research topics on education in india

Research Topics & Ideas: Education

170+ Research Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

If you’re just starting out exploring education-related topics for your dissertation, thesis or research project, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll help kickstart your research topic ideation process by providing a hearty list of research topics and ideas , including examples from actual dissertations and theses..

PS – This is just the start…

We know it’s exciting to run through a list of research topics, but please keep in mind that this list is just a starting point . To develop a suitable education-related research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , and a viable plan of action to fill that gap.

If this sounds foreign to you, check out our free research topic webinar that explores how to find and refine a high-quality research topic, from scratch. Alternatively, if you’d like hands-on help, consider our 1-on-1 coaching service .

Overview: Education Research Topics

• How to find a research topic (video)
• List of 50+ education-related research topics/ideas
• List of 120+ level-specific research topics 
• Examples of actual dissertation topics in education
• Tips to fast-track your topic ideation (video)
• Free Webinar : Topic Ideation 101
• Where to get extra help

Education-Related Research Topics & Ideas

Below you’ll find a list of education-related research topics and idea kickstarters. These are fairly broad and flexible to various contexts, so keep in mind that you will need to refine them a little. Nevertheless, they should inspire some ideas for your project.

• The impact of school funding on student achievement
• The effects of social and emotional learning on student well-being
• The effects of parental involvement on student behaviour
• The impact of teacher training on student learning
• The impact of classroom design on student learning
• The impact of poverty on education
• The use of student data to inform instruction
• The role of parental involvement in education
• The effects of mindfulness practices in the classroom
• The use of technology in the classroom
• The role of critical thinking in education
• The use of formative and summative assessments in the classroom
• The use of differentiated instruction in the classroom
• The use of gamification in education
• The effects of teacher burnout on student learning
• The impact of school leadership on student achievement
• The effects of teacher diversity on student outcomes
• The role of teacher collaboration in improving student outcomes
• The implementation of blended and online learning
• The effects of teacher accountability on student achievement
• The effects of standardized testing on student learning
• The effects of classroom management on student behaviour
• The effects of school culture on student achievement
• The use of student-centred learning in the classroom
• The impact of teacher-student relationships on student outcomes
• The achievement gap in minority and low-income students
• The use of culturally responsive teaching in the classroom
• The impact of teacher professional development on student learning
• The use of project-based learning in the classroom
• The effects of teacher expectations on student achievement
• The use of adaptive learning technology in the classroom
• The impact of teacher turnover on student learning
• The effects of teacher recruitment and retention on student learning
• The impact of early childhood education on later academic success
• The impact of parental involvement on student engagement
• The use of positive reinforcement in education
• The impact of school climate on student engagement
• The role of STEM education in preparing students for the workforce
• The effects of school choice on student achievement
• The use of technology in the form of online tutoring

Level-Specific Research Topics

Looking for research topics for a specific level of education? We’ve got you covered. Below you can find research topic ideas for primary, secondary and tertiary-level education contexts. Click the relevant level to view the respective list.

Research Topics: Pick An Education Level

Primary education.

• Investigating the effects of peer tutoring on academic achievement in primary school
• Exploring the benefits of mindfulness practices in primary school classrooms
• Examining the effects of different teaching strategies on primary school students’ problem-solving skills
• The use of storytelling as a teaching strategy in primary school literacy instruction
• The role of cultural diversity in promoting tolerance and understanding in primary schools
• The impact of character education programs on moral development in primary school students
• Investigating the use of technology in enhancing primary school mathematics education
• The impact of inclusive curriculum on promoting equity and diversity in primary schools
• The impact of outdoor education programs on environmental awareness in primary school students
• The influence of school climate on student motivation and engagement in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of early literacy interventions on reading comprehension in primary school students
• The impact of parental involvement in school decision-making processes on student achievement in primary schools
• Exploring the benefits of inclusive education for students with special needs in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of teacher-student feedback on academic motivation in primary schools
• The role of technology in developing digital literacy skills in primary school students
• Effective strategies for fostering a growth mindset in primary school students
• Investigating the role of parental support in reducing academic stress in primary school children
• The role of arts education in fostering creativity and self-expression in primary school students
• Examining the effects of early childhood education programs on primary school readiness
• Examining the effects of homework on primary school students’ academic performance
• The role of formative assessment in improving learning outcomes in primary school classrooms
• The impact of teacher-student relationships on academic outcomes in primary school
• Investigating the effects of classroom environment on student behavior and learning outcomes in primary schools
• Investigating the role of creativity and imagination in primary school curriculum
• The impact of nutrition and healthy eating programs on academic performance in primary schools
• The impact of social-emotional learning programs on primary school students’ well-being and academic performance
• The role of parental involvement in academic achievement of primary school children
• Examining the effects of classroom management strategies on student behavior in primary school
• The role of school leadership in creating a positive school climate Exploring the benefits of bilingual education in primary schools
• The effectiveness of project-based learning in developing critical thinking skills in primary school students
• The role of inquiry-based learning in fostering curiosity and critical thinking in primary school students
• The effects of class size on student engagement and achievement in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of recess and physical activity breaks on attention and learning in primary school
• Exploring the benefits of outdoor play in developing gross motor skills in primary school children
• The effects of educational field trips on knowledge retention in primary school students
• Examining the effects of inclusive classroom practices on students’ attitudes towards diversity in primary schools
• The impact of parental involvement in homework on primary school students’ academic achievement
• Investigating the effectiveness of different assessment methods in primary school classrooms
• The influence of physical activity and exercise on cognitive development in primary school children
• Exploring the benefits of cooperative learning in promoting social skills in primary school students

Secondary Education

• Investigating the effects of school discipline policies on student behavior and academic success in secondary education
• The role of social media in enhancing communication and collaboration among secondary school students
• The impact of school leadership on teacher effectiveness and student outcomes in secondary schools
• Investigating the effects of technology integration on teaching and learning in secondary education
• Exploring the benefits of interdisciplinary instruction in promoting critical thinking skills in secondary schools
• The impact of arts education on creativity and self-expression in secondary school students
• The effectiveness of flipped classrooms in promoting student learning in secondary education
• The role of career guidance programs in preparing secondary school students for future employment
• Investigating the effects of student-centered learning approaches on student autonomy and academic success in secondary schools
• The impact of socio-economic factors on educational attainment in secondary education
• Investigating the impact of project-based learning on student engagement and academic achievement in secondary schools
• Investigating the effects of multicultural education on cultural understanding and tolerance in secondary schools
• The influence of standardized testing on teaching practices and student learning in secondary education
• Investigating the effects of classroom management strategies on student behavior and academic engagement in secondary education
• The influence of teacher professional development on instructional practices and student outcomes in secondary schools
• The role of extracurricular activities in promoting holistic development and well-roundedness in secondary school students
• Investigating the effects of blended learning models on student engagement and achievement in secondary education
• The role of physical education in promoting physical health and well-being among secondary school students
• Investigating the effects of gender on academic achievement and career aspirations in secondary education
• Exploring the benefits of multicultural literature in promoting cultural awareness and empathy among secondary school students
• The impact of school counseling services on student mental health and well-being in secondary schools
• Exploring the benefits of vocational education and training in preparing secondary school students for the workforce
• The role of digital literacy in preparing secondary school students for the digital age
• The influence of parental involvement on academic success and well-being of secondary school students
• The impact of social-emotional learning programs on secondary school students’ well-being and academic success
• The role of character education in fostering ethical and responsible behavior in secondary school students
• Examining the effects of digital citizenship education on responsible and ethical technology use among secondary school students
• The impact of parental involvement in school decision-making processes on student outcomes in secondary schools
• The role of educational technology in promoting personalized learning experiences in secondary schools
• The impact of inclusive education on the social and academic outcomes of students with disabilities in secondary schools
• The influence of parental support on academic motivation and achievement in secondary education
• The role of school climate in promoting positive behavior and well-being among secondary school students
• Examining the effects of peer mentoring programs on academic achievement and social-emotional development in secondary schools
• Examining the effects of teacher-student relationships on student motivation and achievement in secondary schools
• Exploring the benefits of service-learning programs in promoting civic engagement among secondary school students
• The impact of educational policies on educational equity and access in secondary education
• Examining the effects of homework on academic achievement and student well-being in secondary education
• Investigating the effects of different assessment methods on student performance in secondary schools
• Examining the effects of single-sex education on academic performance and gender stereotypes in secondary schools
• The role of mentoring programs in supporting the transition from secondary to post-secondary education

