Online Workshop in Research Methodology

Ten-Day Online Workshop in Research Methodology
for MPhil, PhD and Postdoctoral Scholars in Social Sciences

Organised by

Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai

Supported by

Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi

15–26 February 2021

How to Apply

To apply, please click on the Google Form (Google account required)

Around 60 participants will be selected for the workshop, based on the quality of research proposals submitted by applicants. The selected participants are expected to participate actively and arrange necessary technical support for uninterrupted Internet access.

About the Workshop

Methodology plays an important role in shaping the nature and process of research and its outcomes. Differences in its approach have been instrumental in developing new discourses and enquiries in social science research. Basic training gained through a regular programme may be supplemented with thematic and focused training in applying various methodological traditions.

The workshop aims to address critical gaps in training social science researchers in the country. While doing this, it recognises the importance of both quantitative and qualitative traditions and their combinations in relevant contexts. Social scientists continue to follow the methodological development in natural sciences and technology studies to enhance their explanatory domain. At the same time, aggregate measures and estimates are better understood with the process through which they are estimated or with an emphasis on the subjective location of the researcher and the importance of interpretive, ethnographic methods.

The choice of methods is guided by the nature of the research questions posed. However, the Indian reality suggests that there is little scope for scholars from different streams of research to learn from each other, and, more importantly, to appreciate and/or critically assess the validity of diverse approaches. It is also important to develop a critical awareness of the limitations of the respective approaches, especially of the assumptions made in constructing claims of validity. The workshop will address some of these issues and enrich research scholars in social sciences on research methodology. The workshop focuses on theoretical and practical inputs on different stages of research that expose the scholars to relevant for quantitative and qualitative traditions.

Specific objectives of the workshop are,

The workshop will comprise a series of lectures by senior social scientists on various aspects of research methodology (see programme schedule), who will train the participants in select tools and techniques. The workshop will also encourage participants to share their work and seek feedback.

Course Coordinators

L. Venkatachalam (Professor, MIDS)
K. Jafar (Assistant Professor, MIDS)

For More Information

Please write to rmworkshop2021@mids.ac.in

Programme Schedule

SessionTitleResource PersonDate & Time
1 Introduction Inauguration: Director, MIDS

Remarks: Course Coordinator

15 Feb
10.30–11.00
2 Methodology: Finding the Middle Ground P. G. Babu

Director, MIDS, Chennai

15 Feb
11.15–12.45
3 Philosophy of Social Science: Foundations of Positivist and Interpretative Traditions Achin Chakraborty

Director, Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata

15 Feb
14.00–15.30
4 Interdisciplinary, Multidisciplinary, Transdisciplinary Approaches M. Vijayabaskar

Professor, MIDS, Chennai

16 Feb
09.30–11.00
5 Critical Reading and Review Ajit Menon

Professor, MIDS, Chennai

16 Feb
11.15–12.45
6 Research Design L. Venkatachalam

Professor (RBI Chair), MIDS, Chennai

16 Feb
14.00–15.30
7 Understanding Data: Sources, Nature; Census, NSSO, CMIE/ASI and Online Databases Brinda Viswanathan

Professor, Madras School of Economics (MSE), Chennai

17 Feb
09.30–11.00
8 SPSS/STATA: Applications–I Sowmya Dhanaraj

Assistant Professor, MSE, Chennai

17 Feb
11.15–12.45
9 SPSS/STATA: Applications–IISowmya Dhanaraj

Assistant Professor, MSE, Chennai

17 Feb
14.00–15.30
10 Quantitative Analysis–I: Statistical Inference, Hypothesis Testing, Types of Data, Summary Statistics M. Umanath

Assistant Professor, MIDS, Chennai

18 Feb
09.30–11.00
11 Quantitative Analysis–II: Statistical tests, Probability, Bi-variate and Multivariate Models, Panel Data Analysis B. P. Vani

Associate Professor, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru

18 Feb
11.15–12.45
12 Quantitative Analysis-III: Time Series Analysis Vijayamohanan Pillai N.

Guest Faculty, Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation, Thiruvananthapuram

18 Feb
14.00–15.30
13 Questionnaire Design L. Venkatachalam

Professor (RBI Chair), MIDS, Chennai

19 Feb
09.30–11.00
14 Survey Methods and SamplingHukum Chandra

National Fellow, ICAR–Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi

19 Feb
11.15–12.45
15 Experimental Methods: Application of RCTs Shagun Sabarwal

Director of Policy, Training & Communications, J-PAL SA, and Director of CLEAR SA

19 Feb
14.00–15.30
16 Qualitative Research–I: Qualitative and Ethnographic Methods Karen Coelho

Associate Professor MIDS, Chennai

22 Feb
09.30–11.00
17 Qualitative Research–II: Principles, Tools and Techniques Karen Coelho

Associate Professor, MIDS, Chennai

22 Feb
11.15–12.45
18 Qualitative Research–III: Intersectionality—Issues Concerning Caste, Gender and Tribal Communities S. Anandhi

Professor, MIDS, Chennai

22 Feb
14.00–15.30
19 Mixed Methods Kripa Ananth Pur

Associate Professor MIDS, Chennai

23 Feb
09.30–11.00
20 Data Processing, Field Notes, Coding and Analysis Kripa Ananth Pur

Associate Professor, MIDS, Chennai

23 Feb
11.15–12.45
21 Digital Data Collection Kripa Ananth Pur & Tamil Nadu Household Panel Survey Team 23 Feb
14.00–15.30
22 Quality of Survey Data and Survey Estimates Santanu Pramanik

Senior Fellow & Deputy Director, NCAER - National Data Innovation Centre (NDIC)

24 Feb
09.30–11.00
23 Ethics in Social Science Research and Publishing Ashok R. Chandran

Publication Officer, MIDS, Chennai

24 Feb
11.15–12.45
24 Archival Data Collection A. R. Venkatachalapathy

Professor, MIDS, Chennai

24 Feb
14.00–15.30
25 Academic Writing, Editing and Publishing S. Armstrong

Professor & Head, Department of English, University of Madras

25 Feb
09.30–11.00
26 Reference Manager & Citation Styles Sriram V.

Chief Librarian, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram

25 Feb
11.15–12.45
27 Avoiding Plagiarism K. Kaliyaperumal

Librarian, University of Madras &

S. Baskaran

Assistant Librarian, University of Madras, Marina Campus

25 Feb
14.00–15.30
28 Design and Structure of Paper, Report and Book L. Venkatachalam

Professor (RBI Chair), MIDS, Chennai

26 Feb
09.30–11.00
29 Writing and Presenting Data and Results: Selective Reporting and Misrepresentation of Data K. Jafar

Assistant Professor, MIDS, Chennai

26 Feb
11.15–12.45
30 Publishing in Journals: Publication Process, Indexing databases (Web of Science, Scopus, UGC-CARE), Open Access, Predatory Publishing K. M. Shibu

Assistant Librarian, Pondicherry University, Puducherry

26 Feb
14.00–15.30
Concluding Session Director, MIDS

Course Coordinator

26 Feb
15.30
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