Research Management Guidelines
These guidelines are established and maintained by Pustaka’s Research Committee (hereinafter called “the Committee”) to ensure the process of determining a research topic is done systematically, efficiently, without prejudice and covering wide range of areas affecting Pustaka Negeri Sarawak (hereinafter called “Pustaka”).The guidelines also define the processes of handling a research or a study in a manner that is transparent, systematic, regulatory-compliance and fair to all parties involved.
Selection of Research Topics
Areas to be studied shall be determined from the following sources:
1) Inputs, comments, and suggestions from Members of the Board of Management of Pustaka and the Sarawak Government.
2) Issues and concerns resulting from in-house analysis of data of all major products and services, including customer satisfaction surveys and customer feedbacks.
3) Issues and concerns resulting from in-house risk management activities on all major products and services.
4) Major breakdown of a core product or service.
5) Issues and concerns faced by the public libraries in Sarawak.
6) Issues and concerns in records management and archives management in Sarawak.
Invitations for Submission of Research Proposals
1) Invitations for the submission of research proposals shall be extended to all public and private institutions of higher learning in Sarawak.
2) Invitations for the submission of research proposals may be extended to all public and private institutions of higher learning outside Sarawak when deems necessary by the Committee.
3) Invitations for the submission of research proposals may be extended to public and private research institutions in Malaysia when deems necessary by the Committee.
4) Invitations for the submission of research proposals shall not be extended to research institutions outside Malaysia.
5) The standard closing date for the receipt of submission of research proposals is two (2) months from the date of invitation. The closing date may be extended for a period as deems necessary by the Committee.
6) The invitation document shall define that the research proposal to be submitted must have the following elements:
a) Title.
b) Statement of the problem.
c) Literature review.
d) Scope and location of research.
e) Research methodology.
f) Duration of research.
g) Detail estimated cost.
h) Full curriculum vitae of all the researchers
7) Submission of research proposals may be hardcopy or softcopy.
8) Submissions received after the closing date will be rejected.
9) Upon receipt of a research proposal, the Secretariat to the Committee shall notify the sender or proposer of the research proposal via email.
Evaluation of Research Proposals
1) The Committee shall convene a meeting to:
a) evaluate all the accepted proposals based on the Research Proposal Evaluation Criteria to determine the score of each proposal; and
b) select the proposal with the highest score.
2) The Secretariat to the Committee shall notify all the proposers about the status of their proposals via emails or letters.
3) The Secretariat to the Committee shall inform the proposers of the selected research proposal to revise and update their proposal.
4) The Secretariat to the Committee shall make arrangements for the proposers of the selected research proposal to present their updated research proposal to the Committee.
5) Upon acceptance of the updated research proposal by the Committee, the Secretariat to the Committee shall prepare a decision paper for the proposed research to be presented in the Tender, Finance and Investments Committee (TFIC) Meeting.
a) If the decision paper is approved by the TFIC, the Secretariat to the Committee shall prepare a draft memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the research and send it to the proposers for their first read. Appropriate amendments will be made in the draft MOA if there are comments and suggestions from the proposers. The duration date for the first read is two (2) weeks.
b) If the proposers accept the draft MOA, it shall be finalised and a formal session for the signing of the MOA between Pustaka and the proposers will be arranged.
c) If the proposers do not accept the draft MOA, the deal shall be cancelled, and new invitations for submission or research proposals shall be initiated.
d) If the decision paper is not accepted by the TFIC, the proposed research is cancelled, and new invitations for submission or research proposals shall be initiated.
Sealing the Agreement
1) When the proposers accepted the MOA, a formal session to seal the MOA.
2) The Secretariat to the Committee shall do the following for the signing process:
a) Prepare the MOA in two (2) copies.
b) Determine a suitable date.
c) Prepare the place for the signing ceremony.
d) Send invitations and confirm attendance of the signatories.
e) Administer the signing ceremony on the day of the event.
The date of the MOA is the commencement date of the research.
3) After the signing of the MOA, the Secretariat to the Committee shall get all copies, original and duplicates, sealed with stamp duties at the Inland and Revenue Board within one (1) week.
4) A copy of the sealed MOA shall be given to the proposers.
Monitoring of the Research
1) The research shall be monitored via a series of discussions between the Committee and the researchers to discuss the followings:
a) The Inception report – the initiation of the research
b) The Interim Report – the pilot test and the data collection and preliminary findings
c) The draft Final Report – major findings of the research and preliminary recommendations
2) The Secretariat to the Committee shall make arrangements for the discussion and notify all parties involved.
3)The Secretariat to the Committee shall record down discussion notes during the discussion and distribute the notes to all parties involved within two (2) weeks after the discussion.
Reporting
Evaluation Criteria
| Evaluation Criteria | Descriptions/Elaborations | Weightages | ||
| Researchers (Research Team) |
a) Strong academic background on the subject matter, preferably doctorate and master levels. |
35% | ||
| Relevancy |
The proposed research must be relevant to the area to be studied: |
25% | ||
| Literature Review |
a) Stated and cross-referenced in the introduction, problem statement and objectives. |
10% | ||
| Literature Review |
a) Stated and cross-referenced in the introduction, problem statement and objectives. |
10% | ||
| Model / Framework |
a) Use of a research model. |
5% | ||
| Duration |
a) Time taken to complete the research. |
5% | ||
| Estimatedd Cost |
The total estimated cost of conducting the research: |
20% | ||
