Abstract: We all learn to researchby act ually doing it, but a great dea of l time canbe was ted

and goodwill dissipated by inadequate preparation. This article aims yo to prov u ide with th tools to do the job, to help you avoid e pitfalls and ti wasting falserails and to establish good research me t habits. It takes you from he stage of choos a topic hrough to the production of t ing t well planned methodologicaly sound and wel , l l written repot. dissertation or r thesis on time. Research is a novel input to the e xisting store of unders tanding for making its adva ncement. It is a hunt for truth with the help of study, obser ation, v comparison and experiment It is a pere . grination from an ab stract t o concrete. Rsearch Methodology is a way to solve a research problem e systematically. It may be, understood as a sc ience of s tudying how research is done scientifically. In it we s tudy the incessant steps that are ge nerally adopt by a research sc ed holar in studying his reseach problems a r long with the logic behind thm. The recent change nducted by University Gran e i ts Commission in qualification pescribed for ap r pointment of a lecturer in the university system haspened a new hori o zon for resea rch degrees in India. In this environ, the present tailor -made article assume a great valueto the s M.Phil / Ph.D. research aspirants, as t talks about all the necessary i information and tools required to carry out the r search work. e Following is the exclusive list of problem which often faced by the s researcher righ from choo t sing the topic to preent at viva and their s appropriate rejoin. Research Topic: Choosing research topic probably the most important is single dec ision one has tomake in doing researc Perhaps the most h. obvio things one has to do ithinking of a research topic is: (a) to look at us n the previous work in the thesis department of th e Univers ity, (b) to think o f a title withrespect to current news in the semina paper presetation a rs, n nd conferences news papers TV chan , , nels (c) to ask yo guide colleague ur /s, 1s and frie nds, (d) to just start any where but be prepared to change. Types of research study: Following are the information at glance about variou research m s ethods (a) Descriptive Study: Used where study : includes surveys and fact-finding enquirie (b) Analytical Study: Includes s, critical evaluation of already avai fac lable ts, (c) A ed Study: Aims at ppli finding of solution fo an immediate probl r em facin by soc g iety or an industr , (d) Fundamental/Basic/Pure St dy: Deals with formulati of y u on theory or gathering knowl edge, (e) Qualit tive / Motivation Study: Used a espec ially in the behavioral sciences w here the aim is to di scover the underl ing motives of huma behav y n ior, (f) Conceptual St udy: Generally used by philosopher and great thinkers to deve lop new co ncepts to reinte rpret exis ting knowledge, (g) E pirical Study: A data based m researc h relies on observa and com t ion ing up with conclusions wh are capab of ich le being verified by an experiment, (h) Case Study/Exploratory/Clinical/Diagnostic Study: Such stud goes deep into the y causes of things or events that interest us by using small samples, (i) very Historical Study: Based on historical sources like docum ents to study events or ideas of th past. It is generally a conclusion e /decision ori ented research. Research Guide: goes wit out say that one ca not get through It h n research wok without having a go guide a a wo r od nd nderful supervisory

relationship In order to hav research guide: (a) one can get t list of . e he research guide from .G. Department of the P concerned Unive rsity, and accordingly list out names of various guides as per the the ir expel1ise and your interest (b) one should never approa guide in h , ch urry, because first impression is the last impression. Therefore , before you appoach gu r ide you should be clear about the concepts of research methodology and at least you should have gone through tconcerned literaure of the he t research problemsA researc guide usua expects from their . h lly researche r/s: (a) to be indepe ndent, (b). able to produce a written work that is not ust a first draft (c) to hav regular meetings(d) to be honest j , e . when re porting u pon their pr gress. o Tools required for preparinsynopsis hesis: One has to identif a g /t y wide variet of potential sources of nformation depending on their y i experienc of using librariesFollowing is the exclusiv e list of vario tools e . us : (a) Books , Thesaurus , Activator , Dictio nary, () b Resea rch Journals/Periodicas, (c) Annual Repor (d) Popu Media, (e) Int l t, lar ernet, ( D Memos, M inutes and Inter al Reports, (g) Le n tters and Diaries (h) Published , and