UNIVERSITY OF GHANA PAN AFRICAN DOCTORAL ACADEMY (UG-PADA) A strategic priority of the University of Ghana, Ghana’s premier university, is to create a vibrant intellectual climate that stimulates relevant cutting edge research and community engagement. It is therefore pursuing an aggressive agenda to increase its post-graduate Ghana’s, as well as global development. As part of this drive and with funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the University of Ghana has set up the Accelerated PhD Training through the University of Ghana Diasporan Linkages Project (APT-Ghana). performing doctoral scholars delivering cutting edge research to generate and transfer University of Ghana to become a hub for an African regional doctoral training, drawing on its Diasporan partnerships to enhance its PhD programmes, thereby attracting top performing PhD and post-doctoral candidates and enhancing its research output. the APT-Ghana Project. doctoral candidates at the University of Ghana and other universities in Ghana, as well as other West-African countries through the running of its Doctoral Schools, to 2 doctoral candidates. UG-PADA aims to equip PhD scholars with methodological skills, scholarship, counseling, mentoring and career development guidance; supervisory skills and the introduction to methods of teaching and learning that will enhance their capability to train other future academics. UG-PADA Doctoral Schools Doctoral Academy Professors. skills workshop and pedagogy provided in the mainstream PhD programmes. More importantly, the doctoral schools will expose PhD candidates to specialised, but holistic and targeted training, provide opportunities for cross-cultural learning, and promote scholarship across disciplines. most of the relevant research driving development around the world is done by inter- disciplinary teams. African Universities. 3 UG-PADA Doctoral Schools will provide: • • • pedagogy provided in the mainstream PhD programmes. • specialised but holistic and targeted training. • spportunities for cross-cultural learning and scholarship across disciplines. Cost of Programme: Sponsorship: Participation of PhD students of the University of Ghana will be fully sponsored. For the July 2015 Schools the following courses are available: Dates Eligibility 1 PhD 2 13 students 3 4 6 software qualitative 4 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS AND OUTLINES Module A: Managing the Doctoral Process Lead Instructors: Dr. Nana Akua Anyidoho, Prof. Pius Adesanmi, Dr. Kwamena Sagoe Duration: July 13 – July 17, 2015 Course Description It requires persistence and a plan to deal with resources, time and people. Having the thesis on time. a seminar style, with emphasis on the sharing of experiences between instructors and participants, and on peer learning. It will also seek to provide a template to help with the learn. Module Content • What is a PhD? • • Expectations of you as a PhD student: by the university, departments, supervisors, etc. 2. Institutional environment and requirements • • Graduate School requirements • Departmental requirements • Major milestones in the process: completion of course work, qualifying exams, experiential learning, thesis proposal, thesis completion, the defence. 3. Managing your yourself/your time • Researching requirements and deadline • Creating a workable schedule • 5 • Developing good study/work habits • Managing your reputation 4. Managing your thesis committee • Role of the supervisor/thesis committee • Supervisory styles • Guide for managing your thesis committee 5. Managing your thesis writing • What a thesis is and what it is not • Identifying your writing style • Tips for writing consistently • Barriers to writing: apprehension, procrastination, perfectionism, etc. • Dealing with feedback/revisions 6. Guide to grants, conferences and publishing in graduate school • Sources and uses of grants/fellowships during the thesis process • • When and how to publish during the thesis 7. Managing your Literature Review • Overview and stages in conducting a literature review • • Processing your thesis chapter • Conducting searches for literature using databases • Using bibliographic managers 8. Managing the PhD Process as a Female or Part-time Student • Reasons for part-time PhD study • Dynamics of part-time PhD study • Challenges of female students • Strategies for handling special challenges of female and part-time students 9. Life during the PhD • Work-life balance • Dealing with stress, boredom, frustration, etc. • Making use of social (including peer) support Learning Outcomes • Help participants to appreciate the challenges of the PhD program and the expectations of the university, departments and supervisors. • Help participants form a realistic plan to address these challenges. • Enable participants identify and learn to make use of the various resources and opportunities available to them including the many books and articles on the 6 process, social support from peers and family, and funding. Recommended Readings M.A. or a Ph.D. (Rev Sub edition.