Two week Capacity Building Programme for young Social

Science Faculty
Captioned: Faculty Enrichment Programme on Research Methodology
and Current Research Trends

Captioned: Faculty Enrichment Programme on Research Methodology in

Emerging Knowledge Era
Objective of the Course
Research, in current times, has become an integral part of the academic. It is now more
important than ever that the teaching-learning experiences are based on evidence rather
than unsubstantiated theory or untested premises. Research can provide that evidence-
based approach to enrich teaching-learning experiences. Further in contemporary times,
academicians are not only required to be available for pure teaching-learning profiles but
are also required to participate in academic and institutional administration donning hats
of policy makers, implementers and evaluators. Some form of research-based approach to
policy-making, implementation and evaluation is sure to be helpful in achieving the end-
objective in efficient as well as effective manner. Research is often loosely defined as a
systematic enquiry in a topic of interest. Though research involves a well-defined
methodology and study of sophisticated techniques, yet it is as much an art as it is
science. The primary objective of the short-term program is to introduce participants to
methods for conducting meaningful inquiry and research. The participants will be
exposed to methods and techniques involved in developing research intent and design,
methodology and techniques, data management and statistical analysis, format and
presentation. The focus of this program is not on mastery of statistics but on the ability to
use research to answer pertinent questions.

The purpose of the program includes, to get the participants acquainted with the basic
concept of research, research design and the use of different methods/tools for research
problem analysis. The framework of the course is designed with an emphasis on
interactive sessions on theoretical core topics of research methods, system based
exercises and interactive discussion for writing research paper. Besides, the participants
will also be given exposure for field work. The course is expected to be beneficial for
research scholars from all disciplines of social sciences.

Capacity-building on an individual level requires the development of conditions

that allow participant to build and enhance existing knowledge and skills. It also calls for
the establishment of conditions that allow individuals to engage in the “process of
learning and adapting to change.” Research is a simultaneous process of thinking,
studying, analysing and writing. Social science research is characterized by diversity of
theoretical perspectives, methodological strategies, data collection practices and
analysis techniques. This has made it always necessary to provide training and
orientation on a continuing basis to young Research Scholar to equip them with
methodological skills. It is a matter of concern; the underprivileged groups such as
SC/STs are poorly represented in higher educational institutions. Moreover, the Ph.D.
scholars belonging to the group are lacking skills to maintain sustainable high quality
academic standards due to inadequate skill building exercises. In order to deal with this
problem, the marginalized groups require capacity building in research and other
academic activities. In India most of the Ph.D. scholars face difficulty to finalize their
Ph.D. thesis and research writing in a presentable form. Though, the newly initiated pre-
Ph.D. coursework by UGC has provided orientation to Ph.D. scholars, the research
scholars are always at a dilemma how to write different components of Ph.D. work i.e.,
synopsis, thesis, summary and research articles mandatory for completion of a Ph.D.
work. Therefore, any researcher has to be well-equipped and must have control over the
research methodology and their techniques.

Objectives
The broad objective of the training workshop is to develop research capabilities and an orientation
towards
developing good research proposals among young social science faculties all over the country. The basic
approach of the programme is to develop and enhance the research skills of young social scientists with
regards to framing of research design, overview of literature, formulation of research questions,
hypotheses, collection of information, analysis, and writing of research paper/report/monograph, etc.
from
the point of view of publication in reputed journals and books.

Research today has been one of the important aspects in the academic pursuit of higher
learning over the world, and it provides solutions to ever changing human problems.
Teaching and research go hand in hand and continuous updation of knowledge in the field
of research and publication is the need of hour. Capacity building programme involves
imparting and unveiling various tools and techniques resulting in substantial and excellent
research outputs for the development of mankind. The training programme aims to
prepare the researchers capabilities to publishable material in the form of articles in
journals and books. It will introduce participants to the essential principles, techniques
and processes of qualitative, quantitative and mixed approaches of research. In doing so,
it will deal with various theoretical and methodological issues involved in such inquiry as
well as the strategies and techniques such as research design, methods of qualitative and
quantitative data collection, coding and analysis involved in the empirical field of
research.

