Caution Notice

Study Circles

Home / IRC / Study Circles


Study Circles

The “Study Circles” initiative of the IRC involves discussion among the faculty members to generate ideas for research and enhance the knowledge. During the Study Circles, faculty members present their ongoing research work and seek ideas for improvement from the other faculty colleagues. They also share their expertise with each other and enhance their knowledge through peer learning.

Study Circles (2021-22)

During the Academic Session 2021-22, the Institute Research Committee (IRC) of SCMS-NOIDA conducted a series of 15 training sessions under the IRC Study Circles activity. The objective of conducting these sessions was to enhance the research skills of faculty members through hands-on experience on relevant tools and techniques of academic research.

The philosophy of ‘Peer Learning’ was adopted in this series, wherein 6 faculty members shared their expertise and knowledge with others. The topics covered in all the 15 sessions were divided amongst those 6 faculty members depending on their area(s) of expertise.

The sessions covered a wide range of topics that focused on Quantitative Data Analysis, Qualitative Research, Bibliometric Analysis, and Reference Management. Following topics were covered during the sessions:

S No. Name of Speaker Date Title
1 17 Sept 2021 Hypothesis Testing (Normality tests, t-tests, ANOVA, chi square tests, correlation) using SPSS Dr. Nidhi Natarajan
2 01 Oct 2021 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Reliability Analysis using SPSS Dr. Nidhi Natarajan
3 14 Oct 2021 Multiple Linear Regression and Dummy-variable Regression Analysis using SPSS Dr. Kriti Priya Gupta
4 29 Oct 2021 Logistic Regression Analysis using SPSS Dr. Kriti Priya Gupta
5 11 Nov 2021 Cluster Analysis using SPSS Dr. Kriti Priya Gupta
6 26 Nov 2021 Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using AMOS (Creating a model; Testing Model Fitness; Testing convergent and discriminant validity, CFA) Dr. Prashant Yadav
7 10 Dec 2021 Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using AMOS (First order and Second order models, Testing direct effects) Dr. Prashant Yadav
8 17 Dec 2021 Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using AMOS (Testing mediating and moderating effects) Dr. Kriti Priya Gupta
9 7 Jan 2022 Panel Data Regression (Panel Data and its Structure, Diagnostic tests, OLS Regression) using Stata Dr. Kanishka Gupta
10 21 Jan 2022 Panel Data Regression (Fixed/Random Effects Model, Dynamic Panel Regression) using Stata Dr. Kanishka Gupta
11 11 Feb 2022 Time Series Analysis using EVIEWS (Basics of Time Series analysis, Autoregressive models, Stationarity) Dr. Rashmi Rastogi
12 11 Mar 2022 Time Series Analysis using EVIEWS (Co-integration, VECM Model) Dr. Rashmi Rastogi
13 14 Mar 2022 Qualitative Research using Case-Study Method Dr. Priya Grover
14 25 Mar 2022 Reference Management using EndNote Dr. Prashant Yadav
15 29 Mar 2022 Bibliometric Analysis Dr. Priya Grover

All the faculty members appreciated this endeavor of the IRC and provided positive feedback on the sessions conducted during the Study Circles. The faculty members shared that these sessions not only enhanced their existing knowledge but also equipped them with new techniques, that will in turn help them enhance their research outputs.

“Study Circles” - 9th November 2020

The following faculty members presented their research work:

  • Dr. Prashant Agarwal presented his research idea on “Factors influencing Entrepreneurial Intention”. He discussed his conceptual model and also explained the research constructs. The faculty members gave suggestions to him regarding the research design to be employed in his study. Dr. Prashant also shared some informative resources (in the form of links of websites) with the faculty members, related to established research theories/models and statistical methods.
  • Dr. Kriti Priya Gupta presented her research paper titled “Adoption, completion and continuance of MOOCs: a longitudinal study of students’ behavioural intentions” (Her paper has been recently accepted in the journal “Behaviour and Information Technology”, indexed in SCI and ABDC ‘A’ category). Her research was based on longitudinal design. She discussed about the research design and techniques employed by her to analyse the longitudinal data used in her study. She also emphasized that simple statistical techniques such as Multiple Regression Analysis can also lead to a good publication if the research design and research context are strong.

