डॉ. बी. आर. अम्बेडकर विश्वविद्यालय दिल्ली 
| Course Type | Course Code | No. Of Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Discipline Core | NA | 4 |
Semester: First Semester/First Year
Course Coordinator: Babu P. Remesh
Email of the Course Coordinator: babu@gmail.com
AIM:
This course aims at familiarizing the students with the basic concepts about research in social sciences and development studies. After learning this course, the students will have a better understanding on the role, purpose and scope of research. They will be able to formulate a research question/problem and to plan appropriate data sets and methodologies for pursuing the stated objectives as per a research design. The course will also orient the students with different methods followed in development-research, giving due attention on quantitative and qualitative methods and on disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches. Introduction to some of the major data sources is also planned in this course. Overall, it is expected that this course will provide a basic foundation for students in research methodologies, so as to enable them to undertake more in-depth and detailed training in qualitative and quantitative research methods in Semester II. The course is planned through interactive and activity-based sessions. Though there are no prescribed readings for the course, some reading material will be distributed prior to and during the interactive sessions. The assessment of this course is planned on a continuous basis, the details of which are given subsequently.
Brief Descriptions of Modules/Main Modules:
- Introduction to Research and Research Methods: What is research? Underlying principles –Inductive and deductive methods; Rationality, universality, objectivity, reflexivity, reliability, validity; generalizations and its limits; ethical issues in research. Conventional methods, qualitative, quantitative - mixed methods; disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches.
- Data and Methods of Data Collection: Concept of Data; Data Sources - Primary, Secondary; Qualitative, Quantitative; Basic introduction to key techniques of data collection: secondary data; archival data; field study questionnaire, interview, case study, focus group discussions, participatory research, ethnography, life history, oral history documentation; Orientation to Some major data sources in development studies – Human Development Indices, Census, NSSO etc. ; Introduction to electronic-based data sources
- Literature Review, Citation and Referencing: The utility and scope of survey of literature; Importance of citations and referencing; standard styles and formats of referencing; Importance of acknowledging original works/contributions; issue of plagiarism.
- Basics of Formulating a Research Design: Statement of research problem; contextualizing the study; stating the objectives, scope and research questions; how to frame research questions? Stating and testing of hypothesis; planning the data sources and methods of data collections; stating the purpose, utility, significance and output of the study; Essentials in formulating a research design.
- Introduction to Design of Questionnaires and Sampling Procedures: How to frame effective questions and questionnaire(s) for a field study. What are the basic sampling procedures? Understanding Population and Sample; Sample selection procedures; Introducing concepts such as Probability Sampling, Non-probability Sampling, Stratified Sampling, Random Sampling, Purposive sampling and sampling via snow-ball method
Assessment Details with Weights:
The Assessments of this Course will include:
- Preparation of a review of a journal article (15%)
- Preparation of a book review (20 %)
- Preparation of a brief research proposal on an identified theme related to Development (250 %)
- Preparation of a project book/file and a viva voce (on the contents covered) (40%)
Reading List
- Chambers, J.M. et.al. (1983): Graphical Methods for Data Analysis, Duxburry, USA
- Christians, Clifford. G. (2005) “Ethics and Politics in Qualitative Research” in Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln (eds.) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, Third Edition, Sage, New Delhi
- Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (1990). Grounded Theory Research: Procedures, Canons, and Evaluative Criteria. Qualitative Sociology, 13(1), 3-21.
- Creswell, J., (2009) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Research, Sage Publications.
- Durkheim, Emile (1895) “What is a Social Fact?” in The Rules of Sociological Method, the Free Press
- Hall, Peter A (2003) “Aligning Ontology and Methodology in Comparative Research” in James Mahoney and Dietrich Rueschemeyer (eds.) Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- Hammet, Daniel, Twyman, Chasca and Graham, Mark (2015) : Research and Field Work in Development, Routledge, New York
- Jennings, Michael (2006) “Using Archives” in Vandana Desai & Robert Potter (eds.) Doing Development Research. London: Sage Publications. Pages 241-250.
- John, Gerring (2004) “What is a case study and what is it good for?” in American Political Science Review, Vol. 98, No. 2, 341-354
- King, G., R. Keohane, & S. Verba. (1994) Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Munck, G., (1998), Canons of Research Design in Qualitative Analysis, Studies in Comparative International Development, 33(3), p.18-45.
- Ragin, Charles S. (1994) Constructing Social Research: The Unity and Diversity of Method Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press, Chapters 1-3
- Robert E. Stake (2005) “Qualitative Case Studies” in Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln (eds) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, Third Edition, Sage, New Delhi
- Rubin, Herbert and Irene Rubin. 2005. Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications (second edition).
- Schaeffer, Nora Cate and Stanley Presser. 2003. “The Science of Asking Questions” in Annual Review of Sociology 29:65-88.
- Silverman, D. (2005) Doing Qualitative Research, Sage, London
- Silverman, D. (2006) ‘Credible qualitative research’ Chapter 8 in Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for Analyzing Talk, Text and Interaction London: Sage Publications
- Srinivas, M.N. (1976) : Remembered Village, Oxford, New Delhi
- Srivastava, V. K. (ed.), 2004, Methodology and Field Work, New Delhi: OUP.
- Strauss, Anselm. 1987. Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Additional References
- Bogdan, R.; Ksander, M. (1980). "Policy data as a social process: A qualitative approach to quantitative data". Human Organization. 39 (4): 302–309.
- Berg, Bruce L. (2001) Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences.
- Bryman, A. (2008) Social Research Methods. Third edition. Oxford: OUP.
- Bulmer, Martin and Donald P. Warwick. (1993) Social Research in Developing Countries: Surveys and Censuses in the Third World. London: Routledge.
- King, G., R. Keohane, & S. Verba. (1994) Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln (eds) (2005) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, Third Edition, Sage, New Delhi.