Mindanao Study Center

Final Report

A Meta-Analysis of Research, Publications, and Extension/Creative Work of CHSS Faculty on/in Mindanao (2011-2020)

OVERVIEW

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) conducted a meta-analysis of research, publications, and extension work of its faculty on/in Mindanao. The data from this collection was analyzed to describe the research and extension interests of the College, identify key research concepts, and characterize existing and emerging methodologies. The output of this study will be utilized in guiding the directions of the Mindanao Studies Center (MSC) through its three-track function, namely instruction, research and publication, and public engagement.

  • To gather researches, publications and extension work conducted by the CHSS faculty on/in Mindanao within the last ten years;
  • To identify emerging conceptual interests/themes, methodologies or areas/topics as meta-analytic handles in making sense of the archived works; and
  • To identify what needs to be done to contribute to the strengthening of the MSC.

The study initially covered the data on published works and extension work/public service of CHSS faculty members from 2011 up to 2020. The metadata of each published research or creative work was analyzed to describe the research and extension interests of the College, identify key research concepts, and characterize existing and emerging methodologies. Basically, the publications were grouped according to its year of publication and college department (Architecture, Human Kinetics, Humanities, Social Sciences). Other details included the name of the faculty, title of published work, publisher, type of publication, etc. However, the existing data lacked some vital details that can significantly help in describing the collection. Accordingly, to complete the data gaps, the following details were added to the datasets: a. research themes, b. research methods, c. informant details, d. location of research, e. sex (assigned at birth) of author.

The collection of research, publications, and extension work were encoded in a spreadsheet file (MS Excel). From the original file, the data needed to be converted into a table with a single header row to enable the Pivot Table and Pivot Chart functions for easier data visualization. Details like author names needed to be cleaned and formatted. There were multiple formats for one author name, and this made it appear as a different author in the spreadsheet. Also, empty cells in the spreadsheet needed to be filled in (i.e. N/A, TBD, etc) to prevent getting errors whenever a table or chart is generated.

The additional details were added as columns in the spreadsheet. The details for these datasets were extracted from the abstracts or the whole article. However, some abstracts were not available through the given online links. Consequently, these abstracts were cross-referenced to the BANWA Compendium of Research and Creative Works, Volume 2. Some copies of the abstracts were also requested from the College.   

Meetings with the members of the MSC Ad Hoc Committee significantly helped in providing direction in doing the analysis of the data. Accordingly, the committee recommended to expand the categories for the Creative Works, particularly the published works of the Department of Humanities.

Figure 1. Summary of Data Preparation

RESULTS

A total of 365 publications produced from 2011 – 2020 and public services/extension work rendered from 2016 – 2020. Table 1 summarizes the breakdown of the published works and extension work.

Table 1. Total Number of Researches, Creative Work, and Public Service (Extension Work)
*available data on Public Service is only from 2016 – 2020

All published works were produced by 35 CHSS faculty members from four Departments. Table 2 summarizes the distribution of faculty members based on sex (assigned at birth) for each department.

Table 2. Distribution of Faculty Members Based on Sex (assigned at birth)
There are a total of 246 publications from 2011 – 2020. Table 3 depicts the number of publications for each department.

Table 3. Number of Published Works for each Department

          The publications consisted mainly of Researches and Creative Works. These publications were further categorized according to the method/s used. Notably, the members of the Mindanao Studies Center Ad Hoc Committee contributed to the identification of categories of Researches and Creative works.

Table 4. Taxonomy of Published Works

          Table 4 shows the types of Published works based on the methods employed. Practice as Research or Arts-Based Research (ABR) was identified as an emerging type of research.

          According to Patricia Leavy (2017), ABR involves adapting the tenets of the creative arts in a social research project. Researchers aim to address social research questions in holistic and engaged ways in which theory and practice are intertwined. Arts-based practices draw on literary writing, music, dance, performance, visual art, film, and other artistic mediums. ABR is a generative approach whose researchers place the inquiry process at the center and value aesthetic understanding, evocation, and provocation. ABR is generally appropriate when your purpose is to explore, describe, or evoke, provoke, or unsettle.

