TPF Workshop # 01: Research Methodology In Social Sciences

A full-day workshop on “Research Methodology in Social Sciences” was organised by TPF on August 22, 2019. The objective was to facilitate close interaction between the expert and researchers for better understanding of advanced research methods and tools. The one day event was successfully conducted by Dr S Venkatraman, Senior Consultant at UNESCO and International Consultant at ADB. Dr S Venkatraman holds M Phil from Cambridge University and PhD from London School of Economics. The workshop was designed to equip young research scholars with a conceptual understanding of the various research methods, tools and techniques.

The event began at 10:30 am and was attended by post graduates, PhD scholars and professors from Chennai. The key sessions of the day included identification of a research problem that is relevant and useful, developing appropriate research method and tools for analysis, and drawing conclusions according to established standards for wider acceptability of the research work. Post lunch, Dr Venkatraman covered the research process by citing examples from the field of education. By narrowing down the research theme, focussing further to an issue and later arriving at a research question, it helped in gathering a better understanding of how to choose a research topic. Following this, he explained how to arrive at a suitable research design for data collection and analysis by using sources, both primary and secondary.  The day concluded at 5:00 pm with a small discussion on why and how to build a core research specialisation areas.