Tertiary Education

• The role of student support services in promoting academic success and well-being in higher education
• The impact of internationalization initiatives on students’ intercultural competence and global perspectives in tertiary education
• Investigating the effects of active learning classrooms and learning spaces on student engagement and learning outcomes in tertiary education
• Exploring the benefits of service-learning experiences in fostering civic engagement and social responsibility in higher education
• The influence of learning communities and collaborative learning environments on student academic and social integration in higher education
• Exploring the benefits of undergraduate research experiences in fostering critical thinking and scientific inquiry skills
• Investigating the effects of academic advising and mentoring on student retention and degree completion in higher education
• The role of student engagement and involvement in co-curricular activities on holistic student development in higher education
• The impact of multicultural education on fostering cultural competence and diversity appreciation in higher education
• The role of internships and work-integrated learning experiences in enhancing students’ employability and career outcomes
• Examining the effects of assessment and feedback practices on student learning and academic achievement in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty professional development on instructional practices and student outcomes in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty-student relationships on student success and well-being in tertiary education
• The impact of college transition programs on students’ academic and social adjustment to higher education
• The impact of online learning platforms on student learning outcomes in higher education
• The impact of financial aid and scholarships on access and persistence in higher education
• The influence of student leadership and involvement in extracurricular activities on personal development and campus engagement
• Exploring the benefits of competency-based education in developing job-specific skills in tertiary students
• Examining the effects of flipped classroom models on student learning and retention in higher education
• Exploring the benefits of online collaboration and virtual team projects in developing teamwork skills in tertiary students
• Investigating the effects of diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus climate and student experiences in tertiary education
• The influence of study abroad programs on intercultural competence and global perspectives of college students
• Investigating the effects of peer mentoring and tutoring programs on student retention and academic performance in tertiary education
• Investigating the effectiveness of active learning strategies in promoting student engagement and achievement in tertiary education
• Investigating the effects of blended learning models and hybrid courses on student learning and satisfaction in higher education
• The role of digital literacy and information literacy skills in supporting student success in the digital age
• Investigating the effects of experiential learning opportunities on career readiness and employability of college students
• The impact of e-portfolios on student reflection, self-assessment, and showcasing of learning in higher education
• The role of technology in enhancing collaborative learning experiences in tertiary classrooms
• The impact of research opportunities on undergraduate student engagement and pursuit of advanced degrees
• Examining the effects of competency-based assessment on measuring student learning and achievement in tertiary education
• Examining the effects of interdisciplinary programs and courses on critical thinking and problem-solving skills in college students
• The role of inclusive education and accessibility in promoting equitable learning experiences for diverse student populations
• The role of career counseling and guidance in supporting students’ career decision-making in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty diversity and representation on student success and inclusive learning environments in higher education

Education-Related Dissertations & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a research topic in education, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses in the education space to see how this all comes together in practice.

Below, we’ve included a selection of education-related research projects to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• From Rural to Urban: Education Conditions of Migrant Children in China (Wang, 2019)
• Energy Renovation While Learning English: A Guidebook for Elementary ESL Teachers (Yang, 2019)
• A Reanalyses of Intercorrelational Matrices of Visual and Verbal Learners’ Abilities, Cognitive Styles, and Learning Preferences (Fox, 2020)
• A study of the elementary math program utilized by a mid-Missouri school district (Barabas, 2020)
• Instructor formative assessment practices in virtual learning environments : a posthumanist sociomaterial perspective (Burcks, 2019)
• Higher education students services: a qualitative study of two mid-size universities’ direct exchange programs (Kinde, 2020)
• Exploring editorial leadership : a qualitative study of scholastic journalism advisers teaching leadership in Missouri secondary schools (Lewis, 2020)
• Selling the virtual university: a multimodal discourse analysis of marketing for online learning (Ludwig, 2020)
• Advocacy and accountability in school counselling: assessing the use of data as related to professional self-efficacy (Matthews, 2020)
• The use of an application screening assessment as a predictor of teaching retention at a midwestern, K-12, public school district (Scarbrough, 2020)
• Core values driving sustained elite performance cultures (Beiner, 2020)
• Educative features of upper elementary Eureka math curriculum (Dwiggins, 2020)
• How female principals nurture adult learning opportunities in successful high schools with challenging student demographics (Woodward, 2020)
• The disproportionality of Black Males in Special Education: A Case Study Analysis of Educator Perceptions in a Southeastern Urban High School (McCrae, 2021)

As you can see, these research topics are a lot more focused than the generic topic ideas we presented earlier. So, in order for you to develop a high-quality research topic, you’ll need to get specific and laser-focused on a specific context with specific variables of interest.  In the video below, we explore some other important things you’ll need to consider when crafting your research topic.

Get 1-On-1 Help

If you’re still unsure about how to find a quality research topic within education, check out our Research Topic Kickstarter service, which is the perfect starting point for developing a unique, well-justified research topic.

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State of the Education Report for India 2023

The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) New Delhi Regional Office launched the fifth edition of its annual flagship report,  Seeds of Change - UNESCO 2023 State of the Education Report for India on Education to address Climate Change .

This year’s report delves into the role of education in tackling the increasingly complex and intensifying challenges posed by climate change. India, like many parts of the world, continues to bear witness to the dire consequences of climate change through climate disasters and biodiversity losses. Education’s full potential to shape a generation that understands the gravity of this urgent issue and equip them with the tools to combat it must be realized now.  

The National Education Policy 2020 underscores the importance of making environmental education an integral part of school curricula at all stages. In order to address climate change in India, the Ministry of Education strongly believes in the role that education can play in resolving impacts of climate change. This report by UNESCO is very timely as it comes at a time when India is making significant strides in working on the issue of climate change.

