Development Research Methods

By Prof. Rajshree Bedamatta | IIT Guwahati

Learners enrolled: 2120

This course will provide training in some methodological approaches in Development studies and Development research that will equip the students into applying them in their dissertations or project evaluations. Applied and practice oriented issues in development research methods will be taken up by focusing on the differences in qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods research. Anyone who is interested in development issues and undertaking development research is encouraged to enroll.

INTENDED AUDIENCE : Undergraduate: This course is meant for postgraduate students from any discipline who are interested in taking up research in the field of social sciences, with particular focus on the Development Sector. Professionals working in the Development Sector, or those pursuing Rural Management or Rural Development Courses will also benefit

PREREQUISITES : Nil

Summary

Course Status :	Completed
Course Type :	Elective
Duration :	8 weeks
Category :	Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Domain - Advanced
Credit Points :	2
Level :	Postgraduate
Start Date :	23 Aug 2021
End Date :	15 Oct 2021
Enrollment Ends :	30 Aug 2021
Exam Date :	24 Oct 2021 IST

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

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1,2: Different types of Development Studies: forms of studies and typical research questions; development research-development work continuum

Week 3,4: Development Research Methods: Ethics and Values; Understanding the ‘field’ and the ‘fieldworker’; qualitative development research methods (interviews, focus groups, participatory methods and approaches, diaries and case studies)

Week 5,6: Research methods and possible combinations: quantitative methods; mixed methods; interdisciplinary perspectives; problem analysis in logical framework approach

Week 7,8: Selected development issues and approaches: evolving approaches in poverty evaluation; gender analysis and approaches to gender mainstreaming; challenges of implementing rights based approaches; social capital assessments

Books and references

1.Mikkelsen, B. (2005), Methods for Development Work and Development Research, second ed., SAGE.

2.Desai, V. and Potter Robert B. (2006), Doing Development Research, SAGE.

3.Thomas A. and Mohan G. (2007), Research Skills for Policy and Development. How to find out fast, Sage Publications.

4.Sumner, A. and Tribe, M. (2008), International Development Studies: Theories and Methods in Research and Practice, Sage London.

5.M. N. Srinivas, (1979), The Fieldworker and the Field: Problems and Challenges in Sociological Investigation, Oxford India.

Instructor bio

Prof. Rajshree Bedamatta

IIT Guwahati

Rajshree Bedamatta is Associate Professor of Economics at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India. Her university training is in the discipline of Economics with specialization in Development Economics. She teaches and researches in the broad domains on Development Economics and Public Economics at IIT Guwahati. Her research is on agrarian markets with focus in the domains of food and nutrition, health and education.

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: 24 October 2021 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

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 NPTEL and IIT Guwahati .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

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.

- NPTEL team

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