Program Objectives
Specifically, the programme aims to:
▪ To provide a forum for early and mid-career academicians, researchers and professionals in social
sciences areas to hone, expand and strengthen their research skills;
▪ To introduce participants to methods for conducting meaningful inquiry and research;
▪ To expose and develop skills necessary to handle specialized software to manage and collect data, as
well conduct sophisticated analysis on the collected data;
▪ To facilitate sharing and brainstorm research ideas across the entire spectrum of disciplines and provide
a platform where social science researchers can explore to co-develop and collaborate in their research
areas;
▪ To develop each participant’s abilities to identify and develop research questions and develop them as
a research study and finally converting it to a publishable research work.

Objectives of the training Programme:

 The aim of the course is to improve the methodological and writing skills of the Research scholars and
develop their potential as future academicians/social science researchers.

 The main objective of the workshop is to provide the research scholars with a set of skills and
potentiality to commence the research in the field of Social Sciences very effectively, so that the students can
give the output of their research in the high quality published work.

 The other important objective is to educate the participants on the use of statistical techniques in data
analysis in the field of social sciences and to provide practical/hands-on experience for their Ph.D research
work with introducing basic software knowledge for data Analysis.

Specific Objectives
To make the participants aware about the social science perspective in research and teaching.
To develop research capabilities among faculties and to turn research into publishable material in the
form of articles in reputed peer reviewed journals or as monograph/reference book.
To develop capacity for conceptualizing and writing research proposals/articles/books, etc.
To enhance capacity for writing a research paper for publication in reputed social science journal.
To develop the capacity for planning and writing of text/research reference book.
To enhance skills to prepare appropriate research design including review of literature, formulating
research questions and hypotheses, collection of information, data analysis and theoretical framework of
the study.
To impart skills to conduct research in social sciences.
To acquaint participants with research management.
To make participants aware of funding opportunities available to undertake research.
To strengthen abilities of participants in writing research proposal, research reports , scientific and
analytical reports

Objective of the Programme

The objective of the course will be to develop research capabilities among young faculty and
to turn completed research into publishable material in the form of journal articles/books:
Specifically, the objectives will be to
1. Develop capacity for conceptualising and writing research area/theme/topic.
2. Enhance skills to prepare an appropriate research design, conducting literature review,
formulating research questions and hypotheses, collection of information and analysis.
3. Develop the capacity for writing quality research proposal, articles and like.
4. Develop the capacity for planning and writing book/monographs.
5. Develop the capacity for writing project proposals for external funding.

The objectives will be to:

Develop capacity for conceptualising and writing research proposals
Enhance skills to prepare an appropriate research design, including conducting an
overview of literature, formulating research questions and hypotheses, collection of
information and analysis.
Enhance capacity for writing a research paper/review of books for publication.
Develop the capacity for planning and writing a book.
Develop the capacity for research methodological workshop.
Develop the capability to prepare a proposal for seeking grants.
Acquaint the participants with the latest developments and trends in the field of Social
Science research.
Output
Increased in capacity of a faculty to design research to International standards
Capacity enhancement to teach social science research methodology courses and write
proposals for international funding agencies
Capacity development of faculty reflected in terms of quality research publications in
reputed peer reviewed journals/monographs and reference books.
Capacity development for conceptualizing and writing of research proposals.

Brief summary of Course content:

The course will be conducted in both lecture and interactive mode. In addition to the interactive classroom
lectures the participants will also be introduced how to use the software like SPSS and STATA for data
analysis. The contents of the course are :- (1) Meaning, Objectives & Types of Research, Research
Approaches, Problem identification and formulations of Research Question; (2) Research Design, Selection
of research topic, Review of Literature; (3) Concept and history of fieldwork, Stages of fieldwork – selecting
a research setting, gaining access, (4) Observation and Case Study, Concept and types of interview, Survey
Method and Sampling, Basic Quantitative Analysis, (5) Qualitative and Quantitative Research, Ethics in
Social Science Research, (6) Academic Writing, Papers for Journals, Preparation of Reports. (7) Ethics in
Academic Writing, Methods for Avoiding Plagiarism, (8) Structure of Paper, Report and Book, Elements of
writing, e-library training (9) Research Proposal, Writing a research proposal, field visit & data collection;
(10) Analysis of data using SPSS and STATA software.
Broad Overview of Programme Modules
1. Research Process
2. Research Design
3. Data & Tools of Data Collection in Social Science Research
4. Conducting Field Work
5. Methods of Analysis of Qualitative and Quantitative Data
6. Using Library and e-Library in Research
7. Writing Thesis/Dissertations, Case Studies
8. Writing Research Project Proposal & Project Report
9. Writing Papers for Journals, Book Chapters, Books
10. Research Ethics and Plagiarism
11. Evaluation of Participant’s Skills
12. Paper Clinic (Actual Papers/outlines will be taken-up for discussion)

