F-

MECP-001
M-ASTEROF ARTS-
( E C O N ~ M-I C S ~ )

PROJECT-WORK GUIDE

Faculty of Economics
School of Social Sciences
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068
 COURSE COORDINATOR
Dr. Narayan Piasad
Reader in Economics
School of Social Sciences
IGNOU, New Delhi

June, 2006
O Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2006
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other
means, without permission in writing from the Indira Gandhi National Open University.
Further information on the Indira Gandhi National Open Uuiversity courses may be obtained from the
University's Oflce at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-1 10 068.
Printed and published on behalf of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, by Director,
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 CONTENTS
Page No.

PART -1 General Information

1.1 Submission of Project Proposal
1.2 Project Supervision
1.3 Project Evaluation

PART -2 Stages of Project Work

2.1 Formulation of the Project Proposal
2.2 Execution of the Project
2.2.1 Identification of Data Requirement
2.2.2 Sources of Secondary Data
2.2.3 Data Collection Methods
2.2.4 Data Analysis
2.2.5 Writing the Project Report
2.2.6 List of References

PART -3 Annexures
/
#Annexure A Project Proposal Proforma
Annexure B First Page of the Project Work
Annexure C Certificate (by the Supervisor)
 Project Guide
for
Project Work for Master Arts
(Economics) Programme
As mentioned in the programme guide, you have the option to undertake the project work in licu of
the colnpulsory course MEC-009 (Research Methods in Economics). In case you opt the project
work, you will be required to submit the Project Report to the University.

This guide has been prepared to help you in doing a Project work by familiarising you with its various
aspects. Go through the guide before you begin work on the Project. This Project Guide has three
parts. The first part provides general information about the project work; the second part det;~ilsthe
different stages of the Project Work; and the third part consists of annexures which shall be used at
different stages of the Project work.

PART GENERAL INFORMATION

Project is an independent investigation and your own work. The purpose of the Project W o ~ kis to
enable you to analyse the situations and through the Project, you will be expected to put into practice
all that you have learnt while pursuing various courses of M.A Economics Programme. It is a way
of applying the knowledge gained through the various courses to the issues and conctrns of
day to day events in the economy.

This Project Work is of six credits and you are expected to spend about 180 hours of total vvork in
completing the Project. We would prefer to receive a typed and bound copy of your lBroject
Report. The length of your Project Work inay be between 8000-10000 words (50-60 pages). Keep
this in mind whilc choosing the Project theme. The idea is that you should be able to say all that you
want to say within these words limit. You are free to write your Project in English or Hindi
language.

1.1 SUBMISSION OF PROJECT PROPOSAL

After you opt for project work, you are expected to submit the typed copy of the project proposal along
with project proposal form (Annexure 'A' of this manual) on the following address:

Programme Coordinator
M.A. Economics Programme
Room no.118, Block 'F'
School of Social Sciences
IGNOU, Maidan Garhi
New Delhi - 110 06

Make sure that the Academic counsellor or the teacher, who has agreed to act as your supervisor for
your project work, has affixed hislher signature on the cover page (Annexure 'A') of your proposal.

The project proposal will be approved by the faculty of economics of the university at the
HQs at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi. After approval of the project proposal, you can begin the project
 work. In case you are advised to revise the proposal, suggestions and comments, made by the faculty
should be incorporated in the revised.proposa1.

How to identify the theme of the project & how to prepare the project proposal will be discussed in
the next part. However, it is desirable to point'out at this stage that your project proposal must include
the following:

i) The title of the proposed project,

ii) . A clear statement of the problem(s) to be examined,

iii) Objectives of the proposed study,

iv) The kind of data/information to be used,

I
v) Research Methodology, and
I vi) Expected outcome.

1.2 PROJECT SUPERVISION

Your Project shall be guided by a supervisor recognised by the Indira Gandhi National Open Univmity.
All counsellors are recognised as supervisors for Project Work. A list of supervisors is available with
the Coordinator of your Study Centre. Once you have selected a broad area for study (we have listed
some areas in .Sub-section 2. l), please contact your Coordinator who will assign a supervisor to you,
suited to your study.

