Chandigarh, 11 September: Postgraduate Department of Chemistry at Mehr Chand Mahajan DAV College for Women, in collaboration with the Research and Development (R&D) Cell, and under the aegis of Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC), organised an academic workshop on ‘Research Paper Writing and Journal Publication Support’. The workshop aimed to familiarise students and aspiring researchers with systematic, ethical and effective research and publication practices.
The resource person, Dr. Subash C. Sahoo, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Panjab University, highlighted the significance of research and development in advancing scientific knowledge, addressing research problems and disseminating new discoveries. He elaborated on various forms of scholarly communication and research publications, including theses, patents, research reports, journal articles and books. A key focus of the workshop was on ethical practices in research and publication. The participants were sensitised to common challenges encountered while engaging with scientific literature, including technical terminology, accessibility of research material and difficulties in comprehending complex research papers. Providing a detailed overview of ‘How to Read a Scientific Paper’, Dr. Sahoo explained the importance of systematically examining essential bibliographic details such as the title, authors, corresponding author, publisher and year of publication. He further discussed the structure of a research paper, covering the abstract, introduction, methodology, results, discussion or analysis, conclusion and references. The session also highlighted the relevance of funding information, acknowledgements, supporting information, author contributions and conflict-of-interest declarations in evaluating research publications. The workshop further familiarised participants with important research and publication identifiers and resources, including DOI (Digital Object Identifier), ISSN (International Standard Serial Number), journal databases and research databases. Reputed platforms such as Scopus, JSTOR, Embase, SciFinder and Web of Science were introduced as valuable resources for literature searches and academic research.
Officiating Principal Ms. Neena Sharma emphasised that such academic initiatives provide students with meaningful exposure to research methodology, scientific literature and ethical publication practices. She further noted that sustained engagement with research-oriented activities plays an important role in nurturing research aptitude, critical thinking and a culture of innovation among students, preparing them to make meaningful contributions to the field of science.