Education is a transformational tool in our fight against climate change – when we know better, we can do better. Educational systems must adapt to equip younger generations with the knowledge, skills and competencies to prepare them for the impacts of climate change. This year’s UNESCO State of the Education Report for India is dedicated to the pivotal role of education in addressing climate change. We can see from the research that India has already taken some significant steps in this direction, and in doing so, is helping to  promote  sustainable and long-term solutions to this global challenge.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT) commitment to addressing climate change through school education aligns seamlessly with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The NCERT is delighted to know that the UNESCO New Delhi Regional Office has developed this report on the pivotal theme of education to address climate change and I trust this report will be an informative guide for programmes directed towards climate change education.

In 2023, India ranked eighth out of 59 countries and the European Union (collectively accounting for 92% of global greenhouse gas emissions) on climate performance according to the Climate Change Performance Index, rising two spots from the previous year. The country’s new National Curriculum Framework revised in 2023 mentions climate change 52 times. Today, India is a country well-suited for an exploration of climate education innovations, and UNESCO’s report highlights its best practices and future opportunities to do just that. 

UNESCO - has long promoted the mobilization of intersectoral partnerships, political commitments, and youth empowerment as key drivers for fully leveraging education in building a greener and more sustainable future. Its global programme, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), contributes to this end by laying the foundation for global collaboration and policy innovation. Additionally, the Greening Education Partnership (GEP), launched by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2022, provides a practical framework for education stakeholders to take further action and UNESCO serves as the secretariat to the Greening Education Partnership (GEP). 

To date, 80 Member States have joined the Partnership, for which UNESCO serves as the secretariat with strong commitment to green education systems, structured around four pillars of transformative education: 

Greening schools

Greening curriculum

Greening teacher training and education systems’ capacities

Greening communities

The four pillars of the GEP are used as a guide with which the report analyzes India’s state of education to address climate change. The report is a synergy between UNESCO’s globally informed framework and the local expertise cultivated by the research team from the Centre for Environmental Education, India who authored this report. 

The report concludes with ten concrete recommendations for education sector stakeholders, which we hope will facilitate immediate actions to enhance education’s role in addressing climate change. We also hope that the recommendations will inspire stakeholders in the environmental sector to further engage with education in their policy initiatives. 

The ten recommendations are: 

Emphasize the urgent need for collective action to address climate change through education 

Include a climate change education component in all development policies 

Integrate climate change education at all stages of education 

Support educational institutions to be green and climate-ready

Embed climate change perspectives into green skills and vocational education programmes 

Empower teachers with comprehensive climate change education training and resources 

Engage with the youth to build a green future

Incorporate local and traditional knowledge that supports low-carbon lifestyles in climate change education

Promote partnerships to foster innovations in climate change education 

Strengthen and create education-centred portals to provide reliable information on climate change 

The launch event also showcased an engaging exhibition highlighting various initiatives taken to develop education to address climate change in India. 

UNESCO New Delhi Regional Office extends its gratitude to UNICEF India, British Council India, and the Mobius Foundation for their support and cooperation. 

To illustrate the report in an accessible manner, the following audio-visual package is also available free of copyright on  UNESCO New Delhi’s YouTube channel : 

Summary video underlining the recommendations of the report

Short capsules highlighting the key recommendations of the report 

Seeds of Change - 2023 State of the Education report for India on Education to Address Climate Change

Related items.

• Natural sciences
• Future of education
• Policy Advice
• Programme implementation
• Sharing knowledge
• Country page: India
• Region: Asia and the Pacific
• UNESCO Office in New Delhi
• SDG: SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
• SDG: SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
• See more add

This article is related to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals .

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Urvashi sahni urvashi sahni nonresident fellow - global economy and development , center for universal education @urvashi_sahni.

January 20, 2015

Content from the Brookings Institution India Center is now archived . After seven years of an impactful partnership, as of September 11, 2020, Brookings India is now the Centre for Social and Economic Progress , an independent public policy institution based in India.

In recent decades India has made significant progress on access to schooling and enrollment rates in primary education but dropout rates and low levels of learning remain challenges for the state and central government. As the U.S. has a longer history of public education than India there are opportunities for India to learn from the successes and failures in the American education system and to collaborate in tackling shared challenges, such as the best use of technology in primary education.

Primary school enrollment in India has been a success story, largely due to various programs and drives to increase enrolment even in remote areas. With enrollment reaching at least 96 percent since 2009, and girls making up 56 percent of new students between 2007 and 2013, it is clear that many problems of access to schooling have been addressed. Improvements to infrastructure have been a priority to achieve this and India now has 1.4 million schools and 7.7 million teachers so that 98 percent of habitations have a primary school (class I-V) within one kilometer and 92 percent have an upper primary school (class VI-VIII) within a three-kilometer walking distance.

Despite these improvements, keeping children in school through graduation is still an issue and dropout rates continue to be high. Nationally 29 percent of children drop out before completing five years of primary school, and 43 percent before finishing upper primary school. High school completion is only 42 percent. This lands India among the top five nations for out-of-school children of primary school age, with 1.4 million 6 to 11 year olds not attending school. In many ways schools are not equipped to handle the full population – there is a teacher shortage of 689,000 teachers in primary schools, only 53 percent of schools have functional girls’ toilets and 74 percent have access to drinking water.

Additionally, the quality of learning is a major issue and reports show that children are not achieving class-appropriate learning levels. According to Pratham’s Annual Status of Education 2013 report, close to 78 percent of children in Standard III and about 50 percent of children in Standard V cannot yet read Standard II texts. Arithmetic is also a cause for concern as only 26 percent students in Standard V can do a division problem. Without immediate and urgent help, these children cannot effectively progress in the education system, and so improving the quality of learning in schools is the next big challenge for both the state and central governments.

Improving learning will require attention to many things, including increasing teacher accountability. According to school visits teacher attendance is just 85 percent in primary and middle schools and raising the amount of time teachers spend on-task and increasing their responsibility for student learning also needs improvement. Part of this process requires better assessments at each grade level and more efficient monitoring and support systems. Overall, the public school system also needs a better general management system.

India also faces many challenges that could be tackled through the education system. For one gender issues have come to the fore because of the spate of recent cases of violence against girls. Changing gender mindsets seems to be imperative and gender studies education is one way of doing so. Also India, along with most countries, is concerned with the future of the labor market and employability; Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi wants to emphasize skill development in order to make school education more practically relevant.

Areas of Collaboration

Many of India’s concerns about education are shared by the U.S., such as ensuring quality, improving teacher capabilities, effective use of technology, and improving management systems. The US and India can achieve better learning outcomes if they pool their experience and resources – both intellectual and economic.

Leveraging technology : Both the U.S. and India are looking for solutions to provide high-quality learning opportunities to marginalized students. Technology has a lot of potential to improve education but how it can be implemented most effectively and in the case of India, most cost-effectively, still remains a question. There are several initiatives in India, by NGOs, like the Azim Premji Foundation & Digital Studyhall, and corporations like ILFS, Educom, Intel, Medialabs, to mention just a few, in content creation, teacher training and classroom learning. So far philanthropists and incubators are the ones who have helped to identify and scale best practices. A more officially driven effort is required to evaluate digital content and even more importantly to develop cost effective methods of making these available to teachers and students in areas where resources are scarce. Prime Minister Modi has shown a keen interest in this area, mentioning the need for ‘digital classrooms’ several times in his speeches in India and abroad. Given the issues of scale in terms of numbers and geography, which India needs to tackle in order to reach all her children and make sure they are learning effectively, technology definitely has an important role to play. The U.S. and India could collaborate and work to understand together how technology might be leveraged to improve student learning, teacher training, monitoring and support, management of schools and the quality of learning, especially in remote districts. The U.S. already has much experience in providing technology to schools and India could learn from its successes and failures. Furthermore, collaboration with the U.S. could help promote research in this area and build the evidence base in India.