You should prepare a Project Proposal with the help of your Supervisor/Academic counselor available
at your study centre.

The supervisor will:

a acquaint you with such local groups and agencies as may be relevant to your work,

a give you letters of authorisation which would enable you to make enquiry and investigations in different
offices pertaining to your work,

a make accessible to you the library at the study centre for consultation purposes,

a advise you, to the best of hidher efforts, about your theme, location of your data and general work plan,
and

a suggest books and articles that you may find useful in your work.
 Pmpare two copies of your Proposal (preferably typed), get the signature of the supervisor on the
format given in Annexure A and send one copy on the following address:
Programme Coordinator
M.A. Econotnics Progran~nae
School of Social Sciences
Block No. F,
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Maidan Garhi
New Delhi-110 068
Remember to:
Keep a copy of the Proposal with you because we shall not send your copy back. I
Send your Proposal through Registered Post only, so that it reaches us for sure. I
Do not change your topic or even its wording after you have sent the Proposal to us. In other words,
the topic of your Project Work should be the same as in your Proposal.
Put the name and code of your course (in this case MECP-001), your enrolment number, the name
of your Study Centre and the Regional Centre on the first page. In other words, fill the Proforma
given in Annexure A very carefully.

1.3 PROJECT EVALUATION

Upon its submission, your Project Report will be sent to an examiner. You must secure a minirnum of
40% marks in your Project Work in order to successfully complete your course. Plea'se note that the
evaluation of your project will take a minimum of two months from the date of submission.

Prepare two copies of your Project Work and send only one on the following address for evaluation:
Registrar
SR&E Divislon
Block 12
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Maldan Garhi, New Delhi-110 068
Do keep a copy af your Project Work with yourself as we shall not send it back to you. Make sure your
Pr~jeotWork also has the declaration, given in Annexure 'C', duly signed by you and your supervisor.

Please note that the Project Work is a part of your term-end examination and 100 marks of the Project
Report will be distributed as under for evaluation purpose.

II .Distribution of 100 marks of the Project-Work Report Weighiage

I1

1
1) Clarity of topic 10%.
2) Language, coherence, style, etc 20%,
3) Clarity of objectives and methodology 2%
4) Analysis and interpretation 25%
5) Conclusions 10%
6) References 10%
Remember-:

Project Work should be original and in youtown language,

YOUshould not copy or reproduce any published or unpublished project or else it would be cancelled,

Arguments should be substantiated by your data/reportslpublished material,

Information should be properly documented,

The research methodology adopted by you should be stated in the first chapter of your work; and

Give a bibliography at the end. It should include all your sources like records, documents, reports,interviews,
group meetings, newspapers, magazines, etc. listed under separate heads.

you secure less than 40% marks we will inform you of the same and also send evaluator's
comments. Take the following steps:
Redo your Project Work in the light of evaluator's comments.
Attach Annexures B and C (No need to attach Annexure A).
Attach a Demand Draft of Rs. 8001- drawn in favour of IGNOU payable at New Delhi.
Project Work completed'in all above respects should be sent for fresh evaluation to:
Registrar
SR&E Division
Block 12
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Maldan Garhi, New Delhi-110 068

PART 2 STAGES OF PROJECT WORK

2.1 FORMULATION OF THE PROJECT PROPOSAL
Your proposal is essentially the description of what you proposed to do and how you intend to go about
it. The 1" step in the formulation of the project proposal is to identify the suitable theme for the project
work. Economics has wider areas of specialization spreading over large number of themes and sub-
t h s . Depending upon your area of interest, you may first mark the broad theme like agriculture,
industries, public economics, labour andmpioyrme~lt,Indian money market, capital market, etc. By
specifying the aspect of the major theme, wid-mdlocational dimension, you can finally decide the
title of your project. As far as possible, tEte title should be narrowed down.

Think carefully and discuss with your supervisor before selecting a topic for your project. Some of the
topics that can help you in choosing the theme for your project work are given below:
. . -

Liberalisation of Foreign Institutional Investments.

