The Importance and Benefits of International Scholarly Standards in the Research Processes of Islamic Researchers
All praise is due to Allah and May His Peace and Blessings be upon the Last Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) and all those who follow the path of righteousness until the Last Day. The standard of international research has been developed such a way that it helps to communicate between researchers and audience in the most efficient way.
Academic research is relatively formal. In general this means that in an essay one should avoid colloquial words and expressions. Example from the book ‘Imam Bukhari’ by Maulana Ahmad Ali. ‘The problem was exacerbated further as turmoil spread through the land of the Muslims and evil people began to fabricate hadeeth.’ (Ali, 1999)
When data are collected, they are often scattered and loosely organized. In an academic research, the points of argument need to be logically constructed such that they build on each other and accumulate a cohesive, overall argument. The standard process of an academic research builds those logical thinking skills, and helps to take a series of related thoughts and assemble them in a way that communicates well to others. Researcher of the biography of Imam Bukhari organized his work in this way.
In a standard research, facts and figures are given precisely. It helps the audience to understand what is intended to say and brings lest confusion possible. To prove Imam Bukhari’s extraordinary memory, Maulana Ahmad Ali only brought short and precise references such as, “It is related that he would look inside a book once and by just reading it once he would have memorised it.” (Ali, 1999)
The research is in general objective rather than personal. It therefore has fewer words that refer to the writer or the reader. This means that the main emphasis should be on the information and the arguments. It is also explicit about the relationships in the text. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the writer to make it clear to the reader how the various parts of the text are related. These connections can be made explicit by the use of different signaling words. Following the international standard develops the skills for correlating various parts. To convey the research results standard academic writing uses vocabulary accurately. Most subjects have words with narrow specific meanings. (Gillett, 2015) This specify the intended meaning and strengthen the writing. In his book Maulana Ahmad Ali followed the same way to correlates different incident and narrations about Imam Bukhari and used the appropriate vocabulary to express his thoughts.
In any kind of academic research, it is necessary to make decisions about researcher’s stance on a particular subject, or the strength of the claims one is making. Different subjects prefer to do this in different ways. While researcher is formulating the draft, standard procedure will be automatically developing logical thinking skills. Something that makes sense in head doesn’t always sound so good when put down on paper. Researcher will have to challenge himself to delve deeper into your thoughts and round them into shape so they convey the message successfully. The thinking skills developed during the writing process will be with researcher forever. (Gillett, 2015) In this biography, writer arranged the incidents of Imam Bukhari in a logical way that helps the reader to grasp the great personality of Imam Bukhari.
A technique common in certain kinds of academic writing is known by linguists as a ‘hedge’. Hedging involves adding statements which remove the claim from being absolute. In some narrations about Imam Bukhari which may be weak was pointed out in the work as well. (Booth, 2008)
In academic research one is responsible for, and be able to provide evidence and justification for, any claims he make. He is also responsible for demonstrating an understanding of any source used. A big part of academic essays is referencing the materials used in the creation of the essay. In the internet age, plagiarism is a major problem and a serious offense. By citing the references used in the process of developing essay, researcher gives due credit to those other sources and give his work more authority in the process. Proper academic essay writing will use a specific style of citing sources, typically either APA or MLA. (Booth, 2008) Maulana Ahmad Ali referenced from mainly Tarikh Bagdai and Mukdammah Fathul Bari which are great recognized classical works and authenticated the validity of his work.
The standard research process involves identifying, locating, assessing, analyzing, and then developing and expressing researcher’s ideas. These skills are very important for Islamic researchers for making reports, proposals, or other activities for preaching Islam and defending Islam. All of these activities which has met the international scholarly standard can have the highest authority and also gain the trust of readers and viewers. So it is very important for an Islamic researcher to follow the standard procedure and benefit from them and spread knowledge more efficiently.
