Ph.D.

Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

ANNEXURE – V (a)

“RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND COURSE WORK EXAMINATION” EXAMINATIONS:

SYLLABUS AND GUIDELINES

Scheme of Examination

Sl. University Exam Marks

Course code Course Title Total
No. Credits Theory Practical
Research Methodology,
1. U0223CT101 Biostatistics & Computer 3 100 0 100
Applications

2. U0223CT102 Research and Publication Ethics 2 50 0 50

3. U0223CT103 Advanced Course in Area of 3 100 0 100

Research

4. U0223CL104 Review of Literature and 3 0 100 100

Research Proposal

5. U0223CL105 Viva Voce – related to research 2 0 50 50

proposal

TOTAL 13 250 150 400

*Viva-voce will be conducted relating to submission (Review of Literature and Research

Proposal) made by scholar.

Passing Minimum:

 The passing minimum is 45% FOR EACH COURSE and ≥55% in aggregate;
 If scholar gets less than 45% in any paper (RA or Fail) in their first attempt student
has to repeat only that paper even if the aggregate is ≥ 220 (55%) and shall do so
until he/she obtains the passing minimum of 45% and ≥55% in aggregate;
 If SCHOLAR gets less than 220 in aggregate, he has to repeat all the papers;
 In cases of RA in one or more papers, passing session shall be mentioned in the new
marks statement;
 If the scholar is absent (AB) for a course, he/ she shall reappear the next time the
examination is held. Not more than three appearances including AB in a course is
permitted; and
 The Pass/Fail (RA) declared for a course in the first attempt shall be taken and in case
of RA for a course that course shall be repeated until he obtains ≥ 45% for the said
course and ≥55% in aggregate.

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 Ph.D. Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

SYLLABUS FOR “RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND COURSE WORK EXAMINATION”

1. Research Methodology, Biostatistics and Computer Applications - U0222CT101

Course No. Course Title Credits for University Exam Grand

program marks Total
Credits Theory Practical

U0223CT101 Research Methodology, Biostatistics 3 100 - 100

and Computer Applications

Learning Objectives Learning outcomes

Learning the principles and concepts in The student should have acquired the skills to plan a
conducting research, writing and research project,
publishing  review literature;
Learn basic biostatistics methods,  identify a research problem;
sampling and their applications.  communicate a publication;
Learn about computer applications for  develop study design suitable for the research
research undertaken
Guidelines in conducting experiments  hypothesis testing,
on human subjects or animals.  statistical analysis
 Use computers for research.
 Practice the principles of Good clinical practice
 apply ethical principles in the conduct of research

Unit I Introduction to Research and Review of Literature

Concept of applied and basic research, need for theoretical frame work, hypothesis
development for research, process of selection of research question including
prioritization and feasibility, research process, process of writing a research proposal,
scientific writing for thesis and research publications.
Review of literature, what is review of literature, need for review of literature,
primary and secondary sources for review, treatise, monographs, patents, current
literature methods, abstraction of research papers, major secondary sources,
bibliographic databases, web as source of information, information retrieval,
information processing, critical evaluation, organization of materials collected and
writing of review, methods of writing references and bibliography.

Unit II Scales of Measurement & Measures of Disease Frequency

Scales of measurement, basic concepts in response scales, types of scales,
categorical scales, nominal scales, ordinal scales and interval scales, visual analogue
scales, composite scales, Guttmann scale, combination scores, Likert scale, principles
and approaches in questionnaire development.
Measures of disease frequency and association, prevalence, incidence, crude, specific
and adjusted (standardized) rates, relative risk, odds ratio, standardized mortality
ratios, attributable risk and interpretation of measures of association.

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 Ph.D. Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

Unit III Epidemiological Methods and Social Science Methods

Descriptive epidemiological studies, correlation studies, case reports and case series,
design and conduct of cross sectional studies, hypothesis formulation from
descriptive studies.

Case control studies: Design and conduct of case control studies, analysis and
interpretation of results, bias in case control studies.