Current State of the Indian Capital Market.
Agricultural Credit in India.
Commercial Bank Lending to Small-Scale Industry.
Monetary Policy in Countries with Surplus Liquidity.
 Trends of Industrial growth in India.
Composition of Indian industries after independence.
Subsidies in Indian economy.
Budget Deficits in India.
Poverty and inequality in India.
Direct Taxation in India.
Composition and trend of India' imports and exports.
Dynamics of informal sector in Ipdia.
Employment trend in organized sector.
Convergence in growth rates among major Indian states.
Valuation ofForests in India.
Environmental policy and pollution abatement in India.
Regional Imbalances in India.
Financing of health expenditure in Indii
Indicators of health status in India.
Impact of Universalisation of elementary Education programme on the Economic Condition of
Poor Families: A Case Study of ..........Taluka in the .........District of Uttar Pradesh.
Role of NGOs in Promotion of Self Employment Initiatives: A Case Study of.. ............. (name
of the NGO) in ...............District of (Name of the state)
Trends in Expenditure on Education/Health Services: A Survey of a Sample of Poor Houwholds
in Selected Villages of.. .....,.. .. District. (Name of the District)
Performance of wheat crop in India since 1980-81.. .......... 2003-04
Agricultural wages in India - trend analysis - 1980-81......2004-05
National income in India - A trend for the period 1980-81.. ... 2004-05.
Impact of SGSY on rural poor: A case study of a - village (Name of the village)
Employment generation through Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. A case study of a Block -
(Name of the Block)
Survey of beneficiaries of the various schemes and programmes being implemenfed in your area.
Study of relationship between poverty and child labour.
Existence ofchild labour in your village.
Impact of child labour on their health, education, skill formation and so on.
Problems, issues and concerns of domestic workers: A case study of (Name of the l d area)

The above topics are broad themes which may be suitably amended by specifying particular aspect,
time and locational dimensions.

Please understand clearly that the items listed in the box above by no means exh~shstthe
list of themes on which you can write your project. This is an illustrative list and you can
certainly go beyond or make necessary modifications in these themes to suit ycwr local
convenience. We shall welcome organizationtareg based projects which study arlealsector
specific issues.

In short, the identification of your theme is directly linked to:

Your inclination towards particular area of study, and

 Your working aptitude in pursuing that Project.
, ' #,I

After identifying the area of your interest and discussing it with your supervisor, prepare a Propaanl,
ll is desirable that you should go through the work done by other research scholars in the area of your
project work. This will enable you to formulate the research problem. We would, however, like to
emphasise here that preparing a Proposal is a very important itage in your Project Work. Therefore
do not get unnecessarily worried if you find that this stage has taken up a longer time than originally
scheduled.

The project proposal must include the following:

Title of the project,

Objectivesof your study,
Issues/questions to be raised,
The kind of data of information to be required,
Hypothesis, if any, formulated,
Research Methodology, and
Expected outcome.

You should choose an area, which is to your liking and one which should sustain your interest. It is
very important that you are familiar with the geographical area ycu wish to base your topic on. It
should be easily accessible to you. Objectives should be clearly written in a manner these are fulfilled
in the undertaking the project work. The objectives may range between two to four. The methodology
should specify the logic of enquiry, the specific datdinformation to be gathered, the method of data
collection and the statistical/econometrics/qualitativetools to be applied in analyzing the data. Consistency
should be visible in the questions/issues raised, stated objectives, hypothesis formulated if any, and the
methodology specified in the project proposal. The size of the project proposal may vary from there
to four pages. ,

2.2 EXECUTION OF THE PROJECT

2.2.1 Identification of Data Requirement
In your project work you are expected to examinelstudy any specific problem/iswe through quantitative1
qualitative data. Hence determination of relevant data is foremost task. Data should be rrtlcvant to
examine the issues raised and to test the hypothesis, if any, formulated in the project proposal. The
variables on which data is needed should be identified. You need to find out what kind of data
pertaining to the topic of your project is available and to what extent it would be suitable for your
project work. Block 6 - Data Base of Indian economy of MEC-009 course on 'Research
MeNods in Economics' will be helphl to you in this regard. You are therefore advised to go through
the different units of this block for ascertaining the availability of secondary data on tho theme of your
projpct.

