Methods and Applications in
Social Science Research

A Multidisciplinary Training Program

Bangalore in Karnataka

The Institute

The Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) (www.isec.ac.in) is an autonomous multi-disciplinary research institution in social sciences. The Institute, established in 1972 by Professor V K R V Rao, works as a catalyst of social and economic transformation by undertaking analytical and applied studies, employing an inter-disciplinary approach. The institute is devoted to research and training, also contributes to policy reform at Central, State and Local levels through both macro- and micro-level studies of the economy, polity and society.   Besides Ph D program, the Institute also conducts training courses for researchers, research scholars, government officials and NGOs.

Library and Documentation

ISEC has a well-equipped library with more than 100,000 titles and more than 300 Indian and international periodicals.  It also has an impressive collection of pamphlets and documents from foreign and Indian organizations.  It is recognized by the World Bank as a depository library and has a donated collection of Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya, builder of modern Mysore.  The facilities are being upgraded to enhance its user-friendliness.

Location and Infrastructure

ISEC is located in Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, an advance Information Technology (IT) State of India. By residential neighborhood, the Institute is located at Nagarabhavi, about 5 kms from Vijayanagar, and is adjacent to Bangalore University and National Law School of India University. The campus has a residential facility for 77 staff members and hostels for Ph.D students. There is a guest hostel for visiting scholars with 10 rooms (with sharing provision) and ten independent single rooms all with attached bath and WC. The guest hotel is also equipped with well furnished suites (four in number). There are two well-equipped air-conditioned seminar halls and a committee room, an auditorium, a staff lounge and cafetaria.  The faculty and students have access to computers, internet and e-mail facilities round the clock.  Recently, a 64-kbps leased line connection from VSNL has been acquired. ISEC is located in Bangalore city known as the Garden City or Silicon Valley of India and is well connected by rail and air. It has an international airport that is well connected to important cities in Europe and Asia. Lufthansa, Air France, British Airways and Emirates Airways operate direct flights to Bangalore.

 

The Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources of the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, India in collaboration with the Nordic Centre in India (NCI) is organizing a four week training program on Methods and Applications in Social Science Research. The course is open for post-graduate students (advance Masters and PhD students) from the Nordic Centre in India member universities. It is a multi-disciplinary course that seeks to introduce students to past and recent theories and methods to carry out social science research with special reference to the Indian situation and cultural aspects.

The course ‘Methods and Applications in Social Science Research’ will focus on the economic, social and political aspects of social science research, and its nature and development. India being a heterogeneous society requires more complex and candid research methods to understand its society, polity and economy. And more over, due to globalisation of the Indian economy,  rapid changes are taking place in all the said themes. Hence, while understanding the on-going changes is of a necessity to generate the future scenario, but at the same time studying such a dynamic process requires new methods and techniques. The proposed course would provide insights into these changing scenarios and the methods required in understanding the changing society and economy. To understand the present predicament of the social science research in India, it is necessary to have its historical and cultural context. Hence the course will begin by giving an overview of present developments in social science research in Asia, South Asian, and India.

The course will give an overview of the theories of social science research and it situation in Asia, South Asia, and India and broad methodological issues of social science research.

The course will introduce participants to methods and applications of social science research and case studies with Indian examples covering economics, sociology, population studies and political science research.

The course will present more methods and case studies on the research methodologies, development of tools and their use for data collection, as well as the types of data and their sources of availability in the Indian context. The case studies may discuss by taking the issues of poverty, forest and irrigation/water management, urban, rural and mountain areas. The course will also focus on the library reference and documentation methods, and preparation of research report.

On the basis of the interest evinced on the research issues relating to urban or rural sector, participants are encouraged to take up fieldwork in a group of two or more for 8-10 days. This will also become the field visit for the proposed course. The participants will spend their time in the field on the selected themes and prepare a seminar paper focusing on the structure like introduction, objectives, methodology, conclusions and policy direction or contribution to the research methods. The seminar papers have to be handed over to the coordinator for circulation among the participants. All the participants have to make a presentation of the field research during the final days of the course.

Training Methods and Assessment

The course will have three or four morning lectures cum discussions of 45 minutes duration (9.00 am  to 1 pm) from Monday to Friday. The afternoon session (2 to 5 Pm) is meant for library work.

Faculty

The faculty for the course will be from ISEC and other distinguished experts from universities/ research institutes/ government departments. Visiting faculty from NCI will also take part in the course.

Credits

The participants will be evaluated for 10 ECTS after the completion of the course. Attendance, performance in the seminar presentations and paper submitted will be taken into account for evaluation and awarding credits. In most cases you may incorporate the course in your university degree.

Costs

Course fee per participant is INR 60.000. The course fee covers basic course material, food, lodging and field visits. The participants have to cover their own travel expenses to and from Bangalore, visa application and medical and travel insurance.

This course is now open for applications and is scheduled to be held from 4 January to 1 February 2009. The application should consist of:

Each member university will nominate its own candidates. Details regarding contact perons can be found here. Final selections will be made by ISEC and NCI.

For any queries related to the course please contact NCI Programme Manager, Christabel Royan.

Coordinators
The course will be co-ordinated by:-

Associate Professor K.G. Gayathridevi, Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Nagarbhavi P O, Bangalore – 560 072, India, Ph: 91- 80-23215468, Fax: 91- 80-23217008, e-mail: gayathridevi@isec.ac.in, 

Dr Mirja Juntunen, Director, Nordic Centre in India, Department of Government, Uppsala University, Box 514, E-751 20 Uppsala, SWEDEN, Ph: + 46 18 471 1337, fax: + 46 18 471 3409, e-mail: mirja.juntunen@uef.fi 

 

Suggested Reading List
Most of the reading material will be available in photo copies or from the library.The final reading list will soon be available.