Yogyakarta, October 23, 2025 — The Academic Writing Workshop “Techniques and Ethics: Expanding Publication Opportunities in Scopus Indexing Journal” at the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) continued into its second day. The session began with Dr. Dicky Sofyan from the Graduate School of UGM, who led an engaging and insightful discussion titled “Reality in Empirical Research.” With both in-person and online participants, the session was highly interactive and emphasized the importance of perspective in shaping how we understand the world. Dr. Dicky illustrated this using the well-known selective attention video exercise, where participants focused on counting the number of passes made by players and subsequently missed the unexpected appearance of a person in a gorilla suit. This activity highlighted how our attention can limit what we perceive, reminding researchers that what we observe is only a portion of the broader reality.
To further demonstrate how personal perception shapes interpretation, Dr. Sofyan presented a simple image of a rock and asked participants to describe its colors. The varied responses revealed how individuals interpret visual information differently. In addition, participants held their fingers in front of two rocks and again observed differing results. These activities helped participants reflect on how researchers define, observe, and measure reality—reinforcing the idea that reality is not merely “out there,” but filtered through our assumptions, senses, and context. Dr. Sofyan also encouraged critical thinking by asking participants to consider hypothetical scenarios, such as a person being denied entry to a cinema after purchasing a ticket, and to generate possible hypotheses based on limited information. This exercise underscored the importance of asking the right questions and recognizing multiple plausible explanations when conducting research.
The second half of the day was led by Dr. Ita, who facilitated an open consultation period for participants to discuss the challenges they face in their research writing processes. Participants were able to present their draft manuscripts, receive direct feedback, as well as engage in constructive dialogue on how to refine their ideas and methodologies. Through this personalized guidance, the workshop emphasized not only theoretical understanding but also practical application.
The day concluded with participants expressing a stronger grasp of research perspectives, enhanced critical thinking skills, and renewed motivation to continue developing their academic work.
Reporter: Hudanur Yildirim