Seminar on ‘language use in policy research’ held at KAU

KHULNA, July 20: The Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of Khulna Agricultural University (KAU) on Saturday organised a seminar highlighting the importance of the proper use of language in policy research to improve research quality, higher education and institutional excellence.

The seminar, titled “From ‘Linked To’ to ‘Causes’: How Words May Mislead in Policy Research,” was held at the auditorium of the KU’s Temporary Campus-1.

KAU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Md Nazmul Ahsan was the chief guest, while Treasurer Prof Dr Shamim Ahmed Kamal Uddin Khan was the special guest at the seminar.

Program Director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), Zubayer Hossain, delivered the keynote presentation. IQAC Additional Director and Assistant Professor of the Department of Agricultural Economics Md Zahurul Islam chaired the seminar.

The speakers said a common mistake in policy research is presenting a statistical relationship (correlation) between two variables as evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship (causation). Such misinterpretations, they noted, can lead to misleading policy conclusions and ineffective decision-making.

They stressed the importance of rigorous data analysis, evidence-based conclusions and the careful use of language in research to ensure the credibility and reliability of policy recommendations.