Research Policy

St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi strongly believes in the value of ‘Magis’-a challenge to do more and strive for excellence. Striving continuously towards this motive, the institution has persistently strived to achieve academic excellence in teaching and research by encouraging “inquisitive” and “futuristic” mindset in both teachers and students. The college emphasises on creating a research-based ecosystem where facts powered with novel thoughts can lead to a conscious and responsive society.

1. To build up an exuberant research culture among the faculty members, students and research scholars working under the guidance of faculty members of SXC, Ranchi.
2. To develop a support structure to facilitate research activities.
3. To motivate and encourage both teachers and students for publications in quality journal indexed by Scopus/Web of Science, having impact factor.
4. To promote collaborations nationally and globally to carry out interdisciplinary research works with other research institutes/ industries/ academia etc.
5. To establish standards and norms for ensuring ethical conduct in research.
6. To design a plan/flowchart to promote continuous research work for faculty, scholars and students in the college.

This policy will be applicable to:

1. All staff, who are appointed on sanctioned post as well as those appointed by the college management on permanent basis and are engaged in active teaching, research or administration.
2. All students studying in the college
3. All researchers/research scholars associated with college/college staff.

The research agenda at St. Xavier's College, Ranchi focuses on two fronts, namely individual and departmental:

1. Faculty members and students are encouraged to take up research individually as well as jointly.
2. All faculty members/researchers/students are encouraged to work on contemporary issues relevant to the society at large.

The college has established five dedicated Research Centres to carry out research and publication in Basic and Applied Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, Commerce & Management, and Tribal languages. These research centres are:

1. Central Research Laboratory (CRL)
2. Xavier Research Centre
3. Camil Bulcke Research Centre
4. Tribal Research Centre
5. Society for Earth Observation and Conservation (SEOC)

Apart from above five research centres all PG departments are recognised as Research Centres. Departmental Research Centres are encouraged to engage students in quality research work.

1. Central Research Laboratory (CRL):  The college established a Central Research Laboratory (CRL) in 2010 to enable the faculty and students to achieve excellence in multidisciplinary research with societal/industrial relevance. Fr. C. DeBrouwer s.j., a legendary personality of the college management, played the pivotal role in the establishment of the said lab. The modern analytical instruments present in this lab offer a wide range of analytical methods/techniques for material testing and characterization. This consequently helps researchers to publish their research findings in peer reviewed indexed journals.

This facility is extensively used by the faculty members and doctoral research scholars. Also, the students of science fraternity (undergraduate and post graduate) use the lab extensively to carry out research projects which is a mandatory part of the course curriculum. The facility is also extended to students of external organizations mainly academic institutions in the region. The CRL provides facilities and assistance in sample preparation to the users. It carries out analysis of samples received from students, faculty members and other researchers.

2. Xavier Research Centre:  Xavier's Research Centre was set up in the year 2002 under the agies of St. Xavier's College, Ranchi, under the leadership of then principal Dr. Fr. Nicholas Tete, S.J. The idea was to develop the centre as a nodal wing of the college in respect of research and extension activities with regard to 4 major thrust areas and namely:

• Tribal Development
• Rural Management
• Human Rights
• Gender Problems

This research centre publishes a journal called Xavier Research Journal, which is specifically designated to disseminate information pertaining to the problems and issues faced by the tribal brethren living in Jharkhand and other contiguous areas of India. The journal was discontinued for some years, but the centre is working towards reviving the Xavier Research Journal for publishing its research activities.

The centre provides a sitting capacity for about 10 researchers. Besides being equipped with several books, it also gives access to desktop computers for scholars to conduct their research. The centre has a wide range of books on tribal issues and development. It provides a conducive research environment for those coming from the field of social sciences. Xavier Research Centre takes care of all types of publications of the institution.

3. Camil Bulcke Research Centre:  The college has dedicated research for Hindi language in memory of one of India’s most renowned Hindi scholars, Dr. Fr. Camil Bulcke, a Belgian Jesuit missionary in India. The centre came into existence since 1^st July, 2017. Professors of Hindi, teaching in any college or retired are welcome to become members. The research centre has a total of about 14000 books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, books on Hinduism- the Vedas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Upnishads, the Brahmanas, the Bhagavad Gita and so on. Books on different religion – Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and works of great poets like – Surdas, Tulsidas, Jayasi, Meerabai etc are also present in the centre. The centre has computers, fully air conditioned seating area, Ricoh Xerox machine, Voltas water filter, CCTV surveillance, attached wash room, parking space in college campus, the library software KOHA is used to keep account of the books and magazines. Two librarians work at the centre.

