This course is designed for students who wish to gain an understanding of the limits and potentials of social science research, and for those who intend to research social phenomena scientifically. This course is intended to facilitate student’s awareness of the research process and their ability to conduct research in an ethical and thorough manner using appropriate research strategies. This course has technical and critical components. This means understanding the course requires a good grasp of many technical concepts and processes and applying these concepts to the study of social phenomena.

After completing the course, students will be in a position to understand the methods of conducting research in the field of Social Sciences

Foundation of Empirical Research, the scientific approach, the Conceptual foundation of Research, Research Ethics, review of literature and plagiarism; Research proposal and its contents, Sampling and Sample Design, survey methods, observation methods; Data Types, questionnaire construction process; Data collection: Data coding, entry and analysis; univariate, bivariate and  multivariate analyses; Citation methods, Presentation and dissemination of research results.

Recommended Books

1. Nachmias, C. F. & Nachmias, D. (2007). Research Methods in the Social Sciences. 7th Edition, London: Worth Publisher.
2. Ethridge, D. E. (2004). Research Methodology in Applied Economics, 2ndEdition, Wiley-Blackwell.

Suggested Books

1. Baker, T. L. (1998). Doing Social Research. 3rd Editions. London: McGraw-Hill Social Science Series.
2. Vaus, D.A. (1993). Surveys in Social Research. Australia: Allen & Unwin Pvt. Ltd. 
3. Goode, W.J & Hatt, P.K. (1999). Methods in Social Research. US: McGraw Hill Inc.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

    

    

   COURSE SCHEDULE
   Week	Topics and Readings	Books with Page No.
   1	Foundation of Empirical Research, Types of scientific research, Research proposal contents	Conceptual foundations of social research methods. Basic introduction to MS Word (Practical)
   2	Foundation of Empirical Research, Types of scientific research, Research proposal contents	Social science research; principles, methods and practices-Book Web based research, journals, scientific literature etc. (Practical)
   3	Literature Review: Goals, Types and search	Social research methods: Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches Exercise/practice reviewing articles (Practical)
   4	Literature Review: Goals, Types and search	Social research methods: Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches Plagiarism and its protocols (Practical)
   5	Literature Review: Goals, Types and search	Social research methods: Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches Plagiarism and its protocols (Practical)
   6	Measurement of Constructs	Social Science Research: Principals, Methods & Practices. Conception of research idea and formulation of objectives (Practical)
   7	Measurement of Constructs	Social Science Research: Principals, Methods & Practices. Conception of research idea and formulation of objectives (Practical)
   8	Sampling: Probability Sampling	Social Science Research: Principals, Methods & Practices.     Types of data, data coding and entry (Practical)
   9	Sampling: Non-Probability Sampling	Social Science Research: Principals, Methods & Practices. Practice (Practical)
   10	Survey, questionnaire construction process	Social Science Research: Principals, Methods & Practices. Data types and processing (Practical)
   11	Survey, Questionnaire construction process	Social Science Research: Principals, Methods & Practices. Data collection Questionnaire formation and protocol development (Practical)
   12	Qualitative Analysis	Social Science Research: Principals, Methods & Practices.   Practice/exercise (Practical)
   13	Quantitative Analysis: Descriptive Statistics	Social Science Research: Principals, Methods & Practices.
   14	Quantitative Analysis: Descriptive Statistics	Social Science Research: Principals, Methods & Practices.   Conceptual foundations of social research methods-Book
   15	Quantitative Analysis: Inferential Statistics	Practical: Presentation and dissemination of research results
   16	Research Ethics	Practical: Presentation and dissemination of research results

    

    

   RESEARCH PROJECT/PRACTICAL/LABS/ASSIGNMENTS

   1: Submission of research proposals with presentations (individual assignments)

   ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

   Sessional: 08                                (Assignment: 4; Attendance: 4)

   Mid-term: 12

   Final Exam: 20

   Practical: 20