PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF POSTGRADUATE RESEARCHERS' EXPERIENCES OF NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH

Over the past few decades, scientific disciplines have changed significantly with the introduction of new and complex aspects of interdisciplinary research, particularly in the area of nanoscience and nanotechnology (N&N). The current attempts to develop science education programmes in N&N area to adopt these complex changes however are mainly focussed towards the core scientific knowledge, and, not much attention has been paid to identify the attributes knowledge, skills and competences necessary to successfully undertake N&N research. Identification of these attributes is important so that the core scientific knowledge can be embedded in the curricula more effectively. Also, to work successfully in this complex research area, whether one should have studied under specialised undergraduate or postgraduate N&N programme or basic science discipline/s is not yet clear. This qualitative study will examine the postgraduate researchers' experiences of researching in N&N area in order to get a better insight and understanding of what nanoscience and nanotechnology research is. This is in turn will inform curriculum development at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and it will also address the issues of whether we should have specialised undergraduate N&N programmes or this research area requires different distinct science and engineering disciplines coming together.