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Research Methods in Social Sciences and Agricultural Extension

By Dr. Saikat Maji   |   Banaras Hindu University
Learners enrolled: 410   |  Exam registration: 98
ABOUT THE COURSE:
Research ideas are taken from field situations and placed through a methodical cycle of objective investigations that produce meaningful solutions in the case of research techniques for social science and agricultural extension. This is a distinctive approach to social science inquiry. This course aimed to create a sound fundamental knowledge and critical competencies in planning, conducting and applying behavioural research among the learners from agriculture and social science field. The learners will also learn some basic statistics for data analysis and presentation using packages like VOS Viewer, MS Excel and R Studio.

INTENDED AUDIENCE:
  • Agricultural Postgraduate and Ph.D. Students 
  • Postgraduates and PhD students of Social Science
  • Professionals from other disciplines have an interest in social research

PREREQUISITES: B.Sc./B.Sc. (Ag.)/BA or B.Sc. in Social Science or Similar Disciplines

Summary
Course Status : Ongoing
Course Type : Core
Language for course content : English
Duration : 8 weeks
Category :
  • Agricultural and Food Engineering
Credit Points : 2
Level : Postgraduate
Start Date : 17 Feb 2025
End Date : 11 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends : 17 Feb 2025
Exam Registration Ends : 28 Feb 2025
Exam Date : 25 Apr 2025 IST

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

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Course layout

Week 1 :
  1. Science and Common Sense
  2. Research in Social and Behavioural Science
  3. Problem Statement and Reviewing Literature
  4. Basic Elements: Concept and Construct
  5. Basic Elements: Hypothesis and Variable
Week 2 :
  1. Principles of Research Design
  2. Research Designs (1)
  3. Research Designs (2)
  4. Sampling Methods
  5. Sample Size Determination (1)
Week 3 :
  1. Sample Size Determination (2)
  2. Sampling and Non-sampling Errors
  3. Types of Research
  4. Measurement and it’s Levels
  5. Survey Research
Week 4 :
  1. Reliability of Measurement Instrument
  2. Types of Reliability
  3. Validity of Measurement Instrument
  4. Estimating Reliability
  5. Estimating Validity (1)
Week 5 :
  1. Estimating Validity (2)
  2. Estimating Validity (3)
  3. Measurement Instrument: Objective Test & Scales
  4. Rating Scale
  5. Ranking Scale
Week 6 :
  1. Attitude Scales
  2. Designing an Attitude Scale: Writing Statement for Psychological Scale
  3. Knowledge Test
  4. Methods of Observation & Data Collection: Observation
  5. Methods of Observation & Data Collection: Interview
Week 7 :
  1. Methods of Observation & Data Collection: Projective Methods
  2. Methods of Observation & Data Collection: Sociometry
  3. Methods of Observation & Data Collection: Content Analysis, SD & Q Methodology
  4. Participatory, Media and Forecasting Research
  5. Qualitative Research: What is and why Qualitative Research?
Week 8 :
  1. Qualitative Research: Nudge Theory
  2. Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory
  3. Analysis and Interpretation: Descriptive Statistics
  4. Analysis and Interpretation: Inferential Statistics
  5. Writing Research Report

Books and references

  1. Kerlinger, F. N. (1973). Foundations of Behavioural Research. Holt Rhinehart.
  2.  Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International. 
  3. Ray, G. L., & Mondal, S. (2011). Research methods in social sciences and extension education. Kalyani Publishers. 
  4. Stockemer, D., Stockemer, G., & Glaeser, J. (2019). Quantitative methods for the social sciences (Vol. 50, p. 185). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
  5. Goode, W. J., & Hatt, P. K. (1952). Methods in social research.
  6. Young, P. V. (1966). Scientific social surveys and research. PHI Learning Private Limited.

Instructor bio

Dr. Saikat Maji

Banaras Hindu University
Dr. Saikat Maji is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Extension Education, Institute of Agricultural Sciences at Banaras Hindu University. He is a PhD from the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal. He worked as a Scientist at Central Muga Eri Research and Training Institute in North Eastern India for the development of the Sericulture sector before joining BHU. He teaches several courses on the broad domain of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development i.e., Entrepreneurship development, Management in extension, Fundamentals of Agricultural Extension, Diffusion of Innovations, e- Extension, Advances in Training, Agricultural Journalism and Research Methodology. His research is on topics like the repayment behaviour of SHG members, financial analysis of FPOs, behaviour intention of farmers and students, financial literacy, informal education, ITKs, behaviour analysis of organic consumers etc.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.
The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).
Date and Time of Exams:April 25, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.
Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.
The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.
Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 6 assignments out of the total 8 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup. It will have the logos of INI and BHU.
Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- INI team


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