About secondary data,'it is necessary to determine and record (i) Who did collect the data? (ii) When
was it collected? and (iii) How reliable the information is. You should note the following details about
every source of information:

i) Full title of the document, book,journal, map, etc.

ii) Departmentlagency /author who has prepared the document, book, journal etc.

10
iii) Datelyear when the document was prepared, and
'

-iv) Edition,
. place af publication and publisher for books and articles.

3 , M Igb)ur@m
aF1Sw~bndaryData
Saurcen oan nnge Ram g~ygrnmentdp~aflpentdagenciesto newspapers; books, articles, reports, and
sf &$&4C)Pcpprse will enable you to identify the various
interneta aenroh eption~,Agein bl~#k=$
source8 of secondary dwt~.

2*2.3 Data CollecHoa Methods

In case, data gathered PFDm s e ~ ~ n d a sgurcgs
ry qre either not available or inadequate, you may need
to eollect the p r i m ~ ~dl&,
y BePnre you be~lipdata collection, review the requirements you have
identified for prima^ data and disouss with your supervisor. Clearly define what you need and for what
purposes. Then determine the moat appropriate data o~ll@tionmethod. Unit 6 of Block-2, (course
MEC-009) on Rgta Collection: Sourcw of Data will be useful to you for determination of data
collection method.

In QF&F to ensure the data reliability, you need to explain or justify the following points:

fbma ~ tdb appppriateness

i) The Qcai8nsf qu~stjs~naifs ~ of data collection techniques,

ii) Methods of field wo*,

iii) Process followed for field superviaion and recording, wd

iv) Data verification and quality control.

XdA lC~@l~sis
AAer tsbulrtian end ~~gj~fijfrcation of the datg, the next step is to process and analyse the data.
Depending upon your mod and abj~gtivps,&P varirty4 qwtititive techniques ranging from percentage,
mean, correlation, regressJon ta sdvaneed econometric te~kniquesapd qualitative methods may be
applied to analyse the data. The various camputer saAwate packages can also be used for this
purpose. Block3 ,4 and S of our course MIC-009 (Research Yetbods in Economics) will be
highly useeful to you in this regard. You are therefore advised to go through these three blocks before
n&mpiH8 d~.cf y ~ ~Thek .skills acquired while going through the MEC-003course on quantitative
techniques will be an addid idvqqagec 1 7 L for doing the project work. For ensuring the statistical reliability

of your reeults, you may also apply the various statistical tests.

originality md ~lariry@reth, twa viBl g~11psnfqAef yeyr WppC p"ember your project is test
of your analytical capsolty md @killsef FQ~QIII)~WPQ$ nio'k[fiA~ l y ~ r i is,pt
n g just an exercise in
recording your impression$ or writing ) slqy: it is gl$a g @ ~ g iin@the .
~. .qfkanization of your ideas.
Therefore do keep the following points in 6ind while mitinp y w r pPajgpf rgpfl;

Tk gi~,eof the project report depends on the nsture af the theme s f the project. However it is
desirable te writ0 €&~ f @ e &report
t between 8000 -10000 words (between 50 to 60 pages) as a
standard size in double space &d fbrm. YZJu ., .
may write project report in Hindi or in English language.
Divide your rewrt in about 4 to 5 chapters. Each chapter may be sybdivided inta sections and
subsoctJona, This will ~ i v esflain
a @aljprencle@ your ~ ~ S j w f p~pvpqpdifferent ideas from spill~~ng
into different places,
11
a Writing an introduction is important as it gives a certain entry point to your project. Afterwards aims
and objectives should be stated very explicitly.
a The quality of your project to some extent depends on the strength of your methodology. Therefore,
methodology should be stated in a clear manner. For the sake of clarity, methodology refers to (i)
theoretical perspectives and the logic of enquiry that guides research, (ii) techniques of data collection,
and (iii) tools or methods of analysis of the data.
a Brief review of similar or relevant projectdstudies, (if any available) within a maximum of 2 to 3
pages) made by other scholars.
a All your arguments should be neatly tied and logically culminated at the end of each section. The inter-
connection between different sections should be clearly maintained.
Have a paragmph of 'summing up' to each chapter.
List out yourobjective wise findings.
Project should be written in your own language using simple words and short sentences as far as
possible. It would be better if you write the first draft and then edit it both in terms of its language and
content.
a Use photographs, maps, diagrams and illustrations, in case it is needed.