Teacher education : The lack of learning in India’s schools call for changes to teacher education. A collaboration between American universities’ schools of education with Indian teacher training institutes could help build capacity and upgrade teacher education both in terms of curriculum and pedagogy, which is much needed in Indian teacher education institutions like the District Institutes of Education and Training. Such collaborations could be facilitated through technology, collaborative research projects, teacher exchanges, and subsidized online courses for teachers in India by universities in the United States.

Building good assessment systems : Good assessments are useful at the classroom level for teachers to gauge their students’ understanding and also to inform policy. The need for regular and useful assessments in India is something that Indian departments of education are focusing on at the central and state level. The U.S. could share lessons learned on how to make assessments as effective as possible in terms of assessment design, implementation and management of data.

Gender studies education : The state of women in India has recently drawn a lot of attention and promoting gender equality through education has an important role to play. Boys and girls should be taught to think about gender equality from an early age and the curriculum should include gender studies with appropriate teacher training. The U.S. could share its experiences of promoting gender equality through schools and help advance both action and research.

Skills Development : As making education more practically relevant to the labor market is a priority for Prime Minister Modi, there is much India can learn from experiences in the United States. A shared agenda of helping identify and implement improved ways to develop skills and competencies even at the school level could be an important area for collaboration.

Resources : Currently spending on education is low in India, and stands at 3.4 percent of the GDP. The U.S. might be able to help make it more of a priority, and nudge the government to increase spending on education.

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March 28, 2024

Recent trends of research in open and distance education in India

Asian Association of Open Universities Journal

ISSN : 2414-6994

Article publication date: 1 October 2020

Issue publication date: 19 October 2020

The purpose of this paper was to analyse the research trends on the Indian Open and Distance Education (ODE) system as reflected in the articles published in the prominent journals of distance education across the world.

Design/methodology/approach

A study was undertaken to review the research articles on ODE in India published in 11 prominent peer-reviewed journals of distance education during the period 2010–2019. Content analysis was done to find out areas of research undertaken in the ODE of India based on a validated classification of research areas; types of research studies conducted; and authorship and publication patterns.

Out of a total of 2,571 articles published in 11 selected journals, only 191 (7.42%) pertained to ODE in India. The majority of these 191 articles (68.42%) were published in Indian journals. The Indian and Asian journals together accounted for 93.55% of total articles. Globally, the share of articles on the Indian ODE system was significantly low ranging between 4.27 and a maximum of 10.77%, which was much below expectations from a country having the maximum number of ODE learners in the world. Results further revealed that 63% of the contributors to research on ODE in India were affiliated to Indira Gandhi National Open University.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this study was only analysing the research articles published in journals of distance education and other types of articles, namely, book reviews, editorials, field notes and workshop reports were excluded from the analysis.

Practical implications

The study is intended to help researchers, policymakers, and open and distance education institutions to draw a roadmap for the promotion and conduct of system-based research, which would be vital for strengthening the system.

Social implications

The quantum of research is not proportionate to the number of faculty members working in the ODE system of India and the large number of learners that it serves, which is a matter of concern. For any system to grow its periodic systemic review is essential. The research outcomes need to be ploughed back into the system for its betterment.

Originality/value

The study is original. There is no such study undertaken till date. This study will be extremely useful to researchers, as the gaps in distance education research which are yet to be addressed, have been identified by the authors.

• Open and distance education
• Content analysis
• Research trends
• Research areas

Srivastava, M. , Mishra, B. , Rao, D.K. , Abrol, N. , Varma, V. and Bhushan, B. (2020), "Recent trends of research in open and distance education in India", Asian Association of Open Universities Journal , Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 263-283. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAOUJ-06-2020-0044

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Manjulika Srivastava, Bijayalaxmi Mishra, Dev Kant Rao, Navita Abrol, Vandana Varma and Bharat Bhushan

Published in Asian Association of Open Universities Journal . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

The seed of distance education, sown in the middle of the 19th century, blossomed a century later, for the reason that many countries had adopted it post-Second World War. Decolonization led many nations on the trail of expanding their educational base. The opportunity of access, affordability and convenience offered by the Distance Education system made it the preferred choice for them. The foundation of the British Open University in 1969 was a seminal moment in the history of distance education and its subsequent success had a rippling effect across the world ( Srivastava, 2012 ). The Open University system ushered in “radical deviations from the traditions of University Education” by introducing large scale industrialization of education ( Peters, 1983 ). By this time, a century's worth research had gone into the growth and development of the Distance Education system. On the basis of review of the research conducted in the field of distance education during 1970s and 1980s, “the dearth of research on Distance Education was replaced by a wealth of studies” (Holmberg, 1986). More than 300 studies on distance education could be listed that had been published mostly in the latter half of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. Interestingly these research studies had their base in the knowledge and theory already developed in other disciplines such as Education, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, History and Economics. Such efforts that lead to emergence of new knowledge, can be ascribed to the beginnings of a new discipline, that of distance education ( Holmberg, 1986 ).

The first journal to publish research specifically in the field of distance education was “ Distance Education” published by the Australian and South Pacific External Studies Association (ASPESA) – the predecessor of the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA), founded in 1973 for professional development of distance educators working in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the member countries of the University of the South Pacific ( Bewley, 2008 ). It was followed, almost simultaneously in the 1980s, by launch of three more international journals, namely, “ Open Learning” in 1986 (renamed as “Open Learning: The Journal of Open Distance and e-Learning”); the “ Journal of Distance Education” in 1986 (renamed as “The International Journal of E-Learning and Distance Education” in 2014) and the “ American Journal of Distance Education” in 1987. These journals played a pivotal role in establishing distance education as a separate discipline in the scholarly world ( Moore, 2016 ). The distance education as a discipline thereafter never looked back and a number of good quality journals were introduced centred around various facades of open and distance education (ODE) which has resulted in an exponential growth in the literature on ODE.

India, with 15 Open Universities (OUs), more than a 100 Directorates of Distance Education (DDEs) which are functioning under Dual Mode Universities (DMUs), and more than 1.7 million learners pursuing their higher education through this mode ( UGC, 2019 ), has one of the largest ODE systems in the world. For any system to grow and maintain its quality and standards, its periodic review is essential. Being a dynamic technology-assisted system, ODE keeps on evolving with the adoption of new technological interventions, and needs to be regularly evaluated to ensure the efficacy and effectiveness of the system. The journals published in the field of distance education are providing the platform to distance educators/practitioners, teachers and students working/studying at these institutions to publish scholarly work in the field of ODE and at the same time disseminate their scholarship and extension of their research to the rest of the world. From an Indian perspective, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) took the lead and started the “ Indian Journal of Open Learning (IJOL)” in 1992 for promoting professional development of its teachers, academics and students, including their counterparts working in other OUs and DDEs. The launch of IJOL was major milestone in the journey of research in distance education in India. Along with launching the journal, IGNOU also played a major role in strengthening the concept of system-based research by funding ODE faculty members working at IGNOU, other OUs and DDEs to undertake research on various facets of ODE. The erstwhile Distance Education Council (DEC) under its research project scheme provided funding to nearly 100 research projects to the tune of about 10m rupees ( Srivastava, 2012 ).