Unpublished Papers(i) Primary Sources and Seco , ndary Sources,(j) Doctoral Thesisand old Synopis in the same fie s ld. Originalit in research: The e y lement o originality in o f nes research is , realistically, likely to very small (in terms of top ic, approach or presentation). A highly original research is ver unusual and one is setti y , ng goal far off Following is the acid test of iginality, where one: (a) sets . or down a major piece of new information in writing for the first t (b) ime, shows o riginality in testing somebody lse's idea, (c) car e ries out an empirical work that has not been done before (d) uses existing materia , l but wi h a new interpretation (e) trying out something in his own country t , that has previously done in her countries only, (f) brings new evidence ot to bear on an old issue (g) adding toknowledge i a way that has , n n't previously been done before. Contents of Pre-Synopsis Proposal Ph.D./M.Phil :At the time of of . registration for research degree submit a research proposal consisting of , fifteen to twenty p ages, written in future tense to the Universit y department duly signedybhis/her guide with prescri bed fees a form nd at. The preparation of proposal generaltakes thr e to four mon ly e ths; it should be started on after getting consent from the research ide. Generally it ly gu contains: 1. Introduction It sets the scen Start with genral and p : e. e rogress to specif Start strong. First paragraph and fi sentence should be clear ic. rst , exciting thought provoking and compelling. Give some backg to , round your research topic and argument with the most rel work thathas evant been do in the recent pastExplain what it is hat others haven't ne . t done and what you plan to do. Summarizein strong sentences. A voi excessive d use of the fu ture tense in describing your work. State the problem you are solving and how yo work differs from pre ur vious work. Pointout the gaps in the knowledge. W rite introduction as a third per on and plac yourself in s e the background. You m ust organize your id eas in such a way that they are conveyed logica lly. 2. Approach to the Problems/ Statement of Problems: A problem in

general refers to so e difficulty which a researcher e m xperiences in the context o either theoretical or pract f ical situation a wants to o nd btain a solution for the sam To define a prob e. lem correc tly, a researche must r know: wha are t current faiures in the area of search selected b him t he l re y and what a prolem is ? A researc problem ca b h nnot be borrowed. Eve ry research scholar arrives at well defined problemthrough revie of w literatur . A w defin problem is half-solved. Therefo form e ell ed re ulation of proble is often mor esse m e ntial than it solution Some of the import nt s . a sources from where ne can locate the pr o oblem/s are as follows (a) : intuiti n, (b) brain storming sess o ions, (c) inviting suggestions. (d) consultations, (e) daily ex periences, (t) field survey. (g) a cademi c discussions. (h) and vo racious reading. 3. Review of th literature (ROL): It's an account of what has been e published on a topic, conflicts in theory, methodology used, evide nce and conclusions available, gaps in literature and imm ediate interest in he field. t The ROL should be wi respect to research objectives, problems, th hypothesis, and identify what not k own to others. It also suggests what n knowledge is already esta blished on a topic and what its weakness are. The bigges advantage of ROL is that it avoids reinventing the wheel of research t work. It builds platform for existing knowledge a nd ideas, and one learn about the other expel1S working in the same field and their opposing views. 4. Objectives of the study: It should be closely related to the statem e nt of problems. It suggests primary purpose of research and set scope for s what will/will not be addressed. Generally, it starts wi h active ve liket rb describe. determine, find out identify. It focuses whatyou will d in your o study, where and for what purpose. 5. Hypothesis of the study: All research starts either with hypothesis or ends with hypothesis. Hypotheses are t he assumpt ions to be proved or disproved and capable of being tested by scient ific methods. It should be clear, precise and should be well consistent with available techniques. It. gives direction to the study. Rejection of synopsis/thesis is based on quality of hypothesis fo rmed. A we defined hypothesis means we defined ll ll parameters. Sources of hypothesis are: intuition research studies, , consultations theory observation, analo , , gies, culture, and continuity of research. Following are he types of h t ypothesis: (a) Null Hypothesis- It is in terms of s tatistical analysis and i more exac free from any