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By Isaac Ato MENSAH
Accra- 20 June, 2019
Recent research conducted by the Political Science Department (PSD) of the University of Ghana (UG) has cast a pall over the university, and shown us again why Ghana is on the wrong path.
“The studies in Political Science adopts Mixed Method Methodology that is the use of qualitative and quantitative through concurrent and transformative approaches,” the PSD researchers stated in a 51-page PowerPoint presentation available online.
And perhaps this approach satisfies the funding budget of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), the NGO that collaborated with the PSD and most probably financed the research.
The medium of announcing the findings should have been first through a research/scientific journal or a scientific/academic seminar where rigorous collegial and academic analysis of the research could have been effected.
Otherwise KAS should have announced their research findings and kept UG low key or out of the picture. But the PowerPoint presentation has the logo of the two institutions.
By not following these time honored protocols, it highlights the point made by my mentor that university education in Ghana is very weak! Now let’s go after him too.
The University of Ghana has several journals, including the Legon Journal of the Humanities (LJH), which is a peer-reviewed journal, founded in 1974.
We should be hearing that the LJH has accepted and published these findings, but no, instead we hear from the researchers at a press conference…..not good, bad!
If the research is for KAS then they should have announced it.
Since when did academics start resorting to press conferences as the FIRST PLACE to announce their research findings?
And this is not a petty question. Imagine if the scientists who discovered the frog species Phrynobatrachus Afiabirago had called a press conference to announce it before going through the rigorous peer review system including publication in a reputable journal.
There are also so many other controversial aspects of the methodology of the research as announced to the public.
And of course some of the conclusions are also fraught with controversy.
These are the technical issues that need to be interrogated and analyzed by sober formal peer review before the research results are publicized by an academic department.
But in ghana, no; we have our own unique ways that forever leads to serious problems.
Then our BIG MEN weigh in to further muddy the waters.
We strongly disagree with Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, and Prof Mike Oquaye, the Right Honourable Speaker when they say that the research is intended to incite the public against the House of Parliament.
That statement is certainly not helpful – neither to them nor to the public.
People say things about Parliament, the church, chiefs, family heads all the time – not so?
Respectfully, your duty is to combat ignorance with reason and sound judgement. This could have been done excellently by reminding the researchers about the time honored mechanism/steps for disseminating academic research; that is what we need to hear from the BIG MEN.
Have they forgotten that young people and SMALL MEN need to learn the right things?
In order to establish the right precedents we need to be measured and circumspect.
We also strongly disagree with Kyei-Mensa Bonsu, that the UG Political Science Department is not capable of conducting research on parliament, and therefore recommending to the PSD that they team up with National Commission for Civic Education. He also insisted that they come and consult the MPs.
Kyei-Mensah Bonsu was quoted by ghanaweb.com on 19 June, 2019, as culled from peacefmonline.com, as saying: “You will need some level of education to conduct a research about our work.”
Again this is unhelpful; there are many subjects of research who do not even know that they are being monitored, and it is perfectly ethical. Do our BIG MEN not know this?
For example, if we are researching the thematic areas MPs address on the floor of the House, we do not need to get any education from them; and we certainly do not need their permission.
Have they forgotten that they are public servants or they remember the latter words only at election time?
Now to some parting questions:
- Have the research results been published in an academic journal or will they be published in an academic journal?
- If the research has been published were there any comments on it in the journal?
- If it has not been published, then what is a senior lecturer doing by presenting his research in this manner? Is it proper? Is that what he was taught?
- Why then should it be attracting comment from MPs etc?
“We need to revert to basics,” my mentor has charged. “We need to ask fundamental questions and do things properly.” Then he reminded me of the brouhaha that erupted after some research from the same UG was publicized about the voting patterns of Supreme Court judges. “What a country,” he fumed. “As for ghana, can we not behave like enlightened people; can’t we do anything properly?”
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