Bibita Koirala, is pursuing a MA in Counseling Psychology at the Tribhuvan University Department of Social Sciences. She likes to do research on entrepreneurship and anything related to human psychology. She is book fanatic and loves blogging too.
What comes to your mind when you hear the word data?
Data is a concrete fact, which can be best expressed in terms of numbers for it to become understandable. Data helps build the foundation for further research and understanding. Also, data is the best free knowledge source for students and anyone else.
What is the importance of data in your MA Counseling Psychology?
Psychology is all about breaking down and analyzing the complexities of human behavior. Data on human behavior is very important as it helps derive solutions for existing behavioral, cognitive, mental health issues and correct behavior to mitigate future consequences. In addition, using data helps persuade people when required. However, I feel that it is a neglected aspect in my psychology study, where we play with data very little.
What are the biggest challenges in searching for data as a student?
There is very little data available about psychology, despite that there are more than 4000 professionals working in this field. There is only some general data available on issues like how many university and colleges are offering a certain course, when the degree program started and the total number of students studying etc. Data on psychology in the private sector is rare and psychology issues are almost never covered by the media in Nepal.
There are very few credible sources. A lot of the research only is done using a small sample size i.e. 30 to 40 people. Hence, I am always in a dilemma as I often don’t know whether the data is representative or not and hence whether I can use the data or not. Most of the time, I don’t have much faith in data based on a small sample size and where possible I try to rely on data of the Central Bureau of Statistics.
How has the Nepal in Data portal helped you as a student?
Nepal in Data has helped me a lot by enabling me to find data of various sectors in one place. The Nepal in Data portal is precise, attractive when it comes to infographics. Infographics are very charming, informative and easy to remember, unlike boring textbooks. Images and number positioning are brilliant. We tend to see data in traditional form i.e. long and boring tables. Nepal in Data’s data representation is attractive and easy.
What features do you like most of the Nepal in Data portal?
It has created a platform for two way communication, which I like most. I can comment, mail, message and make queries on the data. Another thing that I like is that it is regularly updated, so I don’t need not to depend on old data of a particular sector.
As a student, what message would you like to give to your friends or other students regarding the importance of data and the use of the Nepal in Data portal?
As a student, Nepal in Data is the easiest is portal to use to find data. I can say the Nepal in Data portal is the sum of data in an integrated way. There are hundred of data queries and one solution i.e Nepal In Data. The Nepal in Data portal give students the opportunity to learn, share and contribute.