The University Grants Commission (Open and Distance Learning) Regulations, 2017, which regulates all ODE Institutions in India, lays major emphasis on research by faculty members ( Government of India, 2017 ). Research has also been made mandatory for all teachers and academics working in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) including universities, as it acts as an important indicator for evaluating their academic performance in appointments and career advancement ( Government of India, 2010 , 2018 ). Promoting and undertaking quality research is as essential for Indian universities, as it is for other universities, to achieve higher global rankings. To encourage system-based research, Research, Innovations and Extension, forms a major criterion for assessing and grading an OU or a DDE working under a DMU for accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). In the case of an OU, this criterion is assigned 20% of the overall weightage. NAAC evaluates an OU by assessing the contribution of its teachers and other academic staff members in research for the development of the ODE system; and other disciplines to contribute to new knowledge. Therefore, OUs are expected to give due consideration to research and provide a conducive and enabling environment in terms of infrastructure, human resource and finance, etc. to different stakeholders. Research, hence, needs to be facilitated by a suitable policy framework. This criterion seeks information on the policies, practices of research and development at a university ( NAAC, 2019 ). Also, it is the quality of research which represents the academic image of not just the individual carrying out research, but also the institution to which the researcher belongs.

To assess the quantum of research done on ODE at higher education level in India;

To explore the trends of areas research in the ODE;

To categorize research in ODE from the point of view of the research methods used along with the institutional affiliation of the researchers undertaking research in ODE;

To find out the potential areas and the hitherto neglected areas of research in ODE in India and

To suggest measures to improve the standards and encourage system-based research.

Literature review

Regular attempts have been made to review and classify research on distance education across the world, with a few isolated attempts on research trends on ODE in India. The first major study that focussed on the research articles published on Correspondence Education, prevalent in India since 1960s, was undertaken by Gupta and Arun in 1986. In their study Gupta and Arun categorized the research articles into 11 areas and highlighted that the focus of research was on the concept and definitions, course development, use of media and technology, student evaluation, student enrolment and dropout, the problems that ails the system and its future. They pointed out that research was still at the nascent stage since most of the articles expressed the views of the authors and not based on empirical study ( Gupta and Arun, 1986 ).

The next major study was undertaken by Panda (1992) , which was far more comprehensive and exhaustive, covering 142 research articles on ODE in India both published and unpublished and MPhil and PhD dissertations. The research studies across selected articles were classified under nine research themes, with a clear demarcation of research under correspondence education and ODE and further placed in the structural framework of input, process and output model. The themes shortlisted by Panda covered almost all facets of ODE, namely, concept and growth; course design and development; instruction; learner support; media and technology; learners and learning; policy and management; evaluation; economics and staff development. Through his study, Panda (1992) brought out that the majority of the research articles were descriptive surveys with not so structured methodological designs and that there was a lack of holistic studies to arrive at any generalizations. He highlighted numerous constraints for research in distance education which were lack of funding, staff members and institutional policy. This study evolved into a book covering 152 research studies on ODE in India with detailed annotations on 88 research studies with the authors expressing the same concerns as pointed out by Panda in 1992 ( Panda et al. , 1996 ).

The study by Panda was followed by Mishra (1997) , who undertook an elaborate study across 361 articles published in four leading distance education journals. He analysed the nature of research published in these journals; research methods used; average number of references per contribution; contributions without references; authorship pattern; the most frequent contributors and their country of origin. The study by Mishra revealed that research in distance education was majorly based on survey method, mostly descriptive and lacked methodological rigour. He also found that single authors were contributing to majority of the research articles and that more than 80% papers originated from the UK, USA, Canada and India, which interestingly coincides with our findings.

On the completion of 10 years of IJOL, Mishra (2002) undertook another study. This time, he did a comprehensive review of all the research articles published in the IJOL since its inception covering the first decade of its existence. In his analysis pointed out that it was the IGNOU that provided it strong institutional support to the journal because of which it emerged as a good platform for exchange of ideas and dissemination of information for both Indian and foreign authors. Mishra's findings, however, matched with his own as well as other researcher's findings that the research methods used in the articles published in IJOL were mostly descriptive, followed by survey method and conceptual analysis with the majority of researchers using questionnaire and psychometric scale and lack of methodological rigour. Another finding that the first author's country of origin being India (66%) and that even within India, majority of articles originated from Delhi, again coincides with our findings. Thereafter, Tripathi and Kanungo (2010) made an attempt to profile the type of research including citation analysis, authorship pattern, popular areas of research and research methodologies used, published in IJOL from 2000 to 2009 covering 204 articles authored by 335 contributors. In a recently published article, Satyanarayana and Mantha (2018) had summarized all the review studies undertaken in a chronological manner up to 2006 only. In any case, in the study by Mishra of 2002 IJOL emerged as one of the most scholarly publications of ODE in India.

We did not come across any other such major review of research in ODE in India, justifying the need for taking up the review of literature published on ODE system of India and find out the gaps in the existing research, so as to suggest a way forward.

Methodology

This research study was undertaken to explore the research on ODE conducted in India and abroad and published in prominent journals of distance education during the last decade from 2010 to 2019 by mapping the research contribution of Indian and foreign researchers working at HEIs in India and abroad. The study was based on an extensive review of articles on “Open and Distance Education in India”, published in 11 prominent journals in the field of distance education, three of which were published within India while rest eight were published abroad ( Table 1 ). Only those Indian journals were included in the study which featured in the UGC Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics (UGC CARE) list.

Based on data mining of 2,571 articles published across 104 volumes and 306 issues and published between 2010 and 2019 in 11 selected journals; 191 articles that focussed on research in ODE in India, were shortlisted. The content of these 191 articles was thoroughly analysed by our team of six raters or coders for classification of the areas of research, the types of research methods used by the researchers including their institutional affiliations, authorship pattern, gender-wise distribution and a content analysis of research studies conducted. A tool was prepared for data collection covering the following parameters: volume number, issue number; total number of articles published in each issue; article on ODE in India which was further classified under the following: research area, research method used; institutional affiliation of the author(s) and gender of the first author, The collected data were subjected to quantitative and descriptive analysis for reporting the outcomes of the study and graphical presentations to explicitly highlight the findings.

Inter-rater reliability between coders

In order to ensure the reliability of data and rating methods, the authors conducted an inter-rater reliability test, by conducting a sample analysis across 30 randomly selected articles. In order to ensure minimum variation, the coding was done at two levels, first all the six authors (coders) coded the articles distributed amongst them and second, once the coding at individual levels was completed, all the six coders were divided into two groups of three coders each, who again checked the correctness of coding. Finally, for evaluating the degree of consistency amongst the coders, we used the Cohen's Kappa by randomly selecting 30 articles ( Cohen, 1960 ; Neumann, 2007 ; Zawacki-Richter et al. , 2009 ). For the classification of research methods, a coding consistency of 0.799 was achieved between groups A and B. The coding consistency for classification of research area between group A and group B was 0.934. Thus, the inter-rater reliability, being more than 0.75, was excellent for both coding of research methods as well as research area ( Fleiss, 1981 ; Bakeman and Gottman, 1997 ).