ambiguity and s t, vagueness. It is symbolized as Ho. For e.g. students who receive counseling will show a g reater increas in creativity than students not receiving e counseling. (b) Experimental Hypothesis- It is broad a vague. For e.g. nd boys are taller than girls. If a single gir l is taller than or the same height as of boy could nullfy the hypothesis. (c) Common Sense Hypothesis: For e.g. i well paid employees are motivated than less paid employees. (d) Some other types of hypothesis are: comp lex hypothesis. anal ytical hypothesis. descriptve hypothesis, relational hypothesis causal hypothesis, and i , working h ypothes is. 6. Research Methodolog It is a way to systematically solve the y: research probl em. In it we study the various steps th are g at enerally adopted by aresearcher in studying his research problem along with the logic behind themNormally a esearch design includes que . r stions: what is the study about why is the study being made, where will thestudy be , carried out what t , ype of data is required , where can the data be availed,

what period of tim will the study include what will be the sample d e , esign, what te chniques of data collection wi be used how wil the d ll , l ata be analyzed, and what will be the style of res earch rep ort. Suppose one , wants to study the problems faced by the collegesiated to Mumbai affil Universit , the arrangem y ent of m ethodolog will be as fo y llows: (a) The universe .e. population There are approximatel total four hundred i : y colleges attached to the university which are situ ated at M umbai, Thane, Ratnagiri etc (b) Selection ofsam pl s: Purposively twenty colleges are . e selected from Mumbai. (c) Reference perio 1995-96 to 2005 d: -06. (d) Techniques of anal ysis (Statistical tools) mean, median. mode. sta dard n deviation, correlation probability, chi-square ( square) t-test etc. , x , Selectio of appropriate statistcal tools is sole depe n i / ly nds on type and nature of parameters (sub-partsof hypothesis). 7. Tools to be u sed for collection of data: The task of data collection begins after a esearch problem has bee defined and research design r n chalked out The researcher would have decide which s of data h . to ort e would be using forhis study and a ccordingly he will have to select one or the other method of da collecton. For Pr ta i imary data one ha to take help , s of: (a) Questionnaire (b) Interviews and discu ssions ob servation For . Secondar data one has to ake help of: (a) Published Sources (b) Web y t Source (c) Annual Rep s orts etc. 8. Significance of the study should include: (a) what w you be : It ill going to add to he current literature? (b) how wi your proposed researc t ll h facilitate the decis ions of the poli maker (c) is your resea cy ? rch work like ly to create new direction to the present stock o f research? (d) will your work solve a long st anding problem tht peopl want to kno how to solve? a e w 9. Scope and limitations of the study: research is fre from No e limitation and wea s kness. These arise from methodological weaknes s, samplin imperfections, no responses, data inadequacies, measure g ment deficiencies and he like. Such lim t itations may vitiate the conclusions. Therefore a ca reful stateme of the limita nt tions and weakness of t study he should b made in order to enable the reader to j dge the validity of the e u conclus ions and the general worth of the stud. In the above case out of y four hundred colleg only twenty samples are selected for the study es . Practically it is not pos sible for th single researcher to r e each at every college and collect t e data; it is a functional limitation the study. h of Where as twenty selected sample colleges are exclusively from Mumbai region, it is a geographi limitation of the cal study. 10. Chapter Schem e of thesis/dissertation : Generall researcher y should mention te ntative chaper plann t ing of t e thesis, which at h least include: (a) I troduction, (b) Rev n iew of he literature, (c) Last topic t : Conclusions nd Suggest a ions. It should b noted that chapter planning is e totally based on number of hypothesis , problem and objectves created in s i the methodology. Researcher must mention in the ast paragraph of every l introduction f each chapter about theypothesis problems and objecti o h , ves it dealswith. Problem s: A re searcher may come across ith the following setbacks w during his esearch: (a) nothin has been writte on my re r g n search topic (b) , there is too much lite rature in this fi eld, (c) it's all been do (d) how to ne, select volume and variet of literature. (e conflicting arguments( D y ) ,

