad. worst is staying near a mamak where nasi lemak, roti, mee goreng, thosai, naan with tandoori, etc is available. i am very sure i resemble the official adidas world cup ball now :(

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear almost-assimilated

    I agree. Tonight, I asked my better half to stock up for me in preparation for Friday's games and he said ,"No peanuts or chips" and bought me lots of fruits and some healthy bean curd chips instead. Haha!

    I am also a roly-poly now :-). I am quite sad abt the recent results.

    Take care and do keep in touch.

    Best wishes

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