Findings and analysis

Journal-wise representation of research on ode in india.

An analysis of articles published in the selected 11 journals of distance education, revealed that out of total 2,571 articles published during the period 2010–2019, only 191 or a meagre 7.42 pertained to ODE in India ( Table 1 ). Interestingly a majority of these articles (68.42%) were published in the journals published from India, namely, Indian Journal of Open Learning (36.65%), Edu Tech e-Journal of Education and Technology (12.04%) and Asian Journal of Distance Education (19.37%). If we further add the articles published in Asian Association of Open Universities (contributing 4.71%) published by Indonesia, and Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education (contributing 20.42%) published by Turkey, both being Asian countries, then this share further increases to 93.55%, signifying almost negligible articles on ODE on India were published by journals originating from European or American or other countries ( Figure 1 ).

The shares of articles published on Indian ODE within respective journal was also calculated. The findings show that barring IJOL wherein articles on Indian ODE featured to the tune of 72.92%, no other journal, including those published within India, contributed more than 34% on Indian ODE (EduTech 33.33% and AJDE 30.57%) of the total articles published therein.

The year-wise distribution data of articles further showed that the share of articles on ODE in India in the overall publications was significantly low ranging from a low of 4.27% in 2014 to maximum 10.77% in 2013 ( Figure 2 ). This low representation for sure was much below expectations from a country contributing to maximum number of ODE learners in the world. Thus, our findings coincide with the findings of other researchers including Mishra (2002) .

Pattern of authorship

In order to study the authorship pattern as to whether the research on ODE in India has been solitary or collaborative, and if collaborative, then whether the collaboration was inter- or intra-institutional, we examined the trends in authorship of the research articles over a period of 10 years across both Indian and International journals. We also tried to map the gender-wise distribution of the researchers, by taking into account the gender of the principal and corresponding author. In case the principal and corresponding authors were different and belonging to different genders, then we split the score equally between the two. In respect of articles not explicitly notifying the principal or corresponding author, the gender of the first author was taken into account.

The total number of authors, who contributed the 191 articles in our study, was 333. The authorship pattern ( Table 2 , Figure 3 ) revealed that almost 97 (50.78%) articles were published by single authors against 94 (49.22%) articles in collaboration. Of the 94 articles published in joint authorship by 241 researchers, accounted for 29.32%; and 14.66% of total 191 articles were published in joint collaboration of two and three authors, respectively. An insignificant 3.66% and 1.57% of the articles were published in joint collaboration of four and five authors, respectively. Trends further showed that except for the year 2010, when publications in joint collaboration of two authors were more than the single author publication, the single author publications always outnumbered publications by two or more authors. This trend in publication of articles on Indian ODE system was indicative of the kind of research undertaken by these authors, which was mostly system based, directed towards policy formulations or representation of learner support services data, where most of the researchers carried out solitary research in their own domains. This trend was in variance with the study conducted by Zawacki-Richter et al. , (2009) who in review of distance education literature published in five prominent journals of distance education between 2000 and 2008 observed a decrease in percentage of single author articles in comparison with an increasing trend towards multiple author articles. Our results of authorship pattern differed from those of Wong et al. (2016) who reported 26.9% single author articles and more than 70% multiple author articles in 2015 as against our 51% and 49% articles published by single and multiple authors, respectively.

An analysis of the institutional affiliation pattern of the 333 authors showed that almost 99% of the articles were written by authors affiliated to Indian Institutions (50 institutions) against only three authors belonging to institutions outside India, i.e. Commonwealth of Learning, Canada, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia and University of Houston, Texas. Interestingly all the authors (100%) in both Indian and foreign institutions were of Indian origin who had contributed articles on ODE in India (see Figure 4 ).

Further analysis of institutional affiliation of the authors revealed that 233 authors were affiliated to Indian Open Universities and 205 were from the Indira Gandhi National Open University alone. Thus, out of the total number of authors from Indian HEIs, 63% came from National Open University, i.e. IGNOU. The contribution of authors from State Open Universities was 8%, together making the contribution of authors working in OUs to 71%. Authors working at other universities (55 authors) and institutions and colleges (38 authors) accounted for the 29% of the total authors which was below expectation, considering more than 200 conventional universities and standalone institutions have been offering programmes through distance mode during this period. Our data in respect of institutional affiliation and collaboration of authors coincides with that of Wong et al. (2016) who reported that a majority of research collaboration was done between authors from the same institution.

Classification of research methods

On the lines of majority of reviewers ( Grant et al. , 1987 ; Zawacki-Richter et al. , 2009 ), we also classified research in ODE into quantitative – comprising articles based on statistical analysis of data using simple to multivariate techniques; qualitative – comprising articles using data without any statistical analysis, like case studies, interpretive and descriptive ethnographies, etc.; and mixed – comprising both qualitative and quantitative aspects.

Table 3 describes the types of research articles published on the ODE in India during the last decade (2010–2019) in the 11 journals of distance education selected for this study. The study revealed that, as already mentioned in previous sections, out of a total 191 research articles on ODE in India the majority (36.64%) were published in IJOL, followed by TOJDE (20.41 %) and AJDE (19.37%). Interestingly, not even a single article was published in IJEDE on Indian ODE during the last decade. The study further revealed that around 57.07% of the total 191 articles were based on empirical research whereas nearly 42.93% were theoretical in nature. On further exploration of articles based on empirical research studies, it was established that maximum (55.05%) research studies were of mixed type, i.e. using both qualitative and quantitative methods followed by quantitative research (25.69%) and qualitative research (19.26%).

Our findings vary from Zawacki-Richter et al. (2009) who in their study between 2000 and 2008 comprising 695 articles, had reported 29.1% quantitative, 19.9% qualitative, and 12.9% mixed and 38.1% other studies. Our results also vary from that of Bozkurt et al. (2015) who while studying the research trends in distance education on the basis of articles published between 2009 and 2013, brought out that research studies were mostly qualitative (47%) and quantitative (37%), and just a few were mixed (16%). One of the reasons for this variation is perhaps the fact that only about three-fifth of research studies on ODE in India were empirical in nature (see Figure 5 ).

Further analysis of data on two specific parameters, namely, (1) authorship and (2) the research methods used by the authors, ( Table 3 ) revealed that 53.40% of the principal authors/corresponding authors were females whereas 46.60% were males. This shoulder to shoulder contribution of males and female researchers was certainly an encouraging trend, establishing an encouraging gender-wise representation of faculty members and researchers working in ODE system. With regard to the research methods employed, it was found that while quantitative methods of research were dominated by males, female researchers had majorly undertaken theoretical research methods, and in case of empirical studies they were more focussed towards qualitative research as well as usage of mixed methods comprising both quantitative and qualitative methods in comparison to their male counterparts,. A journal-wise analysis has been presented in Table 3 .

