IJRIT International Journal of Research in Information Technology, Volume 3, Issue 4, April 2015, Pg.468-475

International Journal of Research in Information Technology (IJRIT) www.ijrit.com

ISSN 2001-5569

Collaborative Research among Philippine State Colleges and Universities through Social Network System Keno C. Piad Department Head, College of Information and Communications Technology, Bulacan State University Malolos City, Philippines [email protected]

Abstract In the Philippines, there are more than a hundred state colleges and universities (SUC) all over the country. The government subsidized for these SUC’s but not on equal basis. They are evaluated and are put in certain level of accomplishment termed as the normative level of financing. One criteria of this evaluation is the research capability of the SUC’s. This criterion put pressure not only to the management of the SUC’s and in the end the faculty members. The faculty members have to come up with research outputs at the end of the school year and the management de-load them of teaching loads for research loads. Again, time is not the only problem; credited research must be on their specialization. This can be easily solved if the researchers have enough resources in their college or university; however, the resources are also distributed among the SUC’s. It is also important to note that some SUC’s have various specializations, thus, it is difficult for them to identify their research work. It is therefore necessary that SUC’s collaborate and make research as a team. In this way, the SUC’s can share resources and come up with a more significant research work at their advantage. However, because of geographical constraints, collaboration which means more discussions and brainstorming and monitoring is likely to be the problem among the team. Thus, this study aimed to develop collaboration venues that will mimic a social networking system wherein the team members can discuss informally about the research work they are doing. This system will be designed so that the researchers are discussing their work privately among their group only and will only be published only if it has been finished with the permission of the team. The output of this study was evaluated by researchers in selected SUC’s.

Keywords: Collaboration, specialization, normative financing, research collaboration, SUC, social networking

1. Introduction Social networking is the most widely used means of communication whether through the PC’s, laptops, tablets or even the mobile phones. This application can be easily accessed by the modern gadgets thus is available for everyone. The most popular is the Facebook where anybody can share information with anybody. They can chat, comment or even share videos, pictures, etc. through social network. Mostly, these exchange of information are either social, issues or just plain self-expressions. According to Collins and Jubbs [1], collaborative research is a portion of interactions between higher education institutions (HEIs) and external organizations, including consultancy, education and training, contract research and intellectual property deal. These benefits of the social network can be applied in the interchange of more prolific and academic information such as research updates. Through this network, it will be easier for team members to communicate wherever they are and at any time of the day or night. Also, there will be no inhibitions on expressing themselves since they are exchange information informally and even if they are not very familiar with each other. This type of venue for exchange of ideas is ideal for collaborative work such as research collaboration. Keno C. Piad , IJRIT-468

IJRIT International Journal of Research in Information Technology, Volume 3, Issue 4, April 2015, Pg.468-475

2. Background of the Study Collaborative learning in the Philippines is progressively being applied in the different levels of education – primary, secondary and tertiary level, depending on the course topic. In- campus collaborative learning uses face-to-face discussions while inter- campus learning is done through the use of internet discussion facilitated by subject teacher [2]. The integration of technology in the learning environment of the students shows a significant impact. Students working through collaboration in a particular subject using technological applications demonstrate improvements on higher level problem solving and received a higher test results on standardized examination [3]. The increasing advantages of collaborative learning environment has grown in different facets in education. One application of collaboration can be done through research education by means of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). Accessing knowledge through node of network where participation becomes relevant is a good start of collaborative learning [4]. The huge number of state universities and colleges in the Philippines sometimes lead to redundancy in the different areas of research. This somehow diminish the productivity and innovation output of each member of the state universities and colleges. The reason boils down due to lack of awareness of available resources and expertise which indeed has a significant contribution in their research work. In the study [5], reveals the idea on the possible avenue of creating a web-based systems to connect researchers using web- based portal. Where in a knowledge portal in a university was built to fill in the gap in knowledge sharing and accessibility. Students in the same school or even in other schools or university can collaborate to produce a solution to a problem. The most vital component of this learning strategy is communication among members. Nowadays with the advanced information and communication technology available, there is no reason for lack of communication among members of a group. If the members of a group are from the same school, they can readily discuss or brainstorm face to face. For the group which consists of members from different schools or universities, they can meet for discussion in a place if they live near each other or if not; they can communicate through the Internet. However, through the Internet, the group members can communicate through chatting or through group blogs, which is public and not exclusive. There must be a venue of this scholarly exchange of ideas wherein the members can brainstorm as much as they could without outside intrusion from non-members of the group but the environment is friendly and familiar. Thus a familiar and friendly exclusive venue for scholarly exchange of ideas would be an environment like a social networking site. The interface would be similar to social network such as the Facebook but the membership is more restricted and open only to recognized researchers in different fields of member colleges and universities.

