Social Science Research in India

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Reference Database ◽  
Data Infrastructure ◽  
Quality Of Research

Social science research (SSR) has a vital role in enriching societies, by generating scientific knowledge that brings insights—even enlightenment—in understanding the dynamics of human behaviour and development. For social sciences to realize their potential in shaping public policy, it is imperative that the research ecosystem is dynamic and vibrant; the institutions governing it are robust and effective; and those producing quality research are strong and well governed. This volume elaborates on various dimensions of SSR in India, presenting a strong case for designing a comprehensive national social science policy which can meaningfully strengthen and promote a research ecosystem for improved public policymaking in the country. Addressing issues like lack of funding, availability of data, infrastructure, and quality of research output, it will serve as a national benchmark and reference database for social sciences in India.

scholarly journals Quality of Social Science Research in India

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Shovon Ray ◽  
M. Parameswaran ◽  
Manmohan Agarwal ◽  
Sunandan Ghosh ◽  
Udaya S. Mishra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Quality Index ◽  
Keyword Search ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Quality Of Research

The chapter analyses the quality of research in terms of quality of articles and of journals by using a quality index. It uses two-dimension indicators to judge the quality of articles, that is, citations (scholarly) and readership, which is the number of hits an article receives in a simple Google keyword search. The quality of a journal is measured in terms of three dimensions: its presence over time, its presence across space, and its depth. The study took 21351 journal articles from 1006 journals (902 journals from Scopus and 104 journals from ISID for five-year period, 2010–14. It emerged that India’s social science research (SSR) contributes more to public debates and policy formulations and relatively less in pushing the frontiers of knowledge for further research.

Research Institutes in SSR

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satyakam Joshi ◽  
Sadan Jha
Keyword(s):  
Research Output ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Advocacy Groups ◽  
Capacity Enhancement ◽  
Research Institutes ◽  
Staff Research ◽  
Average Size ◽  
Quality Of Research

Research institutes engaged in social science research (SSR) constitute an important component of research infrastructure. The data is collected for 311 research institutes including autonomous institutes, government institutes, and research and advocacy groups. The data shows that the average size of faculty in 148 autonomous institutes was seven. It may not be too farfetched to say that such tiny faculty strength will have direct impact on the volume as well as quality of research output from these institutes. ‘Economics and allied subjects’ leads the research in autonomous institutes. In the case of government-run institutes, the research component is weak as their focus is mainly on training and capacity enhancement of government and another staff. Research and advocacy groups have focused primarily on advocacy.

Return to Meaning

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mats Alvesson ◽  
Yiannis Gabriel ◽  
Roland Paulsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
No Value ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Cluttered Environment ◽  
Student Fees ◽  
Social Uses

This book argues that we are currently witnessing not merely a decline in the quality of social science research, but a proliferation of meaningless research of no value to society and modest value to its authors—apart from securing employment and promotion. The explosion of published outputs, at least in social science, creates a noisy, cluttered environment which makes meaningful research difficult, as different voices compete to capture the limelight even briefly. Older, but more impressive contributions are easily neglected as the premium is to write and publish, not read and learn. The result is a widespread cynicism among academics on the value of academic research, sometimes including their own. Publishing comes to be seen as a game of hits and misses, devoid of intrinsic meaning and value and of no wider social uses whatsoever. This is what the book views as the rise of nonsense in academic research, which represents a serious social problem. It undermines the very point of social science. This problem is far from ‘academic’. It affects many areas of social and political life entailing extensive waste of resources and inflated student fees as well as costs to taxpayers. The book’s second part offers a range of proposals aimed at restoring meaning at the heart of social science research, and drawing social science back, address the major problems and issues that face our societies.

scholarly journals Reporting ethical approval in health and social science articles: an audit of adherence to GDPR and national legislation

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjell Asplund ◽  
Kerstin Hulter Åsberg
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Health Science ◽  
Ethical Review ◽  
General Data Protection Regulation ◽  
Ethical Approval