Classification of areas of research

The ODE system is a global phenomenon and hence every country has different research priorities based on the social, economic and geographical context, complexities and requirements. Since the authors attempted to evaluate the trend analysis of research in the ODE system in India, they found it appropriate to select those parameters that were likely to have an impact and change the direction in which ODE was likely to progress in the near future. Therefore, the seven key parameters identified and prescribed by the NAAC for assessment and accreditation of Open Universities and Directorates of Distance Education, formed the broad categories of classifying research articles published in the journals selected for present study, (mentioned at serial number 1 to 7, Table 4 ). In addition, since the research in the country could not be segregated and isolated from global perspectives and development in the field of ODE, the following four more areas were also added explicitly in addition to the above listed seven categories, namely, Scope, Growth and Development; Economics and Funding; Quality Assurance in ODE; and Globalization and Networking (mentioned at serial number 8 to 11, Table 4 ).

We thoroughly examined all the 191 articles on Indian ODE system for classifying them on the basis of research area an analysis of which has been given in Table 5 , Figure 6 . The data in Table 5 revealed the frequency of publications under different areas as categorized under 11 heads. A glance at the total number of publications across the broad categories of research over a period of 10 years showed that teaching, learning and evaluation comprised the highest number of articles with 36.13% of the total publications followed by articles on the curricular aspects (18.85%); learner support and progression (14.13%); governance, leadership and management (9.95%); research, innovation and extension (6.81% ); scope, growth and development (6.28%); infrastructure and learning resources (3.14%); quality assurance in ODE (2.62%); institutional values and best practices (0.52%); economics and funding (1.05%); and globalization and networking (0.52%). Our findings somewhat coincide with the findings of Wong et al. (2016) who had reported that that “instructional design” had the largest group of research articles published in both 2005 (25.5%) and 2015 (21.4%) and a significant number of research articles were published on “learner characteristics” in 2015 (14.3%).

The publication trends portrayed the skewed number of publications in some of the important areas like globalization and networking, funding and economics, institutional values and best practices, which certainly was discouraging, requiring ODE institutions in India to introspect and take measures to improve research in those areas. Taking cue from the available data, it could be inferred that probably our ODE institutions were yet to focus on areas with a global perspective. Our findings of an imbalance in the articles published across various research areas is in consonance with that of Zawacki-Richter et al. (2009) and Bozkurt et al. (2015) who had also found an imbalance between research areas as well as the fact that research on areas such as globalization and cultural aspects of ODE remain relatively scarce.

Curricular Aspects (36 articles)

(2) Teaching Learning and Evaluation (69 articles)

(3) Research, Innovations and Extension (13 articles)

(4) Infrastructure and Learning Resources (6 articles)

(5) Learner Support and Progression (27 articles)

(6) Governance, Leadership and Management (19 articles)

(7) Institutional Values and Best Practices (1 article)

(8) Scope, Growth and Development (12 articles)

(9) Economics and Funding (2 articles)

(10) Quality Assurance in ODE (5 articles)

(11) Globalization and Networking (1 article)

The sole article explored the possibilities of sharing of academic resources through the adoption of an institutional policy for OERs and MOOCs as part of the global open access and open education movements and networking amongst educational institutions.

Potential areas

Themes like “Governance, Leadership and Management” and “Research, Innovations and Extension” were moderately explored by researchers during last decade. It has further been observed that “Globalization and Networking” thematic area was the least preferred by the researchers for the purpose of research as only one research article was written in this area. Besides this, “Economics and Funding” theme was not touched upon significantly with only two articles found in the journals, though the inflow and outflow of monetary resources is the backbone of any system and considerably required to plan for future endeavours and hence, needs exhaustive research. For any institution to flourish and mark its significance, both quantity along with quality matters, however, without quality, numbers may not sustain for long. Keeping this fact in mind, it is pertinent to mention here that a theme like “Quality Assurance in ODE” was not considered a priority area for research as only five articles were published in the said area. Another area, namely “Institutional Values and Best Practices” was also a neglected area with only one article belonging to this particular theme. Apart from above-mentioned thematic areas, “Infrastructure and Learning Resources” which is an important area reflecting the development of an institution, barely six articles were articulated on this theme, in the last 10 years.

Further, the OUs and DMUs over the years have evolved and have established practices that have become their recognizable attributes or distinctions. These special attributes need to be studied and extensively published so that the model can be replicated or modified as per the needs of other universities. Also, NAAC has established the benchmarks to maintain the standards of quality in the ODE system. New areas of importance have emerged which need to be explored and investigated such as empowerment and inclusion; environmental consciousness and sustainability, human values and professional ethics; transparency in financial, academic and administrative functioning; responsiveness towards learners; accountability and transparency; e-governance; technology enabled learner support; etc. ( NAAC, 2019 ).

Measures for strengthening system-based research

The journey of distance education research, not only in India but also in Asia, has been staggered in terms of its outcome and application for development of the ODE system. The SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR) (2020) which ranks academic and research-related institutions based on research performance, innovation outputs and societal impact measured by their web visibility reveals that only five OUs figure in the portal consisting of 3898 HEIs, namely, The Open University of UK (United Kingdom) ranked 795; the Open University Netherlands (Netherlands)1658 ; the Open University of Israel (Israel) 2,144; Anadolu University (Turkey) 2,328 and Hellenic Open University (Greece) 3105. Interestingly, none of the Asian Open Universities featured in the list. This scenario is palpable since the ODE institutions particularly in India need to travel extra miles and take their endeavours towards making their research base strong. It is not that research is not going on in Indian Open Universities; rather, perhaps it is the non-publication by Indian researchers in international journals that has projected this picture. A university is known by the research it indulges in. Research is the gateway to investigate and identify the gaps and infuse new ideas into the system. The following measures adopted by ODE institutions will strengthen research on ODE system and yield the desired results.

Dedicated research centres

Instances show that wherever the universities have their dedicated research wing, it has yielded results. The Open University UK has a long tradition of carrying out research into learning and learning analytics, applied research into the use of new technologies through its Institute of Educational Technology established in 1970, for modelling the design of learning at the Open University. In this regard, the dedicated research departments on ODE supported by ODE institutions like International Research Foundation , Deakin University, Australia; the American Centre for the Study of Distance Education at College of Education at Pennsylvania State University, USA; Canadian Institute of Distance Education and Research at Athabasca University; need a special mention. Amongst the dedicated research units in Asia: Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE) in IGNOU; Prof. G. Ram Reddy Research Academy of Distance Education (GRADE) in BRAOU; Institute of Distance Education in Korean National Open University and Centre for Research in Distance and Adult Learning (CRIDAL) (renamed as the Institute for Research in Open and Innovative Education ) in Open University of Hong Kong; are also independent units devoted for research in distance education ( Gaba, 2007 ).

Institutional policy on system-based research

A critical analysis through the present study also poses a formidable question. Where have we gone wrong? Maybe it is the absence of a robust institutional policy which has prevented or impeded the research temperament in the OUs and Dual Mode Universities. An institutional policy will put the faculty on the path to undertake both discipline-based and system-based research. System-based research needs to be encouraged by ODE institutions to constantly review the existing practices and bring about qualitative improvements in the functioning of the system. ODE being a dynamic system adopting and adapting to the new technological advancements, needs to be constantly changing as per the requirements of the target groups it serves. However, all systemic changes should be informed decisions embedded in solid research. This will reflect on the commitment of the institution towards quality assurance.