The following sequence is to be followed in organizing the report:

A) Cover page :On the first page of the report indicate the title of the project, your name, address, year and
enrolment number.(as per annexure B of this manual)

B) Second page should cover the contents of the project report followed by the list of tables, maps and
figuredillustrations on third page.

C) The fourth page is to give acknowledgements.

D) The fifth page is to list alphabetically a list of abbreviations.
E) From the 6Ihpage onwards, you need to give first introduction to your project, its approach, including
rationale of the selection of the project theme, objectives, resea& methodology including description of
techniques or methods adopted for data collection and analysis, limitations of the study etc. This will
constitute the first chapter of the project report.
F) From the second chapter onwards the main body of the pruject will start.
G) In the last chapter, you will state the findings drawn from the project work and your suggestions, if any.

2.2.6 List of References

In the end you need to give a list of references.

The Reference List should begin on a separate page from the text under the label References, centered
at the top of the page. References are listed in an alphabetical order of author's surname of first two title
words, ifthere is no author. List the elements that identi@the work's author, title, publication data,and its
publisher. For online publications, add elements stating where and when you retrieved the document. For
illustration purpose the examples of references are being given below. You may follow this pattern in
 - -
I Book
BIBWOCRGPHY CITATIONS IN TEXT
Direct QuotelParaphrnse
If the author's name occurs
-
1) Single Author Bardhan, Pranab. (1984). The Political naturally in the sentence a;:
Economy of Development in India. Bardhan (1984) agrees with.. .........
Oxford: Basil Blackwell. If the name does not occu~'
naturally as in: Another shldy on
development policies (Bard han,
19f-w
2) Three or More Baxter, Craig., Malik, Y.K.,Kennedy, H.K., First citation
Authors & Oberst, R.C.(1988). Government and (Baxter, Malik, Kennedy &
Political in South Asia. Lahore: Oberst, 1988, p. 122)
Vanguard Books. Subsequent citations
(Baxter et al., 1988, p. 122)
Omit the page number if
paraphrasing
3) Edited Goodin, E.R. & Hans-Dieter Klingeman (Goodin & Klingemann, 1996, p.33)
(Eds.).(1996). A New Handbook of or
Political Science. New York: Oxford (Goodin & Klingemann, 19516)
University Press.

4) Chapter in Edited Almond, G:A. (1996). Political Science: (Almond, 1996, p.72)
Book The History of the Discipline. In Goodin, or
E.R. & Hans-Dieter Klingernann (Eds.). (Almond, 1996)
(1996). A New Handbook of Poltical
Science (50-96). New York: Oxford
University Press.

5) Group Author1 ISRO (Indian Space Research (ISRO, n.d., p.3)

Publisher Organisation). (n.d.) 20 years of or
Rocketry in Thumba. Bangalore: Vikram (ISRO, n.d.)
Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO.
I Government Country.Government Department. (Year)
Publications Title: Sub-Title.(Edition) (Government
Catalogue Number, if any). Place of (AEC, 1970, p.7)
Publication: Publisher. or (AEC, 1970)
India. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
( 1970). Atomic Energy and Space Research:
A Profile for the decade 1970-1980.
Bombay: Author.

Ill Published Conference Sen, Amartya. (1980) Equality of What? (Sen, 1980, p.110)
Proeeedingr In S. McMurrin (Ed.). The TannerLecturers or
on Human Values. Vol. 1 Salt Lake City: (Sen, 1980)
-- University of Utah Press.
N E~cycbvdb Sills, D.L. (1969) Functionalism and (Sills, 1968, p.543) -
Functional Integration. In The or
International Encyclopedia of the Social (Sills, 1%8)
Sciences (Vo1.7, pp. 534-47). London:
Collier Macmillan.
V Journal Article
1) One or Two Authors Kochanek, Stanley A. (1986). Regulation (Kochanek, 1986, p.1296)
and Liberalisation Theology in India. or
Asian Survey, Survey, 22, 1284-1308. (Kochanek, 1986)

