Pages 2021-4.cdr INTRODUCTION Research forms an integral part in h i g h e r e d u c a � o n . I t i s a n e c e s s a r y requirement that a graduate scholar must complete his or her research topic as approved by the Faculty of Research Commi�ee (FRC) a�er several delibera�ons at department level, college level and university level in order to be awarded with the degree. Recent increase in trend of Ph.D. students' enrolment and provision of grants by government or other ins�tutes for research purpose that helps in human development and welfare proves the importance given to research and research scholars in Indian universi�es. Researcher's ability is not only to equip with necessary knowledge, skills and other proficiencies but also require an affec�ve component which is equally important in undertaking research (Kakupa and Xue, 2019). Individual feelings like anxiety, fear, discomfort and nega�vity in conduc�ng research may prejudice the whole process that can lead to nega�ve a�tude towards research. A�tude is an individual's disposi�on to react to certain object, behaviour, person, 6683 Research Article Journal of Extension Educa�on Vol. 33 No.4, 2021 DOI: h�ps://doi.org/10.26725/ 1 4 3 683JEE.202 . .3 .6 -6690 Parameters Influencing A�tude of Doctoral Students towards Research 1 2 Spanditha Muppidi and Allan Thomas ABSTRACT Researcher's a�tude towards research is important while undertaking research for posi�ve outcomes. So, this study was conducted to determine the level of a�tude of doctoral students by exploring its determinants and comparing them with a�tude. College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala was selected for the study where 50 doctoral students were selected randomly and administered with validated ques�onnaires. Sta�s�cal tools like frequency, percentage, mean, standard devia�on and Pearson correla�on coefficient were used. It was found that almost 90 per cent of students had favourable a�tude towards research. There was significant rela�onship between independent variables like informa�on seeking skill, methodology skill, problem solving skill, literature availability, research material availability, research work environment, non-advisory commi�ee members support and a�tude of students towards their research. Keywords: Level of a�tude; Doctoral students; Ques�onnaires; Independent variables; Kerala 1 Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram- 695522 2 Communica�on Centre, Kerala Agricultural University, Mannuthy, Thrissur-680651 Received : 17.02.2022 ; Accepted: 13.01.2023 6684 ins�tu�on, event or other discriminable aspect of the individual's world (Ajzen, 1993). A�tude is of prime importance in any research. Based on the research conducted by Jalihal (1970) on the concept and role of agricultural universi�es in India, reported that students showed posi�ve a � t u d e a b o u t t h e n e w e d u c a � o n a l framework. According to Papanastasiou (2005), it is cri�cal to determine students' a�tudes toward research in order to foster a favourable a�tude among them, and as a result, improve their learning. In their study, Siamian et al. (2015) found that students had good opinions toward the usefulness of employment and career search, anxiety, rela�onship with everyday life, and research challenge. The data revealed that there was no substan�al varia�on in students' a�tudes about research based on their age, gender, or educa�onal level. Students who were exposed to more scien�fic research had a more favourable opinion toward it (Seher, 2018). With regard to it when comparing the a�tudes of Master's and Doctoral students toward research, it was found that Doctoral students have a more posi�ve a�tude toward research than Master's students (Abun et al. 2019). Finding the truth requires a me�culous and well- organized search. Any inves�ga�on's primary goal is to create conducive condi�ons for the genera�on of knowledge in order to address an issue (Roul, 2016). Findings of Boppana (2019) concluded that 58.00 per cent of students have a posi�ve a�tude toward research, while the rest (42.00 %) have the most favourable a � t u d e . A� t u d e s t o w a r d r e s e a r c h cons�tute the posi�ve and nega�ve internalized beliefs or feelings about research (Kakupa and Xue, 2019). This acts as a driving force for conduc�ng research. Hence, it was important to iden�fy the parameters that contribute posi�ve a�tude towards research that helps students in learning with the following objec�ves. 1. To study the level of a�tude of students towards research 2. To determine rela�onship between a�tude of doctoral students and t h e i r p e r s o n a l a n d s o c i a l characteris�cs METHODOLOGY The current study was conducted at College of Agriculture, Vellayani under Kerala Agricultural University. Altogether, 50 respondents were selected randomly who were Ph.D. students from second and third year of their study as of 2020-21. Research design followed was an ex post facto design. All the responses were collected using a pre-tested interview schedule and the data generated was transferred to master table. The personal and social characteris�cs of the students were selected based on judges' ra�ng. To study the level of a�tude a set of 