The Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of Deviprasad Goenka Management College of Media Studies conducted a Faculty Development Programme (FDP) on “Research Methodology and Grant Proposal Writing” from 24th May 2021 to 31st May 2021 from 10:30 am to 5 pm on Google Meet platform. The sessions were conducted by Dr. Shamim Modi, Dr. Lakshmi Lingam and Dr. Sunitha Chitrapu. Faculty members from various institutes across India attended the FDP.
On the first day. Dr Dilnaz Boga, Convener of IQAC Cell also presented her views and the objectives of conducting the FDP. Dr Lakshmi Lingam began her session on Social Sciences Research: Types of Research, and explained the similarities in research in the social sciences and research in the physical sciences. She went on to the differences between Qualitative Research & Quantitative Research,
Dr Sunitha Chatrapu addressed the topic of Media Research, where she talked about some basic media theories. On the following day, Dr Lingam elaborated on the various paradigms of research, and discussed Positivism, Post-Positivism, Social Constructivism, Critical Theory, Postmodernism, as well as Post-structuralism. Dr Lingam then went on to explain Quantitative Research Designs, Inductive and Deductive logic, Analytical Causal Designs and modelling and types of causal relationships.
On the third day, Dr Lingam addressed key concepts in qualitative research and data presentation, explaining the key elements, sampling and types of sampling, variables and types of variables, and devising a survey tool.
Dr Shamim Modi introduced to Qualitative Research, elaborating on the philosophy and steps of qualitative research, the methodologies employed, and the importance of having a Field Notes Diary, as well as cultivating Emotional Intelligence and empathy while dealing with people. In the next session, she spoke of Narrative Inquiry, Ethnographies and Case Study Research. She further spoke on phenomenology, grounded theory and exploratory study.
On the fourth day, Dr Modi talked about writing and presenting Qualitative Research. She emphasised on Reflexivity, the ethical aspects in data collection, and the various methodologies of data collection including the role of oral histories in narratives. The next session was conducted by Dr Modi on Developing Emotional Intelligence for Qualitative Research, where she had a small classroom activity demonstrating the concept of difficulties in communication while listening, especially while decoding experiences. Based on her own experience, Dr Modi described various exercises and activities that one can conduct to heighten empathic listening and acknowledging what the subjects say. She also highlighted the importance of listening sensitively, mindfully, skillfully and positively.
Dr. Modi highlighted ethics in research and publications. She highlighted the roles of ethical committees and consent forms, and the need to address trust issues with subjects of the study. Dr. Lingam spoke on what motivates academic writing, and insisted on adhering to the established norms to refrain from indulging in plagiarism. She went on to give an overview about plagiarism.
On the sixth day, Dr. Lingam, asked divided the participants into small groups and requested them to enter their respective breakout rooms. All teams had come prepared for the activity after doing their working on their respective research proposals.
The following day, Dr. Modi laid out the importance of understanding the study subjects’ feedback. On the seventh day, the second session was the Valedictory Function, presided over by IQAC convenor Dr. Boga, who summed up the highlights of each session of each day. Various attendees were requested to present their feedback. The attendees were informed that their participation certificates would be made available online. Dr. Boga ended the FDP with a vote of thanks.
