HCM CITY — Funds from the Government and organisations for research activities in the social sciences is lower than in other fields, which is limiting research efforts, according to Professor Nguyễn Thị Cành of University of Economics and Law under Việt Nam National University-HCM City (VNU-HCM).

Speaking at a conference on social science research, Cành said that with a shortage of funds, serious research efforts were limited. Foreign language ability was also low in the field, she said. 

At many universities, lecturers don’t spend much of their time in research, since the income is lower than teaching. In addition, universities that offer training in social sciences do not co-operate with research institutes closely, Cành said.

Professor Phạm Quang Minh of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Hà Nội said that many universities have not changed training methodology. Students are not taught critical thinking or skills and methods for doing research and writing a scientific article, he said.

“So they are confused about doing research after graduating,” he said.   

Project-based learning should be used by universities to help students become acquainted with doing research while studying, he said.

Lecturers should pay more attention to international publication because this enhances the reputation of the university and the teachers, he added.

The number of articles published in journals of the Institute for Scientific Information’s (ISI) list fell from 66 in 2013 to 49 last year.  

The Việt Nam Academy of Social Sciences with 34 research institutes and seven scientific centres had only 22 ISI articles between 2011 and 2015, Minh said.  

The State agency for management of science should develop policies to support scientists in social sciences so they publish quality articles, he said.

Dr Lê Xuân Sang of Việt Nam’s Socio-Economic Development Journal said the number of articles published in prestigious international journals, especially in the social sciences, was low.

The quality and quantity of academic articles published in international scientific journals are important criteria to evaluate and rank universities in the country and world.  

Vietnamese scientists who are trained in other countries and receive assistance from their counterparts in those countries are capable of submitting quality articles, delegates at the conference said.

The conference was organised at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in HCM City by VNU-HCM in co-operation with the Việt Nam Academy of Social Sciences. — VNS