Cohort studies: Types of cohort studies, design and conduct of cohort studies,
analysis and interpretation of results, bias in cohort studies.

Interventional studies: Types of interventional studies, design and conduct of

randomized controlled trials, analysis and interpretation of results

Evaluating role of bias and confounding: Types of bias, control of bias, evaluation of
role of bias, nature of confounding, methods of controlling confounding.

Statistical association and cause effect relationship: Evaluation of the presence of

valid statistical association, judgment of a cause-effect relationship.

Social science methods: Different social science methods, questionnaire designing

and validation.

Unit IV Drug discovery and evaluation:

Historical approaches in drug discovery, pharmacological approaches of modern

medicine, new approaches in drug discovery, pharmacological evaluation of acute,
sub-acute, chronic toxicity studies, pharmacological evaluation methods, and OECD
guidelines.

Unit V Descriptive statistics and Probability

Presentation and summarization of data, types of variables, data presentation,
tables, charts and diagrams.
Measures of central tendency and location, mean, median, mode, position average,
and percentile.
Measures of dispersion, Range, inter-quartile range, mean deviation, standard
deviation and coefficient of variation.

Probability, Probability scale, measurement of probability, laws of probability for

independent events, conditional probability, Bayes theorem. Probability distribution,
binomial distribution, Poisson distribution, normal distribution, t distribution.

Unit VI Correlation & Regression, Inferential statistics and Non-parametric methods

Utility of scatter plot, Correlation, linear regression, multiple regression and logistic
regression.
Sampling, Population, sample, sampling variations and bias, probability sampling
methods, concepts in calculation of sample size.
Evaluating role of chance, inferential statistics, hypothesis testing, test of statistical
significance, p value, confidence intervals
Confidence interval for mean, statistical test of significance for difference between

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 Ph.D. Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

two means and more than two means (ANOVA).

Confidence interval for proportion, statistical test of significance for difference

between two proportions and more than two proportions (chi-squared test).

Non parametric methods: Sign test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, median test, Mann-

Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Friedman test, Spearman rank correlation

coefficient. Advantages, disadvantages and application of non-parametric tests.

Unit VII Research Ethics Involving Human Participants

Ethics and biomedical research: General principles on ethical considerations involving

human subjects, ethical review procedures, Institutional ethics committee, its
organization and functions, general ethical issues. Specific principles for clinical
evaluation of drugs/devices/ diagnosis/vaccines/herbal remedies, specific principles
in epidemiological studies, specific principles in human genetic research, specific
principles for research in transplantation including fetal tissue implantation.

Unit VIII Research Ethics Involving Laboratory Animals

Ethical guidelines for experimental animals: Sources of experimental animals, Lab.

animal husbandry and management, anaesthesia and euthanasia, laboratory animal
ethics, animal ethics committee, its organization and functions, ethical guidelines for
use of animals for scientific research, CPCSEA guidelines, in-vitro system to replace
animals, legal provisions for experimentation of animals.

Unit IX Responsible Conduct of Research

Values of research, Research misconduct & handling misconduct, Responsible

authorship & publication, Peer review, Reviewing and reporting research, Mentoring,
Conflict of interest, Collaborative research, Registration with Clinical Trials–Registry
India, International Committee for Medical Journal Editors guidelines.

Unit X Computer Application: Introduction to computers; Introduction to internet

Scientific research; Stages of scientific research; Rules for proper research;

Academic publishing; Scientific literature - Scientific journal articles - Types -
Research paper, Case series/reports, Review paper, Position paper ; Publishing
process – Peer review; Scientometrics-Impact factor (IF) - Journal Citation Reports,
SCImago Journal Ranking, H-index and its application

Unit XI Citations and Referencing; Cross reference, Crossmark; Citation content; Unique
identifiers - ISBN, DOI, PMID; Citation styles - Harvard and Vancouver styles;
Software for referencing - Endnote, Zotero, Mendeley

Unit XII Scientific misconduct; Responsibility of Authors/Co-authors, Educational institutions;

Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, rogeting; Source criticism - Epistemology, Library and
information science (LIS); Plagiarism detection - Computer-assisted plagiarism
detection - Citation-based plagiarism detection, Stylometry, anti-plagiarism software,
avoiding plagiarism.

