Course Contents

1. The nature and role of research: Research and information, Conceptual foundations of research, Ethics of research, Research problems; hypothesis and objectives, Finding a problem to investigate, primary and secondary data source; literature review. 2. Information technology and library resources: The Internet and World Wide Web, internet resources for chemistry, using spreadsheets, word processors, databases and other packages, finding and citing information 3. Data collection: Principles and methods; research methods in natural sciences, Sampling concepts and statistics, Sampling and survey designs and questionnaires, Using case studies, Choosing appropriate research approaches and methods. 4. Qualitative and quantitative methods of inquiry: I. Quantitative method: Revision of statistical methods, Probability, Distribution, Samples, Variables, Hypothesis formation and testing, Research design and control of error, Questionnaire design II. Qualitative method: Ethnographic research, unstructured interview, Action research, Case studies, Historical research. III. Survey method: Attitude surveys, structured interview and questionnaire survey. 5. Data analysis: Quantitative and qualitative data analysis, processing the data, Data Storage and manipulation. 6. Statistical method and analysis: Chi-square, Correlation, Simple regression, Analysis of variance, t-test, Reliability and validity, use of statistical software packages for the computer i.e., WINDOWS and SPSS. 7. Presentation research: The qualitative and quantitative research report writing, interpreting the results, reporting the findings of the survey, the presentation and format of the report and thesis on a special topic. Writing research articles and reviews, organizing a poster display, giving an oral presentation examination. 8. Assignments: Written protocol for a survey or experiment on current environmental issues.

Course Synopsis

The course includes some basic knowledge about research, types of research and research methods. It gives important information about literature survey, how to develop a hypothesis, how to design a new research project etc. It also includes some statistics data analysis methods that students may need to interpret the results of their research. In the end students are guided about writing their research report or thesis.

Course Learning Outcomes

After completion of this course, students would have a clear mind about research and the methods they need to adopt. They would know how to design their research work, data acquisition, handling of data etc. They would have learnt the importance of avoiding plagiarism in their work. This course would provides young students a base for selecting their research in future and it would also guide them in their thesis write up.