4. Tribal Research Centre:  To sustain and nurture the rich heritage of local tribes of the state, the college has also established Tribal Research Centre. Scholars from the local region are promoted to enrich the literature regarding the regional and tribal languages. Tribal Research Centre is a private enterprise established in 2017. It works on the promotion of five tribal languages: Mundari, Santhali, Kurukh, Kharia and Ho. These are also called Adivasi / Indigenous Peoples languages. Here the word “tribe” is used to mean the Adivasi / Indigenous Peoples languages are mostly spoken in central India. Following are the overall aims and objectives of the TRC for the promotion of tribal languages and cultures as far as practicable and in collaboration with persons, institutions and organisations on the similar objectives:

1. To engage in research on tribal languages and cultures as well as viz.. Mundari, Santhali, Kurukh, Kharia and Ho languages and publish the findings and outcome;
2. To publish 2 magazines annually in each of the five tribal / adivasi / indigenous people's languages including the wall calendar for the promotion of these languages;
3. To put the oral tribal literature in written form for record and learning;
4. To publish important old manuscripts on tribal matters that are on the verge of being lost;
5. To collect and publish the vanishing tribal folklores, proverbs, riddles and anecdotes including songs and customary practices;
6. To engage in research on tribla matters and issues relating to their knowledge systems, health and medicinal practices, governance and administration, livelihood patterns and ecology and sustainability of life to mention a few.

5. Society for Earth Observation and Conservation (SEOC):  SEOC is a multidisciplinary research centre which was founded on 10^th March, 2022, with the motto to promote a multidisciplinary approach to observe, address, understand, tackle, create awareness about and provide suitable remedial measures for the environmental issued and challenges leading to the conservation of earth resources.

For this the faculties/ researchers of different streams like Geography, Botany, Zoology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Statistics have joined to foster a multidisciplinary research to save the three pillars of the sustainable development of the environment, the economy and the society.

The college thus provides basic infrastructure facilities to research scholars and supervisors for successfully carrying out their research work.

The policy frame work strictly states that all kinds of research undertaken within the campus must be conducted in accordance with the vision and mission of the institution, the guidelines issued by Ranchi University, and in compliance with the UGC guidelines. The institution insists on originality in research and advocates caution against plagiarism and any other form of malpractice. Through code of research ethics, the institution aims to protect and recognize the basic rights of the researcher and ensures academic freedom and high-quality research outcome.

St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi is committed to produce and promote quality research by adopting an effective mechanism for checking plagiarism and unethical practices. The guidelines issued to discourage plagiarism in research are in line with the UGC regulations given for promoting academic integrity and prevention of plagiarism in higher educational institutions, dated on 23^rd July, 2018 F.1-18/2010(CPP-II).

The college posses the licensed version of worldwide accepted Turnitin Plagiarism check software (https://sxcran.turnitin.com/home/sign-in) to ensure the originality of the research work. The supervisors are responsible for high standard research conduct in the respective thesis/dissertation submitted by their students.

1. The faculty members are encouraged to attend workshops and training programs. For those presenting quality research papers at conferences, the institute covers the conference registration fees and travel expenses.
2. Departments are encouraged to organise Faculty Development Programs (FDP), workshop and training sessions. The organisation readily provides the necessary infrastructure and manpower. Additionally, the college management offers financial assistance to ensure the successful execution of these events.
3. The institution provides seed money to fund potential research projects. Faculty can apply for this funding using the designated format and submit their proposal to the college's Research Development Committee (RDC). After evaluating the proposal, the RDC will disburse the approved amount to the principal investigator.
4. The institution provides financial assistance for successful Patent registration.
5. The college celebrates Research Day to develop research ecosystem and motivate researchers by providing cash incentives and certificate of appreciation by college management. Based on the recommendation of the Research and Development Cell and approval of the Principal, every year Best Research Award (SXC Best Researcher of the Year) will be awarded to teachers for exemplary research work and publication.
6. The institution provides financial assistance for Research Paper in Peer-Reviewed or UGC listed Journals, Publications (other than Research Papers)

(a)  Book authored which are published by:

- Internnational Publishers
- National Publisher
- Chapter in Edited Book
- Editor of Book by International Publisher
- Editor of Book by National Publisher

(b)  Translation work in Indian and Foreign Language by qualified faculties:

- Chapter or Research Paper
- Book

(c)  Research publications as proceedings/ short communication etc.