Junior Research Fellowship Scheme in Humanities and Social Sciences: An Exploratory Evaluation
Description
The data was collected in the first phase of the sequential explanatory mixed-method research design. It shows the demographic data, their opinions of respondents regarding the scheme, their research participation and achievements, and how they perceive the scheme has affected their research productivity. It also gathers the data regarding their suggestions for improvement and drawbacks of the scheme. The data was gathered online using a mixed questionnaire consisting of different kinds of items from the JRFs (who are availing of the fellowship, N1=120) and non-JRFs (who do not avail of the fellowship, N2=120). It also emphasized the difference in achievements and the perceptions of the two groups regarding the scheme. The tool was constructed and standardized using the framework provided by Lincoln and Guba in their books 'Naturalistic Inquiry' and '4th Generation Evaluation'. Only those data were taken into account that was almost complete. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (Mean, Median, Modes, Frequency, Skewness, Kurtosis, Standard Deviation and Variance), and Inferential Statistics (t-test and Mann-Whitney U test for comparison, and chi-square test for association). Usage of both Mann-Whitney U Test and t-test was for demonstrating that there is minimal difference in the power of two tests regardless of the nature of data. The results were used to further design the qualitative inquiry that followed in the next phase.