The Research Directorate continues to empower all University staff members with research tools and ideas, ensuring that the research profile continues to grow. On 29 and 30 September 2025, off-campus academic and support staff attended a workshop where a seasoned professional delivered a lecture on two key research tools. Dr Melvin Mothoa, Postgraduate and Postdoctoral Fellowship Officer – Higher Degrees Office, said workshop was part of their drive to empower staff with research capacity. “Staff have to be competent enough; this will lead in the improvement of research output,” Dr Mothoa said. 30 staff members, both academic and support.
Professor Urmilla Bob, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, conducted a workshop on the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). This is a software programme from IBM used for quantitative data analysis, allowing users to perform statistical analysis, data management, and data visualisation without needing deep coding or statistical knowledge. Professor Bob also taught the MUT staff NVIVO, a specialised computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software, designed to assist researchers in importing, organising, analysing, and visualising qualitative data from various sources. This tool supports a wide range of file formats, including text documents, PDFs, audio, video, and images, and provides tools for coding, theme identification, and creating conceptual maps to uncover patterns and insights within research data.
Professor Bob, who enthusiastically supports the idea that support staff should also conduct research, said that these tools, which were formerly designed for those who deal mainly with statistics, are now required for social science researchers.
Some of the 30 students who attended the workshop reported that they benefited greatly. Mlungisi Dlamini, a Technician from the Department of Electrical Engineering, is a Master’s student working on his research and developing an article for publication. “I found the training to be highly valuable and relevant to my academic journey,” Dlamini said. Dlamini said he attended the course to strengthen his skills in both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. “SPSS will support me in handling statistical data, performing advanced analysis, and interpreting results with greater accuracy. NVivo, on the other hand, will assist me in managing, coding, and analysing qualitative data systematically, which is essential for my study,” he said, adding that “the skills I have acquired will undoubtedly contribute to the success of my master’s research and future academic contributions”.
Siduduzile Ndlovu from the Teaching, Learning, and Development Centre (TLDC) said she attended the training to learn more about data analysis so she could properly understand how to select a topic, methodology, and analysis tool.