Syllabus for
Master of Philosophy (Law)
Academic Year  (2019)

Philosophical foundations of research are the scenario of higher education provided. Various approaches to research,  review of literature and application of theory are also included.

Ethics and values in Research, Scope of Interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary and cross disciplinary research, Doctoral Supervision and supervisory styles, Types of Doctoral Research and implications, Pedagogy and Research: Research Informed teaching and Problem Based learning

History of Higher Education, The notion of University, Disciplines and Domain knowledge, Accreditations and Educational Policy, The Public Intellectual

Quantitative, Qualitative and mixed methods, Relationship between Research Paradigms, Designs and methods, Research Designs and its types, Research methods, Conceptualisation of Research problem in different research approaches, Research questions, Review of literature: Research Topic, Review of Literature in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods, Steps in conducting Literature Review, Literature map, Abstracting studies, Literature Summary matrix, , Types of Reviews, Identification of Research Gap, Overview of Style manuals, Operational and Theoretical Definitions

Theory in quantitative research, Writing a Quantitative theoretical framework, Theory in Qualitative and mixed methods, Research proposals format for quantitative, Qualitative and mixed methods (Practical)

Sampling Design, Development and validation of Tools, Qualitative Research Methods, Quantitative Research and Mixed methods and Quantitative data analysis

• to design experiments
• to identify tools for research
• to use methods of researh
• to analyse the data

• Sampling Design, Development and validation of Tools
• Introduction, Sample size, Representativeness of the sample, Access to sample, Sampling error, sampling strategy, Sampling strategy: Probability and non probability sampling, Types of sampling
• Development of Tools
• Classical and modern test theory: assumptions, equations and limitations
• Process of Test development
• Establishing psychometric properties of a Test, Developing questionnaires and interview schedules,
• Validity and Reliability
• Kinds of validity, Triangulation, Types of triangulation and their characteristics, Reliability in Quantitative research and Qualitative research, validity and reliability in interviews, experiments, questionnaires, observations, tests, life histories. Sources of unreliability

1. Naturalistic and Ethnographic research: Features and Stages
2. Historical and Documentary research: Data collection, Evaluation, Writing research report, Use of quantitative methods, Life histories, Research process in life history, types of documents, The context of document, the writer of the document, the researcher and the document, Reliability and validity in documentary analysis
3. Case study: Hallmarks in case study, Typology observation studies, Participant observation, Planning a case study, Writing up a case study
4. Interviews: Conception, purposes, types, Planning interview-based research procedures (Stages), Group interviewing, Interviewing Children, Focus Group interview, Telephone interview, Ethical issues
5. Qualitative data analysis: Transcription and data management process, Data analysis in different tradition, Content analysis and grounded theory, Thematic analysis, Phenomenological analysis, Narrative analysis, Discourse and conversational analysis

• Longitudinal, cross sectional and trend studies
• Pre-requisites of survey, Planning a survey, telephonic surveys, internet based surveys, Principles of constructing internet based surveys, advantages and key issues in internet based surveys, sampling in internet based surveys, Simulation methods, Geographical information systems,  Longitudinal, cross sectional and trend studies,  strengths and weaknesses
• Experimental Research Design
• Introduction to causality, Between-subjects design, within –subjects design, factorial design, Mixed Factorial experiments single-subject research design. T –Test and ANOVA in experimental designs, Meta analysis
• Ex post facto research
• Meaning, Co-relational and criterion groups designs, Characteristics, Designing a ex post facto investigation, Procedures
• Mixed methods approach to research
• Principles and decisions. Classification of mixed designs for social and behavioral research: multi strand designs, concurrent mixed designs, sequential mixed designs, multi strand conversion mixed designs, fully integrated mixed design model

Questionnaire

• Ethical issues, preliminary planning of a questionnaire, operationalising, Structured, semi-structured and unstructured questionnaire, Closed and open ended questions, Scales of data, Dichotomous questions,Multiple Choice questions, Rank ordering, Rating scales, Constant sum questions, Ratio data questions, Open ended questions, Matrix questions, Contingency questions, filters and branches, Layout, covering letter, Piloting, Practical considerations in designing a questionnaire, Administering questionnaires, Quantitative data analysis: Scales, Parametric and non-parametric data, Descriptive and inferential statistics, one-tailed and two-tailed tests, Dependent and Independent variables, Reliability test, Exploratory data analysis, frequencies, percentages and cross-tabulations, Statistical significance, Hypothesis testing, Effect size, Degrees of freedom, Test of Association, Coefficient of correlation

Statistical Tools (using SPSS, AMOS and R)

• Normality test, Skewness and kurtosis, Parametric tests: Multivariate methods and analysis, Discriminant, Analysis, MANOVA,  Multiple, regression, Factor analysis, Structural equation modeling (SEM)  - Measurement model, Model fit, Moderator and Mediation Analysis using AMOS, Boot strapping

Non- Parametric tests

• Median Analysis, Chi-Square Tests, Kruskal-Wallis Tests, Mann-Whitney U Tests, Wilcoxon Sign Test, Friedman Tests, Logit and Probit regression analysis

The candidate is expected to analyze a topic selected by him, as well as, show a well-grounded theory of research methodologies that is applicable to the field of study.

To inculcate higher level Research skills.

Students are required to select their dissertation topic at the beginning of the academic year and do their research under the guide allotted to them. Reports of research work have to be submitted and presented regularly as per the schedule given by HOD. The dissertation has to be submitted after successful completion of course work and research.  Dissertation work carries 200 marks in total.