13
S. IaFmmm3 BIBLIOGRAPHY CITATIONSM TEX'l'
No. Dlrect Quote/Paraphnse
2) Three or More Alesina, A..,Cohen, G & N. Roubini.(1993) Firsf ~ i t q i o n
Authors Electoral BusinGs Cycles in Indusqial ' (Aleqi~a,Cnberl I Poubini,
Democracies. Europeas +erpqi 91 (1993, p.19)
Politicrrl Jkonomy, 9, 14 3 . Subsequent Citations
(Alesina et al., 1993,~.19) or
(Alesina ct a]., 1993)
3) Electronic Tomer, Alvin & Heidi Tamer. (2003), Why
the United N~ttonoia Cracking aa tho ( ~ o m e&
r ~ o m e t2003)
,
Puturfl Arrives. Parallax: The Journal of
Ethics and Glabalisation, Rctrioved
October 20,2004, from
he:// www. Parrrlllutonline.sr~t~mcr1 .html.
V1 Electionic Roeurneat Style list for reftrrence. (n.d.). Retrieved Because there is no date and no
No author, n0 date year, Janusry 1,2001, b m http:// www.aba.ore author, your text citation would
no page number include the first couple of words
from the title in quotations and n.d.
fbr no date and the paragraph
number, (if provided; altemgtiyely.
YPU ~ 9 u l dwvnt pqm!$~(lpb@ down
feom the k@nning of th dwummt),
(o.g., "Style List,: n,d., parn 3).
VII Web Site Unite4 Nations C)e~@l~pment Progcarmme (UNPP, 7003, p . 4 )
(UNRP). (2003). Human Qgwlopmenl or
Report. Retrieved October 20,2004, fPm (UNPP, 2003)
http:.//www.undp.org.hdr2003/

In case of any additional academip query, you may write ta:

Programme Coordinator
(M.A. Economics Programme)
Block-F, Room No. 118
School of Social Sciences
Indira Candhi National Open University
Maidan Carhi
New Delhi-110 068

Course Coordinator
MECP-001 Course-
(Projpt Work 59 M.4, Feonrrnios Pr~gmmms)
School pf Socigl Sciences
Block 'F', Room No. lQ8
ICNOU, Maidaq Garhi
New Delhi-110048.
PART 3 ANNEXURES -

PROJECT PROPOSAL PROFORMA

Candidate's Information (to be filled by the candidate) Date .................................
Name ............................................................ Course Code

Programme Code

Enrolment No. ElmIIan

Address ....................................................!.... - ,

Regional Centre .........................

Study Centre Name ..........................................
Study Centre Code

Title of the Project ............................................

(enclose the proposal/synopsis of the Project)

(By The Supervisor)

1hereby certify that the proposal for the Project entitled (Name of the Project) ................................
by (name of the candidate) .........................................................................has been
prepared after due consultation with me. I agree to supervise the above mentioned Project till its
completion.

(Signature of the Supervisor)

Name .................................. ................

2..

Designation .............................................

.;. ...........................
Address ..................
. . ,
'
.................................................
 ANNEXURE B

First Page of the Project Work

Enrolment No: lIEnnnn

Study Centre Code m l
Regional Centre ..........................................

TOPIC OF THE PROJECT WORK

..............................................................................................
.............................................................................................
Project Work submitted to the Indira Gandhi National Open University in partial hlfillment of the
requirements for the award of the Degree - Master of Arts (Economics). I hereby declare that this
work has been done by me and has not been submitted elsewhere.

Signature of the Candidate ........................................................

Name of the Candidate ............................................................
Address, if any ......................................................................
...........................................................................................
............................................................................................
Year ....................................................................................
 ANNEXURE I2

CERTIFICATE
Certified that the Project Work entitled (Topic of the Project) ................................................
submitted by (Name of the Candidate) ....................................................... is hisher own
work and has been donehedone in the light of evaluator's comments* under my supervision.

It is recommended that this Project be placed before the examiner for evaluation.

(Signature of the supervisor)

Name: ..................................................................
Address: ...............................................................
...............................................................
Study Centre: .........................................................
Regional Centre: ......................................................
Date: ....................................................................
* Strike out the portion not applicable in your case.