“Study Circles” - 2nd April 2021

  • During the activity, Dr. Rinku Sanjeev shared her learnings from the workshop on "Training of Trainers" (TOT), that she had attended during 25-28 February 2021. The workshop was organized by Management & Entrepreneurship and Professional Skills Council (MEPSC), which is the training arm of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). The objective of this workshop was to develop training delivery skills in prospective trainers so that they can be aligned with the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF), laid by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India.
  • Dr. Rinku told that MEPSC is targeting to train and certify nearly about 4.75 lakhs trainees by developing and framing 50 Qualifications Packs (QPs)/National Occupational Standards (NOS) including training of more than 550 Trainers over next 10 years. She also discussed about the skill development initiatives of MEPSC in various domains such as Professional Skills, Entrepreneurship Skills, Office Management Skills, Training Skills and Security Skills.
  • Dr. Rinku further informed the faculty members about the process of becoming MEPSC certified trainers. She also discussed about the benefits of MEPSC certification. She told that the details of MEPSC certified trainers are made available on the NSDC’s portal (www.takshashila.nsdcindia.org) under ‘Find a Trainer’ section, for others to seek their services.
  • The session was very interactive wherein all the faculty members took active participation in the discussion. The activity ended after one hour with a vote of thanks proposed by Dr. Kriti Priya Gupta.

“Study Circles” - 13th August 2020

The following faculty members presented their research work in the study circle:

  • Dr. Anagha Shukre presented her research paper titled “Determinants Affecting Buying Decisions of Consumers for Counterfeit products: An Exploratory Study in Raipur, India”. Her research was based on primary data. She discussed about the conceptualization of her research model and the techniques employed to validate the model. She also discussed about her future plan of extending this research work. The faculty members gave her ideas regarding the use of advanced statistical techniques to investigate the interrelationships amongst the variables of her research model. The ideas were well accepted by Dr. Anahga.
  • Dr. Rashmi Rastogi presented her working paper titled “The Pattern of Inbound FDI in India in Dirty Sectors”. Her research was based on secondary data. She discussed about the techniques employed by her to analyse the time series data used in her study. Her presentation was appreciated by all the faculty members. Through her presentation, the faculty members got insights about regression analysis with fixed effects and random effects. During the activity, faculty members appreciated the efforts of all the presenters and also provided suggestions for future research.

“Study Circles” - 11th May 2020

The following faculty members presented their research work and ideas in the study circle:

  • Dr. K.P. Venugopala Rao, Director – SCMS NOIDA discussed about his ongoing research on the accounting standards and value relevance in the Power sector. He discussed about the methodology adopted in his study, by considering market price per share as the dependent variable and book value per share and diluted earnings per share as the independent variables.
  • Dr. Sunita Dwivedi discussed her research idea on “Impact of Quality of Services on Customer Loyalty in the presence of Brand Image and Social presence of website”.
  • Dr. Priya Grover discussed about the book titled "Start-Up Marketing Strategies in India" that she had co-edited with Dr. M. Anil Ramesh, Siva Sivani Institute of Management, and Dr. Sabyasachi Dasgupta, O. P. Jindal Global University. The book consisted of 11 cases on the experiences of successful Indian entrepreneurs, and was published by Emerald publishing Ltd. in July 2019. Dr. Priya also discussed about the case writing methodology.
  • Dr. Nidhi Phutela discussed about her research paper titled “A qualitative study of students' perspective on e-learning adoption in India”, published in the Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Emerald publications, 2020. She also discussed about the directions for further research in this area, especially highlighting the qualitative research methodology.
  • Dr. Shikha Singh presented the case titled “Astitva, mujhse meri pehchaan: A social entrepreneurship journey”, that was presented by her in the International Conference on Management Cases (ICMC), 2019 organised jointly by BIMTECH (Greater Noida), Muma College of Business (University of South Florida) and University of Eastern Finland during 5th to 6th Dec.2019. She had won the BIMTECH - Dr. G.D. Sardhana memorial: "Young Scholar Award" for this case.
  • Mr. Narendra Singh Chaudhary discussed about his ongoing research on various topics including “Association between organizational norms and employee productivity in higher education”, “What drives research in higher education? An Indian context” and “Whistle blowing intentions”.

During the activity, faculty members appreciated the efforts of all the presenters and also provided suggestions for future research. The discussions held during the study circle helped all the faculty members in keeping the research momentum going.