3. Research Objectives The study aims to develop a portal for collaborative research in state universities and colleges in the Philippines Specifically, the study sought to • Design a portal for collaborative research among state colleges and universities; • Create the portal as designed; • Test and evaluate the acceptability of the portal

Keno C. Piad , IJRIT-469

IJRIT International Journal of Research in Information Technology, Volume 3, Issue 4, April 2015, Pg.468-475

4. Scope and Delimitations The study is a development of a portal for collaborative research among researchers of the state universities and colleges in the Philippines. It has the same functionality as a social networking system and the membership is controlled by the administrator. The members should be recognized researchers of state colleges or universities. The system was evaluated by selected researchers of state colleges and universities in the Metro Manila.

5. Methodology The study is an applied research wherein a prototype of the system was developed, tested and evaluated [6, 7]. The development was based on the assumption that the member colleges and universities are equipped with the necessary hardware for online communication and have qualified researchers in their area of specialization.

6. Project Design and Development The system is designed wherein the researchers from different state colleges and universities can communicate as shown in the conceptual model in Figure 1.

Fig. 1 Conceptual Model of the SUC Collaborative Research Portal The figure shows that different SUC’s are connected to the system wherein they can communicate with each other while an administrator manages the site. In this design the system is available to member SUC’s. The system was analyzed and designed by employing the USE Case as shown in Figure 2. This is the design of the portal for each member university or college. This design is based on the function of the research department in state colleges and universities. The Research sector of SUC’s is under the office of a Vice President for Research and Extension, and supervised by the Research Director. In a university, composed of colleges, each college is represented by a Research Coordinator. On the other hand, a state college the research sector is led by a Research Director who directly supervises the faculty researchers.

Keno C. Piad , IJRIT-470

IJRIT International Journal of Research in Information Technology, Volume 3, Issue 4, April 2015, Pg.468-475

The figure shows the different actors in the system, the faculty researcher, the research director and the research coordinator. As faculty researcher, his/her access to the system are: 1. Browse accomplished researches 2. Upload own on-going research/es 3. Create or join forums in specialization 4. Send private messages to other researchers in the group The Research Director access to the system are: 1. Submit the Research coordinators information and manages his/her account 2. Post events and announcements regarding research activities in their college or university 3. Create/participate in forum 4. Send messages 5. Maintain college or university research journal The Research Director’s access to the system are: 1. Submit the faculty researchers information and manage their accounts 2. Maintain completed faculty researches 3. Create/participate in forum 4. Send messages

Fig. 2 USE Case Design Analysis of the System After the functional design of the system, it was created using network programming using the available resources.

Keno C. Piad , IJRIT-471

IJRIT International Journal of Research in Information Technology, Volume 3, Issue 4, April 2015, Pg.468-475

7. Testing and Evaluation Procedures After the system was created, it was tested for functionality and reliability [8, 9]. It was installed in a state university, and groups were created for collaborative interaction and communication for a span of one semester. After the test and evaluation of the system for one university, it was tested and evaluated by two state universities and one state college wherein they can communicate with each other for a month. The system was tested for its functionality, usability, reliability, performance and security by technical people while the users, researchers, research directors and research coordinators, evaluated the acceptability of the system.

8. Results and Discussions The collaborative research portal was created with an interface similar to the social networking system. Figure 3 shows the home page of the system which can be viewed even by non-members.

Fig. 3 Home Page of the Collaborative Research Portal

Keno C. Piad , IJRIT-472

IJRIT International Journal of Research in Information Technology, Volume 3, Issue 4, April 2015, Pg.468-475

Fig. 4 Registration for Research Coordinator To access the system’s contents, the researcher should be an accredited researcher of a member university or college. The state universities and colleges of the country are members of an organization, Philippine Association of State Colleges and Universities (PASUC), thus, all members of the organization can have access to the system. The Research Director of the college or university will register themselves at the same time their respective research coordinators. Figure 4 shows the registration page for research coordinator.

