Public Policy Implications of Social Sciences Doctoral Research Carried Out in Indian Universities: Content Analysis Based on Awarded Doctoral Theses

Funded by ICSSR

Mission of the project

The project will analyse the main findings and recommendations of the doctoral theses in the subject areas of interdisciplinary social sciences, such as women studies, special education, social exclusion, sociological issues, and family studies, submitted to Indian universities during the period 2011-2020. It will investigate if the findings and recommendations given in the doctoral theses may be implemented and developed as policies in different ministries. It will be also highlighted if the findings and recommendations have been published as journal articles, as publication is a mandatory requirement as per the UGC rules. The project will collect data of doctoral theses from Shodhganga (https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/) – a repository of e-theses submitted to Indian universities, maintained by INFLIBNET; and data of publications from the Scopus, an abstract and citation database. The content analysis method will be used majorly for analysing the findings and recommendations of the theses. The project will be of immense value to practitioners, professionals, and policymakers as the findings and recommendations may be used for developing public policies pertaining to women and children’s issues. The project will also highlight if social science research is gaining visibility at the international level. Further, it will also spotlight the research areas wherein considerable work has been done and the ones which need more focus by the researchers.

Data Collection

Shodhganga is a digital repository of Indian electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) hosted by the Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) Centre. It was established in 2008 with the aim of providing open access to research works produced by Indian universities and research institutions.

We collected data of five different subject areas of ‘family studies’, ‘social issues’, ‘social services interdisciplinary’,‘special education’ and ‘women studies’ (FSSSW). This is couched in a conceptual discussion of current situation on women empowerment, retrieved through Sodhganga open access repository and JNU OPAC system from 2011-2020 published doctoral thesis

Pre-Processing and Analysis

We identified a total of 651 theses in the five subjects. The theses of the following subject areas will be analysed and submitted to the Indian universities during the period, 2011-2020 Women studies = 163 Social Services interdisciplinary = 158 Social issues = 80 Family studies = 43 Special Education = 207.

Currently, we are in a pilot state to analyze particular Jawaharlal Nehru University theses. We identify a total of 255 theses in these subject areas with different languages such as Hindi, Urdu, Russian and another language. But our analysis is mainly coved on the English language-based theses. we found only 208 theses which have discussed women's problems, labour, migration, slum and so on.

We are using NVivo for thematic qualitative analysis. For quantitative topic modelling and other visualization, we are using Python, RStudio, Tableau, Flourish, and Voyant tools.

Objectives and Hypotheses

1. To analyse and highlight the findings and recommendations of the theses submitted to Indian universities.

2. To highlight if the findings and recommendations have been published as journal articles, book chapters or books.

3. To find out if the research findings have been published in Indexed journals or UGC-CARE list journals.

4. To highlight the total research output from India as reflected through the Scopus in the fields of Social Sciences.

5. To develop an annotated bibliography/ webliography of research publications as the outcome of doctoral research in the given subject areas.

H01: All the theses findings have been published as journal articles.

H02: All the theses findings have been published in the Scopus indexed journals.

Path Breaking Aspects

The researchers are expected to undertake fieldwork, collect primary data, analyse, interpret and present findings and recommendations for future research in their theses. Their findings and recommendations will be consolidated and submitted as a report. The inputs from the report will help the government in formulating public policies in social sectors.

The content analysis of the e-theses will highlight the themes, findings, and recommendations of the research done across Indian universities. The inputs from this project will help the government in formulating public policies in the social sector. Efforts will be made for implementing the findings and recommendations, this way it is innovative in nature.

Identification of Research Gaps

On reviewing the related literature, it was observed that no work was done to consolidate the findings and recommendations of social science research done in Indian universities in the country. No study has been undertaken to investigate if the research findings have been disseminated for a wider global audience and readership by publishing through different outlets- journals articles, books, book chapters. The study will try to explore, investigate a significant area of scholarly communication

Expected Outcome

The work will be developed as a policy document. The findings of the project will be published as articles in internationally indexed journals of library and information science. An annotated bibliography, a policy brief, and a working paper will also be published as the outcomes of this project.

Relevance for the Society

Research in Social Sciences is undertaken to address social, economic, educational, political challenges. It is intended to enhance all social indicators. So, if the findings and recommendations of this project are used to develop policies and if policies are successfully implemented, society would be greatly benefitted. The project will help in transforming social sciences research into practice and benefit the people.

Page updated

Report abuse