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 Ph.D. Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

Reference books:

1) Epidemiology in medicine, Charles [Link] and Jules [Link].(1987)

2) Oxford Text Book of Public Health (5th edition), volume Oxford University press.(2011)
3) Essentials of Medical Statistics by Belty R. Kirkwood.(2011)
4) An Introduction to biostatistics by P.S.S. Sundar Rau.(2006)
5) National Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical & Health Research involving human
participants, ICMR, New Delhi 2017
6) Guidelines for care and use of animals in scientific research. Indian National Science
Academy, New Delhi.
7) Research Methodology, methods and techniques by C.R. Kothari.(2009)
8) Basic epidemiology, 2nd edition, R Bonita, R Beaglehole and T Kjellstrom (2007)
9) Statistical methods in medical research, 4th edition, P Armitage, G Berry and JNS
Matthews. (2001)
10) Biostatistics: A foundation for analysis in health sciences, 9th edition, Wayne W
Daniel (2008)
11) Computer fundamentals Pradip [Link] and Priti Singha (BPB Publication)
12) The Internet: A users guide K. L. James (PHI publication)
13) Internet Research skill (SAGE publication) Niall O Dochartaigh
14) Microsoft office system (PHI publication)
15) How to keep your Research Project on Track- Keith Town send - 2018

Online Resources:

[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

Ph.D. Degree Program

THEORY QUESTION PAPER PATTERN FOR UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND COURSE WORK EXAMINATION
Course Code: U0223CT101
Course Title: Research Methodology, Biostatistics and Computer Applications In Research
Time: 3 Hours Maximum Marks : 100

Answer ALL questions

Part A

Pattern & Choices Marks Total Marks

Essay question 1 1 x 40 marks 40

[with two sections A & b) or subsections] [each section 20 marks]

Part B

Short essay questions 6 6 x 10 marks 60

Total (A+B) 100

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 Ph.D. Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

Research and Publication Ethics - U0223CT102

Course No. Course Title Credits for University Exam Marks Grand
program Total
Credits Theory Practical

U0223CT102 Research and 2 50 - 50

Publication Ethics*

(Research and Publication Ethics UGC) [Link]

[Link]

Learning description

This course has total 6 units focusing on basics of philosophy of science and ethics, research
integrity, publication ethics. Hands-on-sessions are designed to identify research misconduct
and predatory publications. Indexing and citation databases, open access publications, research
metrics (citations, h-index, Impact Factor, etc) and Plagiarism tools will be introduced in this
course.

Theory

Unit I Philosophy and Ethics (3 hrs.)

1) Introduction to philosophy: definition, nature and scope, concept, branches
2) Ethics: definition, moral philosophy, nature of moral judgements and reactions

Unit II Scientific Conduct (5 hrs.)

1) Ethics with respect to science and research
2) Intellectual honesty and research integrity
3) Scientific misconducts : Falsification, Fabrication and Plagiarism (FFP)
4) Redundant publications : duplicate and overlapping publications, salami slicing
5) Selective reporting and misrepresentation of data

Unit III Publication Ethics (7 hrs.)

1) Publication ethics : definition, introduction and importance
2) Best practices/standards setting initiatives and guidelines: COPE, WAME, etc.
3) Conflicts of interest
4) Publication misconduct : definition, concept, problems that lead to unethical
behaviour and vice versa, types
5) Violation of publication ethics, authorship and contributor ship
6) Identification of publication misconduct, complaints and appeals
7) Predatory publishers and journals
Practice

Unit IV Open access publishing (4 hrs.)

1) Open access publications and initiatives
2) SHERPA/RoMEO online resource to check publisher copyright & self-archiving
policies
3) Software tool to identify predatory publication developed by SPPU
4) Journal finder/journal suggestion tools viz. JANE, Elsevier Journal Finder,
Springer Journal Suggester, etc.

