डॉ. बी. आर. अम्बेडकर विश्वविद्यालय दिल्ली 
| Course Type | Course Code | No. Of Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Core | SVS211102 | 4 |
Course coordinator and team : R. C. Sharma (C) and Gunjan Sharma
- Does the course connect to, build on or overlap with any other courses offered in AUD?
- The course links with the field based components and assessments of the programme. There are overlaps with methods courses being taught in other programmes of AUD.
- Specific requirements on the part of students who can be admitted to this course:
- Elementary knowledge of spreadsheets, web browsing, and use of social media for data collection will be beneficial to the students seeking admission to this course.
- No. of students to be admitted (with justification if lower than usual cohort size is proposed): A batch size of about 20 students + EWS and Supernumerary seats.
- Course scheduling: Full Semester
How does the course link with the vision of AUD?
The course will enable skills for inquiry, ethical and sensitive social research, criticality thinking, and problem solving. All of these skills are essential for preparing students for reflective practice in their professional contexts – an important part of AUD’s vision.
How does the course link with the specific programme(s) where it is being offered?
The course will introduce the students to social and market research with a particular focus on tourism and hospitality as an area of study. It would introduce the meaning of research and its relation with development of knowledge, understanding and strategizing for a field. It seeks to engage with research as an intellectual and ethical enterprise as well. Through this course the students will develop basic understandings and skills that will enable them to read and plan research. The literature and resources needed for the transaction of the course mainly include research proposals, papers, reports, case studies, and other readings.
Course Details:
Summary:
This course will introduce the concept, methods and process social and market research with specific reference to tourism and hospitality. A thrust of the course is to initiate students into thinking about the idea of inquiry and the relation between knowledge, theory, practice and research. Along with these explorations, it will enable the students to comprehend research reports, papers and studies – through a continuous engagement with actual (and significant) researches in the area of tourism and hospitality that introduce the different methodologies and perspectives for research in the area. In doing so, the course will develop basic skills that would facilitate this process. Developing an appreciation for research, and abilities to identify research problems and formulating research questions, will be the major concerns of the course. Throughout the course, the group will reflect on research as an intellectual, ethical and social enterprise. This introductory course on research would support the field component of the programme, enable the students to conceptualise their field projects and facilitate in understanding advanced research methods courses.
Objectives: The objectives of the course are:
- To introduce the concept and process of research
- To familiarize students with research methods used in tourism and hospitality
- To enhance students’ ability to ‘read’ research
- To initiate into articulating research problems and formulating research questions
- To enable students to formulate research proposal
- To develop basic skills to carry out research
Learning Outcomes: On completion of the course, the students will be able to:
- develop basic understandings of research, research process and ethics
- acquire basic research skills (formulating questions, identifying relevant methods, tool development, data collection, etc.)
- read and review research with comprehension
- formulate research proposals meaningfully
Overall structure:
The course is organised in four units. The contents of the course despite having been outlined in separate modules would be transacted iteratively.
Course contents:
Assessment Plan (weight, mode, scheduling) for the course:
- Assignment 1 (30%): Writing a proposal for a problem with objectives and methodology. Developing a tool and piloting it (small scale)
- Assignment 2 (30%): Based on the problem identified as in Assignment 1 and tool(s) developed in Assignment 2, carrying out the research and preparing the research report.
- End-term (40%)
Pedagogy:
- Instructional Strategies The course will be delivered adopting Blended approach. Content would be made available on the University learning management system with facility for formative and summative online examination. Further, the course would be transacted through interactions involving reading in groups, analyzing research papers/reports, case studies, discussions, field-based activities and lectures.
- Special needs: Usual course needs; some books may have to be requisitioned. Installation of a statistical package like SPSS (or preferably Open Source PSPP) would be required.
- Expertise in AUD faculty or outside For some guest lectures, industry experts may be invited
- Linkages with external agencies None