Methodology of Educational Research

By Prof. Sarita Anand | Visva-Bharati University

Learners enrolled: 1498 | Exam registration: 399

ABOUT THE COURSE:

This course entitled ‘Methodology of Educational Research’ will equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to design, conduct, and evaluate research in education systematically and scientifically. This course fosters a deep understanding of the theoretical, and practical aspects of research methodology, emphasizing the critical role of evidence-based practices in education.

The course aims to develop competencies in identifying research problems, formulating research questions or hypotheses, selecting appropriate research designs, and employing suitable data collection and analysis techniques. It also highlights ethical considerations in research, ensuring integrity and accountability in the research process.

Through this course, students will explore various research methodologies, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches, fit to address diverse educational issues. Through mastering these methodologies, students will be prepared to critically evaluate existing research, contribute to the body of knowledge and make informed decisions as educators, policymakers, and researchers.

This four credit course on Methodology of Educational Research has been designed as per the UGC’s Model Curriculum Framework for learning at PG Level and NCTE Norms. Any student at Post Graduate level can enroll in this course. The teachers and students of M.Ed., M.A. (Education) and Ph.D. scholars are encouraged to enroll for the course.

The entire course shall be delivered in 12 weeks. It will have e-texts (in pdf) self-learning video contents, self-assessment question sets, reference materials and web references will also be provided for further reading and understanding.

In the last week of the course there will be having assessment consisting of 30 MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) and at the end of the course a Proctored examination of 100 MCQs will be taken from whole course taught.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: PG students like M.Ed., M.A. (Education) and Ph.D. Scholars

PREREQUISITES: Any Course at UG level

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: All Educational Institutions, Teacher Training and Research Institutions and Educational Professionals like pre-service and in-service teachers etc.

Summary

Course Status :	Ongoing
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Postgraduate
Start Date :	19 Jan 2026
End Date :	10 Apr 2026
Enrollment Ends :	02 Feb 2026
Exam Registration Ends :	20 Feb 2026
Exam Date :	19 Apr 2026 IST
NCrF Level	4.5 — 8.0

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

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Concept of Research in Education: Meaning and purposes of educational research; Basic research, applied research and action research in education

Week 2: Processes of educational research; Meaning, criteria, identification, objectives, research questions and hypotheses of a research problem in education

Week 3: Quantitative Methods of Research: Concept and characteristics of quantitative research; Experimental Research: Characteristics, variables and process in experimental research

Week 4: Controlling of extraneous variables, True and Quasi-experimental research designs; Non-Experimental Research: Meaning, characteristics, process and designs of Causal-comparative, Correlational and Survey

Week 5: Qualitative and Mixed Methods of Research: Concept and characteristics of qualitative research; Process of Historical Research; Meaning, characteristics and process of conducting Case Studies

Week 6: Ethnographic research and Grounded Theory in education; Meaning, rationale and steps in conducting a mixed methods study in education

Week 7: Sampling Designs: Concept of population, sample, sampling unit, and sampling frame; Meaning and criteria of sampling design, sampling principles

Week 8: Types of sampling- Random, Stratified, Systematic, Cluster and Purposive sampling designs; Determination of sample size; Sampling error and sampling bias

Week 9: Research Tools and Techniques: Meaning, types, nature and importance of Test, Inventory, Scale, Questionnaire, Schedule, Check List

Week 10: Process of tool construction, Interview, Observation and Triangulation in quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methods, AI tools for research

Week 11: Research Proposal, Report and Ethics: Review of the related literature from websites like Shodhganga etc. Format and style of academic research and project research proposals; Format and style of research report writing

Week 12: Citing of sources through Bibliography, References and Annotated References; reference management system, Code of ethics; CC licensing, Plagiarism

