The Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi, Department of Economics, Goa University, Goa and Shree Damodar College of Commerce & Economics, Margao, Goa, jointly organised a National Level Workshop on Research Methodology in Social Sciences from 5-11 December, 2017. 
More than 300 applications were received of which a total of 60 candidates were selected. The workshop was truly national in character as the participants represented more than 15 states. The workshop also witnessed the participation of candidates representing 18 subjects. Almost all participants were research scholars who have registered for Ph.D and are working towards the completion.
The function was inaugurated on 5th December 2017 at the hands of the Honourable Vice Chancellor of Goa University, Prof. Varun Sahni. Prof. P.K.Sudarsan, Head of the Department of Economics, Goa University and Coordinator of the Workshop welcomed the gathering. Dr. Amarenda Pani, Director(Research), Association of Indian Universities (AIU) introduced the workshop to the participants. The Vice Chancellor in his presidential address highlighted the importance of Social Science Research and also made a presentation on ‘Social Science Research Methodology’. Dr.Usha Rai Negi, Assistant Director Research, AIU, was also present at the inaugural function.
Dr Sony Pellisery from National Law School of India University, Bangalore, spoke on the topics: Introduction to Social Sciences Research and Qualitative Research in Social Sciences. He said that social sciences have context dependability which increases complexity and requires a nuanced understanding.
Dr. Gopakumar, Librarian, Goa University, conducted two practical sessions on e-resources for social sciences research. He introduced the participants to the software Mendeley wherein one can create a free account and get access to literature on the topic of study. He showed the technique of citing while writing and writing references and bibliography using these tools. Dr. Bino Paul, Professor and Dean, TISS, Mumbai, spoke on the topic: Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Social Science Research. He explained the various types of study that can be undertaken in social sciences: latitudinal, cross section and longitudinal studies. Dr. Neeraj Hatekar, Professor and Director, Mumbai School of Economics, Mumbai University, conducted four sessions on Quantitative Methods for Social Sciences. With simple illustrations and examples, Prof. Hatekar explained the basics of quantitative techniques for the theory of statistical inference such as mean, variance, standard deviation, etc. He also introduced sampling, hypothesis testing, normal distribution and tests like one tailed test and two tailed test.
Dr. Nandakumar Mekoth, Professor, Dept. of Management Studies, Goa University, conducted practical sessions on Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis using SPSS. Using the data base he provided, participants learnt how to do data entry in SPSS, and analyse data for basic hypothesis testing, factor analysis, correlation and regression.
Dr. Pranab Mukhopadhyay, Professor, Dept. of Economics, Goa University, conducted two sessions on Secondary Data for Social Science Research in India – Sources and Uses. He spoke about international data bases such as World Bank Open Data which has data of around 190 countries, UN data and Global Tobacco Surveillance System Data (GTSS Data). Important sources of secondary data in India include CMIE, NSSO, IHDS, NFHS and NCRB. Dr. Tapaswi, Former Librarian, NIO, Goa and Officer on Special Duty, IQAC, Goa University, spoke on Plagiarism – What It Is, How to Avoid It and Penalties in India. He focused on citations and how ensuring that works of other researchers have to be cited correctly and gave practical tips on how to avoid plagiarism.
Dr. Jayaram, Retired Professor in Sociology, TISS, Mumbai, and Former Director, ISEC, Bangalore, covered the Philosophical Underpinnings of Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to the Study of Social Phenomena and also spoke on the Elements of Academic Writing. He also spoke about ontology, epistemology, logic and method and research as knowledge transaction. Dr. P.K. Sudarsan, Professor and Head, Dept. of Economics, Goa University, introduced to the participants, the use of GRETL software for statistical and econometric data analysis.
The valedictory function was 11/12/2017 at 3.30 pm and the Registrar of Goa University was the Chief Guest. The Registrar, who himself was a Professor and Dean in the Department of Commerce, Goa University, emphasized the need for publishing the research work in journals indexed in Scopus, Web of Knowledge, etc. Registrar thanked AIU for sanctioning the workshop and giving an opportunity for the Goa University to conduct a National Level Workshop. He also thanked the Coordinators of the Workshop Professor P. K. Sudarsan, Professor, Department of Economics, Goa University and Dr. Vishal Chari, Assistant Professor, Shree Damodar College of Commerce & Economics, Margao, Goa.