Abstract Background Previous studies have indicated that failure to report ethical approval is common in health science articles. In social sciences, the occurrence is unknown. The Swedish Ethics Review Act requests that sensitive personal data, in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), should undergo independent ethical review, irrespective of academic discipline. We have explored the adherence to this regulation. Methods Using the Web of Science databases, we reviewed 600 consecutive articles from three domains (health sciences with and without somatic focus and social sciences) based on identifiable personal data published in 2020. Results Information on ethical review was lacking in 12 of 200 health science articles with somatic focus (6%), 21 of 200 health science articles with non-somatic focus (11%), and in 54 of 200 social science articles (27%; p < 0.001 vs. both groups of health science articles). Failure to report on ethical approval was more common in (a) observational than in interventional studies (p < 0.01), (b) articles with only 1–2 authors (p < 0.001) and (c) health science articles from universities without a medical school (p < 0.001). There was no significant association between journal impact factor and failure to report ethical approval. Conclusions We conclude that reporting of research ethics approval is reasonably good, but not strict, in health science articles. Failure to report ethical approval is about three times more frequent in social sciences compared to health sciences. Improved adherence seems needed particularly in observational studies, in articles with few authors and in social science research.

Anthropology, Empathy, and the Need for Social Science Communication

2021 ◽  
pp. 107554702110188
Author(s):  
Jennifer Shannon ◽  
Claire Quimby ◽  
Chip Colwell ◽  
Scott Burg
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research

This is a call to science communicators and science journalists to feature social science research and researchers in their reporting, with an emphasis on anthropology and its potential to increase public empathy, improve the quality of public discourse, and contribute to contextual and narrative news trends.

scholarly journals Social Sciences: Achievements and Prospects Journal 6 (14), 2019/ RELF Group & OEAPS Inc.(Open European Academy of Public Sciences); Chief Editor Mark Freeman - Barcelona, Spain. 16.09.2019: OEAPS Inc., 2019. - 110 P.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inc. OEAPS
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Chief Editor ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
New Developments ◽  
European Academy ◽  
Doctor Of Philosophy ◽  
Key Questions

Social Sciences: Achievements and Prospects is a major international forum for the analysis and debate of trends and approaches in social science research. The journal provides a space for innovative theoretical as well as empirical contributions to issues that transcend the framework of the traditional disciplines. Given its international orientation, contributions of a comparative or cross-cultural nature are particularly welcome. Social Sciences: Achievements and Prospects aims to contribute to overcoming fragmentation and over-specialization in current social-science research. Comprehensive and original contributions will tend to be of a tentative nature, trying out new avenues on terrains that are far from being well known. The journal welcomes trend reports on intellectually stimulating new developments to make them more widely known and to offer a space to assess their significance in answering key questions of scholarship in our time.Chief Editor Mark Freeman Doctor of Philosophy, Estonia.

Environment and Health Research in China: The State of the Field

2013 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 255-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Holdaway
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Social Science ◽  
International Collaboration ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Environment And Health ◽  
The Social ◽  
Recent Developments

AbstractIn the context of this symposium, this article reviews social science research in the emerging field of environment and health in China, with a particular focus on the impacts of pollution. It begins with a discussion of the particular nature of China's environment-related health problems, distinguishing the different challenges presented by diseases of poverty, affluence and transition. It then reviews recent developments in policy and civil society with regard to environment and health, and the extent to which work in the social sciences has advanced our knowledge of these and of state–society interactions. The article concludes with some reflections on the need for and challenges of interdisciplinary and international collaboration in this area.

Measuring the Unmeasurable? Taking Stock of QoG Measures

2021 ◽  
pp. 92-114
Author(s):  
Nicholas Charron
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Quality Indicator ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Wide Scope ◽  
Scientific Impact ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Future Work

This chapter discusses a wide scope of the available indicators of quality of government. It begins with a brief history of the development of the indicators and their scientific impact on social science research. The chapter posits a typology of the various ways in which indicators of governance can differ and implications of such differences. The chapter then reveals the degree to which contemporary cross-country indicators of corruption in particular correlate. Next, several well-established critiques of contemporary data are presented. The chapter concludes with several comments on what makes a good quality indicator and puts for several suggestions for future work in this ever-growing field.

Literature Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 158-162
Author(s):  
Mathieu Ouimet ◽  
Pierre-Olivier Bédard
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
Review Protocol

This chapter highlights literature review. Reviewing the published literature is one of the key activities of social science research, as a way to position one’s academic contribution, but also to get a bird’s eye view of what the relevant literature says on a given topic or research question. Many guides have been created to assist academic researchers and students in conducting a literature review, but there is no consensus on the most appropriate method to do so. One of the reasons for this lack of consensus is the plurality of epistemological attitudes that coexist in the social sciences. Before initiating a literature review, the researcher should start by clarifying the need for and the purpose of the review. Once this has been clarified, the actual review protocol, tools, and databases to be used will need to be determined to strike a balance between the scope of the study and the depth of the review.

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