Books and references

Best, J. W. Kahn, J. V. & Jha A. K. (2023). Research in Education (12th edition). New Delhi: Pearson
Burns, R. B. (2000). Introduction to research methods. New Delhi: Sage.
Christensen, L. (2007). Experimental methodology. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Cohen L., Manion L. and Morrison K. (2019). Research Methods in Education. New York: Routledge.
Creswell & Creswell (2023). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and Mixed method Approaches. New Delhi: Sage
Denscombe, Martyn (2010). The Good Research Guide for small scale research projects (4th edition). New York: McGraw Hill-Open University Press.
Flick, U. (2009). An introduction to qualitative research. Lon Angles: Sage.
Kaul, L. (2015). Methodology of Educational Research (4th edition). New Delhi: Viks
Kerlinger, F. N. (2019). Foundation of Behavioral Research (19th reprint). Delhi: Surjeet Publication.
Kumar, Ranjit (2011). Research Methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners
Lichtman, M. (2010). Understanding and evaluating qualitative educational research. New Delhi: Sage.
Lunenburg, F. C. (2008). Writing a successful thesis. California: Corwin Press.
Machi, L. A. (2009). The literature review. California: Corwin Press.
McNiff, J. (2009). Doing and writing action research. Lon Angles: Sage.
Peterson, R. A. (2000). Construction of effective questionnaires. New Delhi: Sage
Reason, P. & Bradbury, H. (Eds) (2006). Handbook of action research: Concise paperback edition: Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sansanwal, D. N. (2024). Research Methodology and Applied Statistics. Delhi: Shipra
Schmuck, R. A. (2006). Practical action research. California: Corwin Press.
Shank, G.D. (2002). Qualitative research. Columbus, Ott: Merill: Prentice Hall.
Singh, A. K. (2012). Test, measurement and research methods in behavioral sciences. New Delhi: McGraw Hill.
Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks: C.A: Sage.
Stringer, E. T. (2000). Action research (2nd ed) New Delhi: Sage Publications.
Thomas, R. M. (2008). Thesis and dissertation. California: Corwin Press.
Walford, G. (2005). Doing qualitative research. London: Continuum.

Instructor bio

Prof. Sarita Anand

Visva-Bharati University

Dr. Sarita Anand works in Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan- A central University & an Institute of National Importance, West Bengal as Assistant Professor in Education in the Department of Education, Vinaya Bhavna. She has pursued her Master of Education (M.Ed.) and Ph.D. in Education (SRF) from Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. She has done PGDCA from Udai Pratap Autonomous College, Varanasi.
Her specialization areas are Educational Technology and ICT, Research Methodology in Education and Assessment in Education. She has around 15 years of teaching experience of teaching in B.Ed., M.Ed. and M.A. Education and Ph.D. (Education) classes. She is a good learner also who has successfully completed total seven courses (UG, PG, Certificate, FDP and ARPIT) from SWAYAM since 2019 to 2024. She is mentoring B.Ed., M.Ed., M.A. (Education) and Ph.D. (Education) students for pursuing SWAYAM courses.
Her 08 e-contents are recognized as OER by NCTE and available at NCTE’s website in the section of OER in B.Ed. and M.Ed. levels. She has developed e-content for Uttarakhand Open University on Educational Technology and ICT for B.Ed. students.

Presently, she is the SWAYAM-MOOCs coordinator of the Vinaya Bhavana, Visva-Bharati. She is also engaged as Course Coordinator of M.Ed. programme and In-charge ICT-lab of Department of Education, supervising Ph.D. scholars in Education, developing digital contents (OERs) like YouTube videos and Podcasts (Audio), ppts for teaching-learning. Under her supervision, three students have been awarded Ph.D. in Education and four are pursuing. She has also published 1 book, two research tools (with ISBN) and more than 37 Research Papers / Articles (both in Journals and Edited Books), presented papers in more than 55 National and International level Seminars / Conferences /Workshops. She has also delivered invited lectures for many institutions. She is an active member of several academic bodies too.

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 19, 2026 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 8 assignments out of the total 12 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 NPTEL and IIT Kharagpur .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

SWAYAM Helpline / Support