solution for above problems llow hypothesis of your study, (g) you ma fo y run out of ti me, access is refused by a key institution, a key conta in ct sample organization leaves you discover th someone has alread done , at y your research, you may lose yo job, your response rate may be ver ur y low, you may fall ill. you find that you have too much / too little data to analyze, you may run out of money, your computer crashes o data loss. r the rat eats your drafts. t margin on your te are not the right size for he s xt bindin g. References: Any idea conclusio informa , n, tion or data s pecificallyderived from the work of so meone else must be ack nowledged a this process is nd known as doc mentation There are two methods of giv u . ing refere nces which are autho-date system nd author number system. You should give r a reference to (a) justify and suppor : t your argum ents, (b) allow you to make comparisons with other research express matters better t you cou , (c) han ld have do ne. (d) to lend authority to your iting, (e) to e wr xplain com plex material. You should not use refe rences to: (a)impress readers with he t scope of your reading. (b) Replacethe need for you to express yo own ur thoughts, (c) Mis representother authors. Cost: Cost is an imp ortant part of the re search routine one can not o ; ver look thi part b s efore starting research. Re searcher ha to plan and s generate he fund to fnance t e follow t i h ing cost Fees, t avel cost cost of : r , consumab les suc as paper etc Charges to acce certain websites or h . ss institutions equipme purchasehire, books reports journals, photocopy, , nt, , , printin and publ g ication, postage, telephone library fines, and other . , s Grammar:Many researcers, even exper h ienced ones, have prob lems wit h gramma punctuatio and spe r, n lling whe they write up. Errors wil detract n l from yo ability to get your ideas aross. Following is thelist of so ur c me do and don'ts of Eng lish writing: (a) try t avoid lon sentences if you don't o g want to loose the sense of what you are saying get lost, (b) understand and make proper use of the full range of s tandard punctu tion form including a s colon (:), semicolon ;), comma ,), full stop (.) question mark (?), ( ( , exclamation mark (!), dash (- ), slash ( I), hyphen (-) quotation mark"("), , apostrop he ('),underline and italics, capitalization and abbreviatio (c) n, avoid sentences beginning with joining words such as 'but' 'and' 'because ' these s hould nor mally be used to linkclause with in sentences, (d) a ver b has to agree with their subjects, (e) never end se ntences with prepositions (about, above, across, before, without etc.). f) passive vo ice should be avoided; (g) passive to ac tive vo ice is t e quickest route to improvement h , (h) use prepositional phrases for better impact (according in place of in , to , spite of etc.). , Editing: First sp check and then proof reading and then proofell read again Check forgrammatical errors or basic style. Then proof reading . again After everything elseave a friend proof . h -read for you Following are . the faste way of editing(a) repl ce length description by tables or st : a y s charts, (b) respond to thesuggestions made y guide, (c) bring in new b ideas- reduce the le ngth of w hat you have written after removing whole section or per s, haps even c apters where these are not central and h , relevant toyour argume ts/hypothesis, (d)use double space in text w n riting, (e) use Times Nw Roman with Font Siz or as direced by your guide e 13 e t , (f) leave 2 spaces after period use I inch margin for top , (g) , bottom a nd right side of paper and 2 inches for left side mar (h) leave one space gin,

after commas and other marks of punctuation use whit paper of the , (i) e size 8 1/2 x 11 inches and only one side of paper should be used for print/type, U ) in case of title/topic, only first letter of each word is capitalized a others appear in lower case/ as suggested by your guide nd / check from he Univers guidelines, (k) a title is never underlined and nor t ity put in quotationmarks. Viva:Following are some us ful tips ab e out what one should dobefore presenting his research work: (a) f ind out who is going be there as an to expert, what are their inter ests and background, (b) info rmation wise keep up to date what has changed between the , submis sion of your the and sis viva, (c) you shou be able to find out instantl ld y anything you n eed to refer and respond from your thesis, (d) practice with a friend or co lleague responding to qustions of a frie dly or hostile nature, (e) you know more e n about your parti ular piece of research han anyone else, (f) be prepared c t to defe nd and promote your work, while recognizing its limitations nd a deficiencies (g) initially welcome and accept criticism, (h) if possible , the practice presenting the results b y using audio-visual aids .