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Boston: Longman. www.gradhacker.org [Web blog for graduate students by graduate students] Cronin, P., Ryan, F. and Coughlan, M. (2008) Undertaking a literature review: a step-by- step approach. British Journal of Nursing 1 (17):38-43. edition). SAGE Publications Ltd. HlTk6qRjD8BUccKw/edit?pli=1 Module B: Quantitative Research Techniques Using SPSS Instructor: Professor Joseph Mensah Duration: July 13 – July 17, 2015 Course Description and application of standard quantitative techniques, from descriptive statistics through inferential statistics to multivariate techniques. Also, students will be introduced to the main philosophies underlying both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to help ground them properly in research design. Much of the course is done in a computer environment with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) on Windows. In particular, the course will help participants to understand the conditions participants ample opportunity to critically assess the rationale, theories, and concepts as against the “what-is,” aspects of quantitative application in social science research. In consonance with this approach, participants will learn how to design a structured ultimate aim is to equip participants with the necessary statistical tools for social science and humanities research. 7 Learning Outcomes Upon completion of the course, the participants will: • Have an understanding of the philosophies underlying quantitative and qualitative methodologies. • Gather insights into the leading themes in the philosophy of science and how they • Appreciate why a researcher may decide to use quantitative, rather than qualitative, methodology. • Understand the basic quantitative techniques commonly used in social science research, from descriptive statistics, through inferential, to multivariate analysis. • Comprehend the fundamentals of hypothesis testing. • Have a working knowledge of SPSS and its application to social science research. • Have a sound foundation upon which to conduct research using quantitative methodology. Course Outline 1. Introduction to Philosophies Underlying Quantitative and Qualitative Methodologies • • Humanism, Phenomenology, and Qualitative Methods • 2. Basic Language of Quantitative Analysis (under SPSS) • Key concepts of statistics and getting to know SPSS • Scales of data measurement • Developing a quantitative (survey) questionnaire 3. Coding & Descriptive Statistics under SPSS • Coding and recoding questionnaire data under SPSS (categorical data) • Deriving frequencies and cross-tabulations under SPSS • Descriptive statistics and working with interval level data under SPSS 4. Hypothesis Testing/Inferential Statistics • Fundamentals of hypothesis testing • Non-parametric test: Testing hypothesis with Chi-square under SPSS • Parametric test: Testing hypothesis’ with t-Test under SPSS 5. Exploring Relationships and Predictions: Regression & Correlation • • Simple Linear Regression and Multiple Linear Regression 8 Assignments/Exercises Participants will be given three main practical assignments that will include: • Design of a quantitative questionnaire in their research/thesis area • Coding of their quantitative questionnaire under SPSS • Aanalysis of their data using frequencies and cross-tabulations under SPSS General Reading List Antonius, Rachad. 2003. Interpreting Quantitative Data with SPSS.L ondon: SAGE. Bryman, A., Bell, E., and Teevan, J.J. (2012): Social Research Methods. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Davis, Cole. (2013). SPSS: Step by Step Essentials for Social and Political Science. Chicago: Policy Press. Fields, Andy. (2009). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. London: SAGE. Module C: Communicating Research Results – Science Instructors : Prof. Ivan Addae-Mensah , Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo Dr. Dorcas Osei-Safo Duration: July 20 - July 24, 2015 Introduction “Science, ever since the time of the Arabs, has had two functions; to enable us to know society) use of other scientists and society in general. In the absence of exchange of information, there is no science. But for the information to be useful to its intended target, it must be • other scientists within the same discipline • other scientists in related or unrelated disciplines • • the general public 9 ago scientists were permitted to present papers at international conferences in English, German, French or Spanish, depending on where the conference was being held. Nowadays virtually all international conferences are conducted exclusively in English. Comprehensive mastery of English vocabulary, with proper adherence to grammatical coexist as sentences, is a source of great power, not only for the poet, the journalist and the novelist, but also for the scientist concerned with accurate, full reporting of observations and insights. (Ebel et al). Both the scientist and the science journalist or popular science writer need to read extensively and be very good at writing. Wide reading is the only way to expand one’s knowledge in any discipline. A good command of both technical and general vocabulary is the best way to develop excellent writing skills. Only the scientist who is also competent scientist, the science journalist or popular science writer who is skilful in communicating Aims and Objectives of the Course • • Assist participants discover and address any shortcomings in their current basic skills. • • strategies to achieve competence in this art. Course Outline • Writing and Science • • • Writing required of a future scientist in college or graduate school • contain? • of information into cogent reports • Transforming notebook entries into a research report • • Oral and written examination skills - what examiners look out for; spoken and • 10