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Quick Facts

Medium Of Instructions	Mode Of Learning	Mode Of Delivery
English	Self Study	Video and Text Based

Course Overview

Philosophical Foundations of Social Research program indulges in the nature of social science inquiry. The course covers many topics, such as the philosophy of science, ontology, epistemology, and applications in different areas. At the end of the course, participants will be familiar with the plurality of views in the intellectual community, applications of the philosophy of science in social sciences, analyze issues in social sciences, and practice scholarly discussions.

Philosophical Foundations of Social Research certification is an elective course in humanities and social sciences with no enrolment fee or prerequisites. It is an online undergraduate/postgraduate course that any interested candidates can join. The course is the result of a collaboration between IIT Guwahati and NPTEL. This AICTE approved FDP course will be taught by professor Sambit Mallick.

Philosophical Foundations of Social Research is an eight-week-long course with an e-certificate available for candidates. Participants will be given periodic assignments to evaluate their progress. A list of books is also available on the website for any additional studying.

The Highlights

An introductory course in Humanities and social sciences
Elective undergraduate/postgraduate course on Swayam
Eight-week certification FDP course approved by AICTE
Nil prerequisites
The educator from IIT Guwahati
Assignments and offline exam
No enrolment fees
The collaboration of IIT Guwahati and NPTEL

Programme Offerings

No enrolment fees
Elective undergraduate/postgraduate course on Swayam
Educator from IIT Guwahati
Collaboration of IIT Guwahati and NPTEL
Eight-week certification FDP course approved by AICTE
Assignments and offline exam
Nil prerequisites

Courses and Certificate Fees

Fees Informations	Certificate Availability	Certificate Providing Authority
INR 1000	yes	IIT Guwahati (IITG)

Philosophical Foundations of Social Research training has an exam fee of Rs. 1,000. There is no enrollment or joining fee.

Philosophical Foundations of Social Research program fee structure

Course Name	Fee
Philosophical Foundations of Social Research (Exam Fee)	Rs. 1,000

Eligibility Criteria

The Philosophical Foundations of Social Research program does not have any prerequisites or eligibility criteria for joining. Any interested candidate can become a participant.

Certificate Qualifying Details

There will be assignment submission and appearing for an offline exam to qualify for certification.

The offline exam will consist of 100 marks. 75% of the exam score will be taken to calculate the final score. Participants also need to submit all assignments and secure the minimum passing mark in the best six of eight assignments. 25% of the assignment score will be taken to calculate the final score.

The minimum passing final score is 40/100. However, only participants who secure at least 30/75 in the offline exam and 10/25 in the assignments will be given the certificate. If they do not fulfill these requirements, they will not be given the certificate regardless of the final score.

What you will learn

Knowledge of Sociology

The aim of the Philosophical Foundations of Social Research program is to familiarise participants with the following topics:

Philosophy of science and its application in social sciences
Major differing social science classes and their metatheoretical foundations
The plurality of views in social sciences
Epistemology
Ontology

Who it is for

Any interested individual can join the Philosophical Foundations of Social Research online course. It is best suited for students in undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Humanities and Social Sciences.

Admission Details

Follow the Philosophical Foundations of Social Research by Swayam admission process given below and join the course.

Go to the course website link https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc21_hs42/preview and select ‘Sign in/Register
In the sign-up sheet, use an appropriate account to log in or create a new registration account.
In the website link, if the course enrollment process is open, click on join.
To complete the exam process, fill the online form and pay the necessary exam fee.

Application Details

The Philosophical Foundations of Social Research program does not have a specific enrolment application form. Participants can use their existing Swayam/Microsoft/Google/Facebook account to sign in. alternatively, they can sign up by choosing a username and password and verifying a valid email address. For candidates who want to appear for the exam, there is an online exam form.

The Syllabus

Introduction
History of philosophy of social sciences
Epistemology and ontology
Empiricism and rationalism
Auguste Comte and positivism

Emile Durkheim
Rules of sociological method
Influence of sciences on sociology
Objectivity in social sciences
Social facts, autonomy of knowledge and the necessity of science
Commonsense and science
Comparative social sciences Organic analogy and precursor to functionalism

Max Weber – I
Positivism and neo Kantianism
Methodology of social sciences

Max Weber – II
Methodological individualism
(Meaningful) social action
Interpretative understanding (verstehen) of social action: observatory and explanatory understanding
Ideal types

Karl Marx
Idealism versus materialism
Materialist conception of history
Principles of dialectic
Understanding nature
Ideology and science: methodological implications

Karl Popper: Principle of falsification
Context of discovery and context of justification
Hypothetico-deductive model
Thomas Kuhn:Consensus-driven paradigm
Normal science: tradition-bound activity
Anomalies
Crisis within normal scientific tradition
Revolutionary science: tradition-shattering activity

Positivism versus hermeneutics: conflicting traditions
Natural sciences versus social sciences
Objectivity and subjectivity in social sciences
Quantitative and qualitative research traditions

Conclusion
Beginning of the end of social sciences philosophy
Overview of the course

Evaluation process

Candidates who want to achieve the Philosophical Foundations of Social Research certification need to fill the online exam form and pay the exam fee. They need to appear for an offline proctored exam at one of the designated centers. All the information related to the exam - center details, date and schedule of the exam, exam duration, etc. will be made available to the participants.

Participants who secure the minimum required marks in the exam, as well as assignments and the final score, will be given the certificate. All three requirements need to be fulfilled to secure certification.

Instructors

IIT Guwahati (IITG) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

1: What is the minimum score required to pass the offline exam?

The minimum score required to pass the offline exam is 40/100.

2: Where will the exam be conducted?

The exam will be held in offline mode at the designated exam centers around the country. The details of the exam centers will be provided in advance to the participants.

3: What are the prerequisites required for taking up this course?

There are no such prerequisites for the Philosophical Foundations of Social Research program.

4: Can I get a hardcopy of the certificate for an additional fee?

No. Only digital copies of the certificate are available.

5: How many assignments are there in this course?

There are a total of eight assignments in this course.