     ABR questions are generally inductive, emergent, and generative, which means they are open to the process itself. Arts-based questions often emphasize experiential knowledge, artistic practice or expression, and an emergent inquiry process (Leavy 2017).

Table 5. Number of Published Works based on Type

          As depicted in Table 5, the Humanities Department has the most number of publications under the Genre type. These publications consist mainly of literary publications (short stories, fiction, poetry), journal articles, book, book chapter, book review, conference proceedings, among others as presented in Figure 2. In terms of authorship of the published works, 205 publications are singe-authored and 41 publications are co-authored.

Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2. Number of published works according to type

           The research sites were also considered in the analysis of the data. Figure 3 shows the different locations

Figure 3. Geographical Distribution of Research Sites

              A significant number of researches were conducted in Mindanao with the highest occurrences in Davao City. There were also observed research sites in Visayas and Luzon.

Sample groups in the various published works mainly represent different demographics based on ethnolinguistic groups, socio-economic status, gender, and political rank. However, most of the informants of published works were categorized as “not specified”. These publications are language studies or creative works and most of these are based on fiction, translations, text analysis, and book reviews that do not target a specific sample group. Indigenous peoples groups (e.g. Manobo, Mandaya, B’laan, T’boli, Mansaka) comprise the next largest sample groups in different researches. It is followed by non-IP groups: migrant settler, women, politicians, vendors, farmers, and students (tertiary level).

Table 6 summarizes the most common themes of the published works based on frequency.
Table 6. Research Themes per Department

Activities and accomplishments under Public Service include:

  1. Work that contributes to and is in line with UP’s public service programs/projects/thrusts
  2. Contributions to institution building and governance of the University
  3. Service to the community in line with one’s discipline that enriches teaching and research, disseminates knowledge to the larger community, and contributes to social development and public welfare.

            Apparently, the database only contained activities and accomplishments from 2016 up to 2020. The 2019 Merit Promotion Instrument was used as basis of this category.

Table 7. Types Activities or Accomplishments under Public Service (2016 – 2020)

KEY FINDINGS

These are the key findings based on the data:
  1. The categories of the published works are inclusive, grounded and based on the works of the faculty members.
  2. There are studies on indigenous peoples and settler groups in Mindanao, but it lacks studies/publications on the Bangsamoro. 
  3. Geographical distribution of the research sites shows significant number of studies conducted in the Davao Region, particularly in Davao City. Studies were also conducted in Visayas (e.g., Bicol, Negros, Cebu)
  4. Public service or extension work has various categories (e.g. awards, grantsmanship, service to discipline).
  5. The current database template is not able to capture other significant details in identifying emerging conceptual interests/themes, methodologies, or areas/topics as meta-analytic handles in making sense of the archived works.

HIGHLIGHTS

  1. This project has established the Taxonomy of Published works that is inclusive, grounded, and based on the works of the faculty members.
  2. The Mindanao Studies Center was successfully launched on December 6, 2021. 
  3. The data was presented to the University and was used in complying the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Performance Report to the UP System.
  4. CHSS Department Heads expressed their commitment to the MSC and plan to engage students to conduct research that contributes to the functions of the MSC.

RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the key findings, the following are recommended:
  1. Create database template in capturing the details of Public Service. This category should be framed towards the discipline but with the Mindanao Studies Center vantage point. 
  2. Public service/extension work of faculty members must have continuity to their discipline.
  3. Indicate applicable Sustainable Development Goals Metrics for the Researches, Creative Works, and Public Service in compliance with the UP System’s submission for the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.

REFERENCE

Leavy, P. (2017). Research Design: Quantitative, Qualitative, Mixed Methods, Arts-Based, and Community-Based Participatory Research Approaches. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. ISBN 9781462514380. 300 pp.