INITIAL TRAINING AND INEQUALITY IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. AN EXPLORATORY SURVEY

In recent years, research has been constantly debated and represented a main public concern. Specific topics such as national and international financing of research, visibility of research outcomes, brain drain, research ethics, or recognition of research achievements have represented the main core of debates that involved not only researchers and academics, but also the wider public. The present paper analyses the issue of equality in the domain of scientific research with special emphasis on the topic of equal opportunities, respectively unequal opportunities in research based on the idea that factors such as complexity of research practices, values and axiological hierarchies established in the process of research, accreditation and recognition system, or dominant practices in education and professional research can generate inequality. The authors conducted a survey to identify the perceptions of Romanian researchers about types of inequality affecting their work, awareness of the sources generating such inequality, opinions about their own readiness to cope with the requirements of the international research market. The authors advocate for development of research skills to students during their university education. Research skills may be seen as professional skills for many students in universities or as skills that may help students in their university life. The paper clarified important aspects regarding initial training of future researchers and identified possible solutions and actions in universities in order to diminish and eliminate this source of inequality for future researchers. (C) 2017 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.uk