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 Ph.D. Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

Unit V Publication Misconduct (4 hrs.)

a. Group Discussions

1) Subject specific ethical issues, FFP, authorship

2) Conflicts of interest
3) Complaints and appeals: examples and fraud from India and abroad

b. Research Metrics

1) Impact Factor of journal as per Journal Citation Report, SNIP, SJR, IRP, Cite
Score
2) Metrics : h-index, g-index, i10 index, altmetrics

References

Bird, A. (2006). Philosophy of Science. Routledge.

MacIntyre, Alasdair (1967) A Short History of Ethics. London
[Link],(2018) Ethics in Competitive Research: Do not get scooped; do not get plagiarized,
ISBN:978-9387480865
National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine.
(2009). On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research: Third Edition.
National Academies Press.
Resnik, D.B. (2011). What is ethics in research & why is it important. National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, 1-10. Retrieved from
[Link] hics/whatis/ [Link] Beall, J.(2012).
Predatory publishers are corrupting open access. Nature, 489(7415), 179-179.
[Link]
Indian National Science Academy (INSA), Ethics in Science Education, Research and
Governance (2019), ISBN: 978-81-939482-1-7.
[Link]

*Research Ethics [Link] by Shri. Manoj Kumar K|

Central University of Himachal Pradesh and 10 others

Ph.D. Degree Program

THEORY QUESTION PAPER PATTERN FOR UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND COURSE WORK EXAMINATION
Course Code: U0223CT102
Course Title: Research and Publication Ethics
Time: 2 Hours Maximum Marks : 50
Answer ALL questions

Pattern & Choices Marks Total Marks

Essay question 1 1 x 20 marks 20

[with sub headings or problems]

Short essay questions 3 3 x 10 marks 30

TOTAL 50

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 Ph.D. Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

2. Advanced Course in Area of Research - U0222CT103

Course No. Course Title Credits for University Exam Grand

program Marks Total
Credits Theory Practical

U0223CT103 Advanced Course in Area 3 100 - 100

of Research

Learning Objectives Learning outcomes

To be defined by RAC To be defined by RAC

Syllabus in Units and References to be defined by the RAC- Format provided below

Name of the Candidate: ________________ Reg. No._______________

Faculty: _______________

Name of the Research Supervisor: Signature:

Designation: Date:

Unit I

Unit II

Unit III Syllabus in Units and References to be defined by the RAC

Unit IV
Unit V

Reference books:

Ph.D. Degree Program

THEORY QUESTION PAPER PATTERN FOR UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND COURSE WORK EXAMINATION
Course Code: U0223CT103
Course Title: Advanced Course in Area of Research
Time: 3 Hours Maximum Marks : 100
Answer ALL Questions
Part - A
Pattern & Choices Marks Total Marks

Essay question 1 1x 40 marks 40

[with sub headings or problems]
Part B

Short essay questions 3 3 x 20 marks 60

TOTAL 100

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 Ph.D. Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

3. Review of Literature and Research Proposal - U0222CL104

Course No. Course Title Credits for University Exam Grand

program Marks Total
Credits Theory Practical

U0223CL104 Review of Literature and 3 - 100 100

Research Proposal
Learning Objectives Learning outcomes

Literature review and analysis for the Student should:

given research topic
 Do a scoping /Systematic review or met analysis
on the current status, National status and
International status from Literature
 Identify lacunae in research and
 State two or three specific areas of research
required to solve a problem

Student may submit a research proposal in a common format approval by Deemed University
Ph.D. Board. Ph.D. Candidates could collect literature on the given broad area of research
and do a scoping/systematic Review and meta-analyses of data. The review maybe analyzed
to obtain key indicators in that area.
 Develop a viable project of personal research and the strategy to complete this;
 Evaluate and discuss information sources available/experimental approaches/results
obtained etc. as appropriate;
 Complete the review and submit a written project Pre- Proposal which shows evidence of
an understanding of research methods, access and application of information sources, and
an ability to write an account of a scientific topic for a specified audience; and
 Demonstrate the exercising of individuals‟ reflective thinking; planning an experiment or
optimizing variables (identify them from literature).
They could also identify lacunae – two or more topics such that the feasibility of finalizing a
research topic is possible. It should include appropriate research methodologies, tools
needed and the applicability of the research in our communities; relational analysis of this
area of research and its impact in that area.