Useful tips: Following are some useful tips which will benefit t e h researcher during the research in decision mak ing: (a) be prepared to research, you wil often spend more time esearching than writing (b) l r , have a frendly critique foryou, (c) don take rej ction perso i 't e nally, (d) act confide act professional it will show in your writing (e) keep jour for nt, , nal brain storming and pick upa simple topic every day and think-up different articles you could write on that topic, (f) Number of pages in - Thesis : roughl 300 and above. Dissertation roughly 200 andabove, (g) maintain y : one research di ry and record: observational notesmethodological notes a , , theoretical notes and anal ytical memos. (h) Always keep in min d that research is: expe nsive, time consuming, scientific, often ing, can also bor be fun, you can research anything , and researchcan turn theory into action. (i) methods of research: if you like talking to people - you mi ht be g well advised to make use of inter view method o data collection if you f , don't like talking to people - you might think about undert king librar or a y archive based r search. (j) Good In e terview: be modes in your request t don't start by asking for an ything, use your existing contacts effectively, be as clear as possible ab out what you are asking forwhich document and people and ho long it will take, explain the reaso for doing your w ns research why it will be ofvalue, and what the outcomes might b(k) , e, Research Fundingresearch scholar maseek the funding from agencies : y like UGC (passed NET ith JRF), ICSSR e there are vario schemes for w tc. us the in-service teachers espec one whois work in the 2F and128 ially ing recognized degree colleges. (I) Use electronic tools Corel Draw ful : (Drawing Package)GRASS (Geographic-info. System,) MINITAB (St tistical , a Package), NUDIST (Tex Analysis), SAS ( ata Analysis & Graphi s. (m ) t D c Suppor who will ask you how is it going on, who will make cup of tea for t: you, who will give you perm ission for do and don't. If you don't have people to fil the kind of l support roles, you may need tofind t hem or deve them lop unless y are an unusually confident, organized and self aw a per ou re son. (n) Useful w ebsites: (i http://w ww .vdyanidhi.org.in (for dupli ation check), (ii) ) i c http://w ww .isi ev.nic.in (to check articles appeared in around 125 Indian d journals & new spapers), (iii) http://w ww igidr.ac.in (for e-journals and books .

in econom ics banking and finance), (iv) http://w ww britishcouncil.org.in , . (book e-journals of UK-paid s, service) (v) http://w ww.tiss.edu (resea , rch projects, research report, & resea abstracts n social sc rch i ience literature), (vi) w ww icssr.org (for fellowships, aw a . rds, sources, surveys in SS) (vii) , http://w ww i ntut . e.ac.uk/socialsciences/lost.htm l(a w e port l on social b a science literature)(viii) http://ww w.infolibrarian.com/ejls.htm (for free e, journals). References: 1. Kothari, C. R., Research Methodology: Methods & Technique , New Ag s e International (P) Ltd., NewDelhi. 2. Kultar Singh, Quantitative Social Research Methods, SAGE Publi ations, Mumbai. c 3. KUMAR, A, Social Research Methods, Anmol Publi ations Pvt.L1td. c 4. Rob Kitchinand Dun can Fuller, The Academ Guide to Publishing, Vistaar ic Publi ations, New Delhi. c S. F. Ab d u l R im, T h e Writing : A M n ual for Re se a ah sis a rchers, N e w A g e te rn tio In a nal (P) L td Ne w Delhi. ., 6. Clifford Hawkins and Marco So rgi, Research: How to Plan, Speak and Write About It, Narosa Publishing House, New Delhi. 7. Luey B., Handbook for Aca demic Authors, Cam bri ge U d niversity Press.