Fig. 5 Page of Forum Categories The system can contain different areas of research wherein the researchers can be grouped. In this way, the researchers with the same research area can collaborate and work together even if they are not in the same place. They can exchange ideas on the problems, issues and solutions they have on hand. In this case, the group members may not be in the same college or university. They can discuss through the forum available in the system as shown in Figure 5 or they can send messages or chat.

Keno C. Piad , IJRIT-473

IJRIT International Journal of Research in Information Technology, Volume 3, Issue 4, April 2015, Pg.468-475

Fig. 6 Page for Uploading the Research Output Researchers can upload their on-going or finished research output to be shared to his/her group mates, the page is as shown in Figure6. This is needed so that the group will know the basis of their discussion and each of them can keep track of the accomplishments of the others in the group. The system testing was done for a duration of one semester (5 months) to ensure a very satisfactory outcome on its functionality and reliability. In the state university where initial evaluation was done, they rated the system “very acceptable.” The system was then implemented for further evaluation by the two universities and one college. The system had an overall rate of “Very satisfactory” on its functionality and “Very Acceptable” on its acceptability.

9. Conclusions and Recommendations Based on the results of the tests and evaluation, it can be concluded that 1. A research collaboration portal for Philippine State Colleges and Universities was designed and created with the following features: a. Social networking interface with exclusive membership b. Active communication among the members of a specialized group c. Easy monitoring activities of research outcomes in all member universities and colleges 2. The system was tested to be “Very Satisfactory” and “Very Acceptable.” Based on the results and conclusions, the following are recommended: 1. The system be fully implemented in different state colleges and universities in the country. 2. A government institution manage or be the administrator of the system. 3. Draw a policy on collaborative research to resolve the issue of intellectual property rights.

Keno C. Piad , IJRIT-474

IJRIT International Journal of Research in Information Technology, Volume 3, Issue 4, April 2015, Pg.468-475

Acknowledgment This research study would not have been possible without the guidance and the help of several individuals who in one way or another contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of this study. The author would like to extend his gratitude to his family, colleges, and to his beloved university who continuously served as a source of inspiration and encouragement in the achievement of this study. Special thanks to Dr. Gisela V. Rolluqui of Technological University of the Philippines who guided the researcher in the development of the study.

References [1] Collins Ellen and Jubb Michael, “Information Handling in Collaborative Research”, Liber Quarterly,Vol. 22, No. 4, 2013. [2] Rolluqui, Gisela V, “The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Philippine Education: Prospect for International Collaborative Learning”, 2013. [3] Manlunas, Renante P. "ICT and Cooperative Learning: Reinventing the Classroom." 1st National ICT’s in Basic Education Congress 2006. 2006. [4] Ismael Peña-López, “The personal research portal: web 2.0 driven individual commitment with open access for development “, Knowledge Management for Development Journal 3(1): 35-48, 2011. [5] Nory B. Jones, Darylyne M. Provost, David Pascale, “Developing a university research web-based knowledge portal”, International Journal of Knowledge and Learning 2006 - Vol. 2, No.1/2 pp. 106 - 118. [6] Deepak Dahiya and Pooja Jain, “Enterprise Systems Development: Impact of Various Software Development Methodologies”, International Journal of Advancements in Computing Technology, Vol. 2, No. 4, 2010. [7] Dennis Alan, Wixom Barbara and Roth Roberta, “System Analysis and Design” (Fourth Edition), John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2010. [8] Satzinger John, Jackson Robert, and Burd Stephen” System Analysis and Design in a Changing World”, (Third Edition).Thomson Course Technology, 2004. [9] Kendall Kenneth and Kendall Julie, “System Analysis and Design” (Sixth Edition). Pearson Education South Asia PTE. LTD., 2005.

Keno C. Piad , IJRIT-475

Collaborative Research among Philippine State Colleges and ...

This application can be easily accessed by the modern gadgets thus is available for everyone. The most popular is the Facebook where anybody can share information with anybody. They can chat, comment or even share videos, pictures, etc. through social network. Mostly, these exchange of information are either social, ...

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