During the Advanced Youth Fellowship Programme 2010 – 2011 several activities and workshops were carried out to facilitate the research process. These have been highlighted below:

Capacity Building Workshops

**** AYF Orientation workshop
The Advanced level orientation programme was held in two parts on July 17th and August 8th, 2010. The first workshop focussed on group dynamics, facilitating team work, peer learning and clarifying the programmes objectives. Movie screenings, debates and group discussions were utilized as tools to enhance the group’s learning. The second workshop was devoted to understanding the research process, various methodologies and tools, as well as fine-tuning the research question. Inputs were given on using clear and logical arguments while developing a hypothesis. Participants were led through a presentation on the important stages in the research process and they were briefed on the timeline and important  deadlines. An exercise of critically analyzing the participant’s previous research projects and presenting the same to the group was conducted. The activity raised pertinent questions regarding research samples, methodologies, hypotheses, findings, validity and reliability etc. The ensuing group discussion enabled participants to cull out drawbacks and limitations of their earlier research strategies.

**** AYF Research Review
Given that Advanced youth fellows have already spent a year conducting different research projects, this workshop created the space where each member could present their past projects and share the process, challenges and significant findings of the same with the team.  Fifteen different research projects conducted last year under the PUKAR youth fellowship programme, were presented along with current advanced research topics. Group members critiqued these presentations and thus enabled each other to further refine their research topics. As an outcome of this workshop participants were able to develop an in-depth research plan.

**** AYF Research Literature Review
The broad objectives of this workshop included introducing Advanced youth fellows to the importance of literature review in research, giving them hands on experience in conducting a literature search, informing them about various sources of information and enabling them to plan & manage literature reviews. Several group and individual exercises were used to enable participants to implement learning gained through the workshop.

**** AYF Research Methodology
This workshop covered important elements of the research process including stages of a research project, components of a research proposal, the value/importance of research, research title, statement, hypothesis, objectives, data collection, quantitative/qualitative data, methods to collect data, methods of questioning, developing a questionnaire, case studies, focus group analysis, interviewing, triangulation, data analysis etc. Thus, as an outcome of this workshop, advance research fellows refined the research methodology for their respective projects and shared the same with their peers.

**** AYF Case Study Workshop
The workshop began with a round of introductions and participants introduced themselves and their research topic. The facilitator then led a enquiry into the group’s perception of case studies, why they want to use it for data collection and any related queries that they may have.  During the initial half of the workshop, the facilitator introduced different qualitative and quantitative methodologies and related advantages and disadvantages of each method. He also explained what a case study is, different types of case studies (exploratory, explanatory, descriptive, intrinsic and collective) and where these can be most effectively used. He gave simple but relevant examples to explain these concepts to the participants.  Participants also gained important skills related to conducting a case study, discussed limitations of the method such as subjectivity/observer’s bias and understood the importance of consent. The facilitator also explained the general stages which need to be followed in a case study. These include:

1.    Design the case study
2.    Conducting the case study
3.    Analyzing evidence
4.    Develop the conclusions, recommendations and implications.

The workshop concluded by each participant sharing their research topic and the case study design that they had created during the course of the workshop

Mentor Meetings

The mentor meetings were designed to enable fellows to sharpen their research arguments, understand various aspects of their study in depth and explore and learn more about existing research methodologies in social sciences. A total of two mentor meetings were held since the start of the AFY programme this year.

About the mentors:
Qudsiya Contractor
Qudsiya Contractor has an MA in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. She worked in CEHAT (Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes) as an activist and researcher for six years. She is currently a PhD research scholar at TISS.

Surykant Waghmore
Suryakant Waghmore has an M.A. From Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and a PhD. From Edinburgh. He previously worked with the Council for Advancement of Peoples Action and Rural Technology (CAPART). He joined TISS in December 2003. Currently he is working on a manuscript titled “Dalit Movements and Civil Society in Maharashtra.” His research interests revolve around social and political anthropology of civil society, politics of identity and development.

Group Meetings

Advanced Youth Fellowship group meetings were held once a month to discuss updates, review work completed, share challenges, sharpen research topics and write the 1st research draft. Seventeen participants representing 8 groups attended these meetings. Additionally, the coordinator met with each group at the end of every month to discuss the status of their research and deal with any challenges they were facing.