title: The critical steps for successful research: The research proposal and scientific writing: (A report on the pre-conference workshop held in conjunction with the 64(th) annual conference of the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress-2012).
abstract: An interactive workshop on 'The Critical Steps for Successful Research: The Research Proposal and Scientific Writing' was conducted in conjunction with the 64(th) Annual Conference of the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress-2012 at Chennai, India. In essence, research is performed to enlighten our understanding of a contemporary issue relevant to the needs of society. To accomplish this, a researcher begins search for a novel topic based on purpose, creativity, critical thinking, and logic. This leads to the fundamental pieces of the research endeavor: Question, objective, hypothesis, experimental tools to test the hypothesis, methodology, and data analysis. When correctly performed, research should produce new knowledge. The four cornerstones of good research are the well-formulated protocol or proposal that is well executed, analyzed, discussed and concluded. This recent workshop educated researchers in the critical steps involved in the development of a scientific idea to its successful execution and eventual publication.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy, AIMST University, Semeling, 08100 Bedong. Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Pitchai
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Balakumar
authors.forename: Mohammed Naseeruddin
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Inamdar
authors.forename: Gowraganahalli
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jagadeesh
keywords: Research protocol; creativity; publication ethics; scientific writing