Content

Doing research scientifically –The need for research

Norms of qualitative research

Pragmatic solutions to the problems in various stages of research

Case study methodology in research and the possibilities of field work

The politics of doing research

E-libraries and e-learning- Indian and global opportunities

Sampling and various biases

The concepts of theory building and model development

Assessing the psychometric properties of research instrument- Data cleaning, reliability and validity of data

Basic and advanced statistical inquiries using SPSS

Basic and advanced Structural Equation Modeling techniques using AMOS

Analyzing secondary data using E-views

The possibilities of multi disciplinary and interdisciplinary research in social science

Social exclusion and need for inclusivity in social science research

Writing a research paper, publication in reputed journals and the roads ahead

Funding agencies- Indian and foreign opportunities, Scientific organizing of a research proposal

The nexus between research and ethics

Challenges in academic writing

The elements and structure of research writing

Critical thinking in Research and the need for building resilience among social science researchers

Plagiarism- the truth and myths about research writing

Referencing and Referencing softwares

Clinical sessions, discussion forum and evaluation tests

Eligibility Criteria:
All registered Research Scholars in Social Science disciplines from the UGC recognised university/deemed
university/colleges/institutes of national importance and ICSSR research institutes. The applicants should
preferably belong to Scheduled Castes (SCs). However, in case of non-availability of requisite SC
participants, preference may be given to ST, OBC, Women, and Persons with benchmark disability and
minorities. Candidate will be selected on the basis of (1) the strength of their research proposal (1000 words
in English) (2) stage of research (pre-data collection / fieldwork phase) and (3) first time applicants for
Research Methodology/similar workshops.

Eligibility/Selection Criteria:
Registered Ph. D. students of any recognized Indian university/research institute from
any branch of Social Sciences would be invited for this training workshop. The candidates with
the basic knowledge of statistics and computer application and belonging to ST, SC, and Women
categories will be given priority.

Participants
The course is open for faculty members from all disciplines of Social Sciences
The participants should be a Lecturer/ Assistant Professor in a UGC recognized Indian
university/deemed university/College/institute of national importance or the ICSSR Research
Institute.
The parent institution should duly forward the Application.
There shall be at least thirty (30) participants from social science disciplines of which ten (10)
must be from the city, ten (10) from the state and ten (10) from outside the state.
The participants will be provided certificates on successful completion of the course. It is mandatory for all
participants to attend all the classes (or sessions) with 100% attendance.
There is no registration fee for participating in the programme.
Intake:
The maximum intake for the Course shall be 30 seats (20 for out station and 10 for local). Those who have
attended any such type of program sponsored by either UGC or ICSSR should not apply. The selection committee
will select the participants for the Course based on the stage/phase of their research work. The aspects like
representation of different Social Science Disciplines, Social Background, Gender, etc. shall also be taken into
consideration while selecting the Candidates. Notification for selected candidates will be communicated through
the registered email. Attendance for all the sessions is mandatory or otherwise the certificate shall not be issued.

Registration Fee, Travel Allowances and Accommodation:

There is no registration fee for this Ten Days Research Methodology Course. Boarding and lodging is free.
Free food and refreshments for all participants shall be provided. Accommodation will be provided to the
outstation participants only. Travelling Allowance would be payable to the selected out station participants
only for second-class/ sleeper
class/regular bus fare subject to a maximum of Rs.1000/- per participant as per ICSSR rules. The participants, to
claim TA should present original tickets. No local conveyance would be reimbursed.

Training Methodology
The methodology would be based on lectures, group discussions, presentations, research
interaction, field work, experience sharing and hands on activity by the participants as well as
library work and practical sessions on computers. Senior Social Scientists will be invited to
deliver lectures on various themes which will be followed by the question-answer session.
The candidates would be required to present their working paper in the presence of
participants and experts.