Theoretical and practical understating of research methods

Meaning of research methodology and practical implications.

Differences between social science research from another stream

and emphasis on rural development. Types of research: Theoretical

research, historical research, applied and action research, and impact

evaluation. The basic concept of the inductive and deductive

approach to social research.

Research design:

Cross-sectional vs. Longitudinal design, experimental vs. nonexperimental design, confirmatory vs. exploratory design,

descriptive vs. analytical or explanatory design. Cohort studies

Unit-2 Sample and sampling process Difference between census and sample. Generalizability and representativeness. Understanding of universe, sampling frame, and
sample unit. Types of Sampling: Probable and Non-probable. Practical application of sampling.

Unit-3 Descriptive statistical analysis Level of measurement or types of variables. Understanding and calculation of central tendencies and dispersions. Understanding of
normal and skewed curves and their practical utility. Analytical statistics Understanding of univariate, bivariate, and multivariate data. Understanding of alpha value and
confidence interval through practical examples. Manual calculation of practical interpretation of Ch-square test. Practical interpretation of tables of critical values.
Pearson’s, spearman’s, and partial correlation. Equal variance, unequal variance, and F test. T-test with equal and unequal variances. Fundamentals of regression analysis:
the difference between linear and non-linear, interpretation of regression results and practical utility, mathematical modeling, types of regression models, and manual
calculation of simple linear regression.

Unit-3 Descriptive statistical analysis Level of measurement or types of variables. Understanding and calculation of central tendencies and dispersions. Understanding of
normal and skewed curves and their practical utility

Unit-4 Application of SPSS package Data entry, data importation, data coding, and data cleaning. Understanding of basic commands of SPSS. Running descriptive statistics,
data transformation, and internal calculation. Coding and recoding. Cross-tabulations and chi-square. Analytical statistics: Correlations. Running and interpretation of the
output of the T-test. Running commands, and output interpretation of linear regression
Methods of data collection. Types of data collection tools. Preparing questionnaire and interview schedule. Triangulation research.

the unknown. This inquisitiveness is the mother of all knowledge and

the method, which man employs for obtaining the knowledge of whatever