References:
[Link]
analyses

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 Ph.D. Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

Template for CUSTOMISED QP to be generated by RAC

CONFIDENTIAL
To be printed by the Research Supervisor on
the day of examination. Copy to be submitted
with answer scripts after evaluation.
Course Code: U0223CT103 Date:

DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph. D.)

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND COURSE WORK EXAMINATION, mm-yyyy
(At the end of one year from the date of provisional registration)

Name of the Research Scholar:

Registration Number:

PART - I
Course Title: An advanced Course in the area of Research
Time: 3 Hours Maximum Marks: 100

Answer ALL Questions

PART-A (1 x 40 = 40 marks)

I.________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

PART–B (3 x 20 = 60 marks)
II. Write short essay on:

a)
_________________________________________________________________________

b)
_________________________________________________________________________

c)
_________________________________________________________________________

Signature:
Name of Supervisor:
Date:

(Note: Two copies must be made ready for examination, one copy given to
candidate, one copy signed by the candidate must be enclosed with answer sheet
submitted Academic office after evaluation)

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 Ph.D. Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

4. U0222CL105 - Viva-Voce

Course No. Course Title Credits for program University Exam. Marks Grand total
Credits Theory Practical
U0223CL105 Viva-Voce 2 - 50 50

Learning Objectives Learning Outcomes

Assess research ability and aptitude of Supervisor and RAC members should strongly
the student recommend and assess the feasibility of the
proposed research.

Student should make a 30 minutes presentation on the chosen research area, relevance,
objectives, scientific study methods and its impact on research contributions. The student
should also have obtained the Institutional ethical committee clearances. After this
presentation a formal research proposal – with recommendations by RAC, maybe submitted
to the Ph.D. Section as the Ph.D. Proposal by the student for confirmation of registration.
[format provided]

*******

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 Ph.D. Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

ANNEXURE – V
Ph.D. Degree Program
For University Examinations
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND COURSE WORK EXAMINATION
Course Code: U0222CL104
Course Title: Review of Literature and Research Proposal Maximum Marks: 100

Format for submission of Research proposal

Contents for a One hard copy to be submitted: Soft binding only

No. of Pages
[Link]. Contents Guideline

1. Title Working Title as defined in the Proposal Review I. As per format

If the title carries the name of a species then Latin
names (italicized) with the author citation is
required e.g., Amaranthus retroflexus L.) as per
model given (for Synopsis)

2. Certificate Certificate from RAC members As per format

3. Table of With page numbers 1

Content

4. Introduction,  Nature and significance of the problem/study- 5

Review of from Universal outlook to India and then
Literature Chennai
 Highlights of Review of Literature - to identify
the lacunae in research or justification for the
problem

5. Statement of  Why the researcher selected this problem 6-7

the Problem,  Objectives- primary and secondary
Scope of Work,  Hypotheses- alternate/null (if any)
Study design  Includes a strategy for research study/study
and design
Methodology Sampling and sample size; Data analysis

6. Results Salient results with data (if available) 2-3

GANTT chart of Milestones achievable

7. References Harvard or Vancouver style - APA 2

8. Appendix  IEC/CTR/IAEC submission letter

3
(as applicable)  List of Publications/Submission in indexed
journals by the scholar
 The first page of publication or communication
from the journal
 List of conference presentations/posters by the
scholar

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 Ph.D. Regulations, October, 2023 (Amended Oct 2024)

Cover Page for Review of

Literature and Research
Proposal

------TITLE------

Course Code: U0222CL104

Course Title: Review of Literature and Research Proposal

Submitted for the RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND COURSE WORK EXAMINATION

for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

by

---- Name ------

Reg. No ……….

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