'twenty' Journal of Extension Educa�on 6685 statements were given to students for ra�ng them on a 5-point con�nuum using Likert scale viz. strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree and strongly disagree with a score o f fi v e , f o u r , t h r e e , t w o a n d o n e respec�vely. The total score was computed by adding the scores for each respondent from all statements. The maximum and minimum score that could be obtained for a statement was 'two hundred and fi�y' and 'fi�y' for the respondents respec�vely. The computed overall range of scores were c a t e go r i s e d i n t o l ow, m e d i u m , h i g h indica�ng poor good and very good a�tude respec�vely based on mean score and standard devia�on as check and expressed in terms of frequency and percentage. Karl Pearson correla�on coefficient (p) was used for inferring the data that determines rela�onship between a�tude of students and selected parameters. Hypothesis of The Study There exists no difference between a�tudes of students towards research and there exists no rela�onship between a � t u d e o f s t u d e n t s a n d s e l e c t e d independent variables. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION A�tude of Students towards Research A�tude is the posi�ve or nega�ve e ff e c t o f a n i n d i v i d u a l t o w a r d s a psychological construct. From Table 1, it can be reported that majority (74.00 %) of students possessed good a�tude towards research followed by 16.00 per cent with very good a�tude and only 10.00 per cent showed poor a�tude towards research as calculated based on mean score and standard devia�on as check. This indicated that almost 90.00 per cent of students had favourable a�tude towards research. T h e p o s s i b l e r e a s o n f o r t h i s favourable a�tude could be due to their familiarity with the research procedures and techniques as experienced during post graduate studies. According to Williams & C o l e s ( 2 0 0 3 ) , r e s e a r c h e x p e r i e n c e influences views toward research, with individuals who have done research before forming a more posi�ve influence. Other reasons may include student's interest in the research area or in improving career p r o s p e c t s f o r o r o u t s i d e o f a n a c a d e m i c /re s e a rc h c a re e r, s u ffi c i e nt resources availability, opportunity to improve their research skills etc. The findings were in line with Parmar et al. (2016), Muthuswamy et al. (2017), Seher et al. (2018) and Boppana (2019). Parameters that Influence A�tude of Doctoral Students towards Research 6686 Table 1. Distribu�on of Ph.D. Students' A�tude towards Research Category Class limit Frequency (f) Percentage (%) Poor (M-SD) <67 9 10.00 Good (M±SD) 67-83 29 74.00 Very good (M+SD) >83 12 16.00 Total 50 100 Mean score=75.12, SD=8.75, Min.-Max. score = 20-100 M- Mean Rela�onship between A�tude of the Doctoral Students towards Research and their Selected Personal and Social Characteris�cs Th e re l a � o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e a�tude of doctoral students towards research and the selected independent variables viz. age, informa�on seeking skill, methodology skills, problem solving skills, sta�s�cal skills, communica�on skills, Table 2. Rela�onship between A�tude of the Doctoral Students towards Research and Selected Independent Variables Sl.No. Independent variable p value 1 Age 0.178 2 Informa�on seeking skill 0.451** 3 Methodology skill 0.434** 4 Problem solving skill 0.471*** 5 Sta�s�cal/analy�cal skills 0.203 6 Communica�on skills 0.428** 7 Universal outcomes 0.097 8 Literature availability 0.385** 9 Research material availability 0.403** 10 Raw material availability 0.158 11 Funds and other privileges availability -0.132 12 Research work environment 0.36* 13 Advisory commi�ee members support -0.017 14 Non- advisory commi�ee members support -0.294* * Correla�on is significant at 0.05 level (two tailed) ** Correla�on is significant at 0.10 level (tow tailed) *** Correla�on is significant at 0.01 level (two tailed) N=50 Journal of Extension Educa�on universal outcomes, literature availability, research material availability, raw material availability, funds and other privileges availability, research work environment, acquaintance support, advisory commi�ee m e m b e r s s u p p o r t a n d n o n - a d v i s o r y c o m m i � e e m e m b e r s s u p p o r t w e r e measured by compu�ng “Karl Pearson correla�on coefficient (p)” and the data are presented in Table 2. 