Academic research is relatively formal. In general this means that in an essay one should avoid colloquial words and expressions. Example from the book ‘Imam Bukhari’ by Maulana Ahmad Ali. ‘The problem was exacerbated further as turmoil spread through the land of the Muslims and evil people began to fabricate hadeeth.’ (Ali, 1999)
When data are collected, they are often scattered and loosely organized. In an academic research, the points of argument need to be logically constructed such that they build on each other and accumulate a cohesive, overall argument. The standard process of an academic research builds those logical thinking skills, and helps to take a series of related thoughts and assemble them in a way that communicates well to others. Researcher of the biography of Imam Bukhari organized his work in this way.
In a standard research, facts and figures are given precisely. It helps the audience to understand what is intended to say and brings lest confusion possible. To prove Imam Bukhari’s extraordinary memory, Maulana Ahmad Ali only brought short and precise references such as, “It is related that he would look inside a book once and by just reading it once he would have memorised it.” (Ali, 1999)
The research is in general objective rather than personal. It therefore has fewer words that refer to the writer or the reader. This means that the main emphasis should be on the information and the arguments. It is also explicit about the relationships in the text. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the writer to make it clear to the reader how the various parts of the text are related. These connections can be made explicit by the use of different signaling words. Following the international standard develops the skills for correlating various parts. To convey the research results standard academic writing uses vocabulary accurately. Most subjects have words with narrow specific meanings. (Gillett, 2015) This specify the intended meaning and strengthen the writing. In his book Maulana Ahmad Ali followed the same way to correlates different incident and narrations about Imam Bukhari and used the appropriate vocabulary to express his thoughts.
In any kind of academic research, it is necessary to make decisions about researcher’s stance on a particular subject, or the strength of the claims one is making. Different subjects prefer to do this in different ways. While researcher is formulating the draft, standard procedure will be automatically developing logical thinking skills. Something that makes sense in head doesn’t always sound so good when put down on paper. Researcher will have to challenge himself to delve deeper into your thoughts and round them into shape so they convey the message successfully. The thinking skills developed during the writing process will be with researcher forever. (Gillett, 2015) In this biography, writer arranged the incidents of Imam Bukhari in a logical way that helps the reader to grasp the great personality of Imam Bukhari.
A technique common in certain kinds of academic writing is known by linguists as a ‘hedge’. Hedging involves adding statements which remove the claim from being absolute. In some narrations about Imam Bukhari which may be weak was pointed out in the work as well. (Booth, 2008)
In academic research one is responsible for, and be able to provide evidence and justification for, any claims he make. He is also responsible for demonstrating an understanding of any source used. A big part of academic essays is referencing the materials used in the creation of the essay. In the internet age, plagiarism is a major problem and a serious offense. By citing the references used in the process of developing essay, researcher gives due credit to those other sources and give his work more authority in the process. Proper academic essay writing will use a specific style of citing sources, typically either APA or MLA. (Booth, 2008) Maulana Ahmad Ali referenced from mainly Tarikh Bagdai and Mukdammah Fathul Bari which are great recognized classical works and authenticated the validity of his work.
The standard research process involves identifying, locating, assessing, analyzing, and then developing and expressing researcher’s ideas. These skills are very important for Islamic researchers for making reports, proposals, or other activities for preaching Islam and defending Islam. All of these activities which has met the international scholarly standard can have the highest authority and also gain the trust of readers and viewers. So it is very important for an Islamic researcher to follow the standard procedure and benefit from them and spread knowledge more efficiently.
Bibliography
Ali, M. A., 1999. Imam Bukhari. s.l.:s.n.
Booth, W. .., 2008. The Craft of Research. s.l.:s.n.
Gillett, A., 2015. UEFAP. [Online]
Available at: http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/featfram.htm
[Accessed 12 Dec 2015].
Booth, W. .., 2008. The Craft of Research. s.l.:s.n.
Gillett, A., 2015. UEFAP. [Online]
Available at: http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/featfram.htm
[Accessed 12 Dec 2015].
© 2016 by Tauhid Ahmed.