6687 It can be inferred from Table 2 that out of 14 parameters selected as independent variables eight variables viz., informa�on seeking skill, methodology skill, problem solving skill, communica�on skill, literature availability and research material availability research work environment and non- advisory commi�ee members support showed significant rela�onship with students' a�tude towards research. Among t h e s e v a r i a b l e s o n l y ' n o n - a d v i s o r y member's support' was observed to have nega�ve significant rela�onship at 5 per cent significance level. The rest of the independent variables viz. research work environment at 5 per cent significance level; problem solving skill at 1 per cent; informa�on seeking skill, methodology skill, communica�on skill, literature availability and research material availability at 10 per cent significance level were significantly and posi�vely correlated with a�tude of students towards research. Informa�on Seeking Skill and A�tude It can be seen from Table 2 that students' informa�on seeking skill has posi�ve and highly significant rela�onship (p=0.451**) with their a�tude towards research. This posi�ve rela�onship can be because of students having access to electronic media where they can browse for any relevant informa�on databases, search for alterna�ves op�ons to find solu�ons. Availability of library resources with internet access makes it easier for scholars to seek informa�on necessary for research. Methodology Skill and A�tude It was evident from Table 2 that methodology skill of students has posi�ve and significant rela�onship (p=0.434**) with their a�tude towards research. This significant rela�onship can be because students possessing sufficient knowledge and skill in terms of preparing manuscript, a b s t r a c t w i t h a b i l i t y t o w r i t e a comprehensive review of literature. They also possess required capabili�es in s e a rc h i n g , p l a n n i n g a n d d e ve l o p i n g research ques�on which further also includes collec�on of data via surveying. Communica�on Skill and A�tude Table 2 clearly stated that there was a posi�ve and significant rela�onship ( p = 4 2 8 * * ) b e t w e e n s c h o l a r s ' communica�on skills and their a�tude. It c a n b e i n f e r r e d t h a t s c h o l a r s ' communica�on skills and knowledge level in gathering informa�on, tailoring the needs of audiences by ques�oning, answering and explaining the purpose, objec�ves and outcomes of research with confidence may have helped in forming a favourable a�tude towards research. Availability of Literature and A�tude It is apparent from Table 2 that there exists a significant and posi�ve rela�onship (p=385**) in terms of availability of literature and a�tude towards research. It means that there is ample literature resource available in the college library in Parameters that Influence A�tude of Doctoral Students towards Research 6688 the form of journals, magazines, theses, e- resources like Krishikosh, Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), Consor�um of e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA), Science Direct etc., Services which help students in accessing necessary literature for research that leads to a posi�ve a�tude of students towards research. Research Material Availability and A�tude A look into Table 2 makes it evident that research material availability had p o s i � v e a n d s i g n i fi c a n t c o r r e l a � o n (p=403**) with a�tude. It means there is adequate availability of lab equipment, farm e q u i p m e n t a n d o t h e r i n s t r u m e n t s necessary to conduct experiments that gives a posi�ve influence on their a�tude towards research. Availability of online resources, accessibility of online resources in plenty and provisions of internet-user group subject wise might have helped the students to develop a favourable a�tude towards research. Problem Solving Skill and A�tude Findings from Table 2 show that that there exists a posi�ve and significant correla�on with problem solving skills of students and their a�tude (P=0.471***). It can be said that students' ability to draw conclusions, take feedback, weighing one solu�on with other along with proper reasoning skills can reflect desirable research outcomes which is also an indicator of their problem solving skills that h e l p s t o re d u c e s t h e i r a n x i e t y a n d discomfort while doing research and in turn helping students with a posi�ve a�tude towards research. Research Work Environment and A�tude From Table 2, it is observed that a p o s i � v e a n d s i g n i fi c a n t c o r r e l a � o n (p=0.360*) existed between research work environment and student's a�tude towards research. It is inferred that if research work environment was not workable, it not only affects the behaviour of an individual researcher but also how the officialdoms themselves interact (Gilmer, 1966). It i nfl u e n ce s re s e a rc h e r 's p e r fo r m a n ce thereby affec�ng his a�tude towards research. Non-Advisory Commi�ee Members Support and A�tude In case of non-advisory commi�ee support and students' a�tude towards research there exists a nega�ve and significant correla�on (p=294*) as shown in Table 2. It indicates that students are seeking help from non-advisory members for their research work which may be because of the similari�es present with those members specialisa�on that may help the students in their research work. Journal of Extension Educa�on 6689 CONCLUSION Overall conclusion from findings showed that majority of the students possessed a 'good' a�tude’ towards re s e a rc h . T h e re e x i s t s a s i g n i fi c a n t rela�onship between students' a�tude towards research and selected independent variables. Research work environment showed posi�ve rela�onship whereas non- a d v i s o r y s u p p o r t s h o w e d n e g a � v e rela�onship with a�tude of students towards research at 5 per cent significance level. 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