Funding of research activities

The financial health of the OUs, further limits the promotion of research. The 14 State Open Universities in India, contributing significantly to the higher educational aspirants in the country have immense potential. They need adequate financial resources for research, capacity building activities, incentive for research and most pertinently, government support. Therefore, the onus is on the government as well as ODE institutions to encourage research at the university, both systemic and discipline based. In India, where the government targets towards increasing the GER, thrust should be on empowering those universities/institutions particularly which are offering education at affordable costs to the disadvantaged sections of the society.

Collaboration with industry

Collaborative research activities with industries, is one of the important aspects to be integrated in the institutional policy of an ODE institution. Besides the institutional policy, what is important is the need to conduct multidimensional research. It is worth mentioning Borje Holmberg's distinction between endogenous and exogenous research. Endogenous research looks at work done within distance education, such as studying the methods, systems, media, etc. Exogenous research focusses on the economic, demographic, cultural, social and political contexts of ODE. ( Kanwar and Balasubramanian, 2014 ). “Institutions that generate knowledge increasingly play a role in the networks of relations among the key actors: University (Science), Industry (Business), and Government (Governance). The governments create a system that defines, regulates an innovation process of enterprises. Conceptualization of this system is provided by a three-dimensional vector space called Triple Helix of university–industry–government model. Each of the three actors, university–industry–government, participates in Wealth generation” ( Vaivode, 2015 ).

The extensive review done by the authors reveals that in spite of having access to online journals, the presence of research studies on ODE on India in foreign journals is scanty; slightly better represented in the Asian journals and Indian journals. The quantum of research is not proportionate to the number of faculty members working in the ODE system of India and the large number of learners that it serves, which is a matter of concern. Research on ODE in India, in absence of a strong institutional policy for research in the premier universities offering programmes through distance mode, faces a number of challenges that need to be addressed. Even after nearly six decades of the existence of Dual Mode Universities, and nearly four decades of OUs in India, the institutional best practices pertaining to ODE have not generated required attention perhaps due to lack of networking and collaborative ventures amongst ODE institutions as well as fewer number of publications in international journals. However with the emphasis on research output of the teachers working in HEIs, including Open Universities and Directorates of Distance, Education, which is an essential and important parameter for accreditation of the institution, its national ranking, as well as a mandatory requirement for career advancement of teachers, the research is picking up a fast rate. This study will provide valuable insights and certainly act as an ignition to motivate ODE practitioners, working at Open Universities and Dual Mode Universities, to take the research on ODE forward.

In fact, for any system to grow its periodic systemic review is essential, more so for the ODE system, being a dynamic and innovative system that constantly keeps on evolving, through the adoption of newer technologies for improving curricular aspects, teaching–learning and evaluation and learner support services to its dispersed learners. The ODE system in India requires more empirical research to be undertaken periodically. The research outcomes need to be ploughed back into the system for its betterment. Thus, the missing links in distance education research which are yet to be addressed in its entirety needs to be systematic, professional and action based.

Distribution of articles published on ODE system of India in 11 journals

Share of articles published between 2010 and 2019 on Indian ODE system across 11 journals

Authorship pattern of articles published on Indian ODE

Institutional affiliation of the authors

Research methods used by the researchers

Classification of total publications in 11 research areas

Journals and data of the period 2010–2019

Categorization of research methods: journal wise and gender wise

Journal-wise frequency of publication across the 11 research areas

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Research on education in India

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• Published: September 1999
• Volume 29 , pages 335–347, ( 1999 )

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R. C. Mishra (India) D.Phil. from Allahabad University. Professor of Psychology at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Post-doctoral Research Fellow and Shastri Research Fellow at Queen's University, Canada. Visiting Fellow at the Jean Piaget Archives and the University of Geneva. Main research interest is the cultural influence on human development. He has contributed numerous articles to journals and books in the field of acculturation, schooling, cognition and crosscultural studies. He is co-author (with J.W. Berry and D. Sinha) of Ecology, acculturation and psychological adaptation (1996) and co-editor (with J.W. Berry and R. C. Tripathi) of Psychology in human and social development: lessons from diverse cultures (in press).

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Research Paper Topics for Students in India

• You will probably have to write a ton of research papers in college. So, it is important to learn and understand how to refine your search for a topic. However, more often than not, you may find that not all the topics you are interested in are easy to write about. It may also be the case that the topic you pick does not have enough research material on it for you to use. In a way, this could mean that your topic is somewhat untapped, as it were. At the same time, however, it makes your life a little bit harder. So before I begin with giving you a few research topic ideas, let’s look at some overarching tips that could help you during the whole process.

Overarching Guidelines

Think broad then narrow.

The first step is always the hardest. You may either feel overwhelmed or absolutely dejected in terms of options. One thing that helps is to start thinking broadly about what interests you. For example, when I was in my fourth year of college I had to write a thesis. I was interested in irrationality, and I arrived at this broad concept through mere observation of daily life around me. From there, I slowly broke down my topic and found the key issues that needed to be addressed. Not until I had finished my thesis, at the end of the year, did I actually give my project a concrete title.

Begin with what you like thinking about by asking yourself what intrigues you. Of course, write these ideas down. Maybe you’re interested in food and psychology, or business and philosophy, it could literally be anything. Don’t, at first, denounce any thoughts. You’d be surprised at how many interesting research papers result from mere musings.

So, once you’ve gotten a good number of thoughts down on paper, begin to analyze each one. You want to look for a problem, or an inconsistency, within these topics that you would like to talk about. Look to see if your topic is controversial, and if it is, think about what position your paper will take.

Check for Resources

Now that you’ve narrowed it down to maybe one or two topics, and you’ve broken those topics down as well, start reading some literature. Look for what has already been said about what you’re interested in. In other words, do some quick research to see whether your topic has been written about substantially, and not on blogs or websites. You should look for journal articles, books, and other published papers. One of the ways that I found a lot of my sources was through The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. I started with reading the actual webpage to get a general idea of the discussion and then checked where Stanford got its information from. Those are the references I followed up with and ended up using a ton in my thesis.

Please do find reputable sources, preferably primary sources. So, you can start with a basic google search. But once you figure out who in the field is reputable and worth reading, start digging deeper.

You should also make sure to also read some literature on what is said against your tentative position. You need to know what you’re up against, and this will only make your paper stronger. It may also help bring out issues that you might have previously over looked.

Find and Use Library References

Once you have chosen your topic, looked at references from the internet, go digging into your school’s library database. As a student, you should be able to get any book, periodical, paper, article, or journal that you need for your paper. This is also a great time to make use of the people around you. Talk to your professors, ask the librarian for help, bounce ideas off of your friends, and so forth.

Cite as You Go

I think that this step is super important. By the end of the process, you should have a fair amount of sources. Scanning through your paper from start to end, especially if it’s a long one, and attempting to remember what source you used where is just a headache. Needless to say, you will end up wasting more time this way.

The best way to cite a source is to cite it the second you use it. Do it right then, even if it isn’t in the accurate format needed. You can always come back to fix the citation format. But you must at least put in a preliminary citation at the time of use. If you’re using a direct quote, put in the page number immediately.

Just Start Writing

I fail to take my own advice on this quite often. If you’re anything like me, you probably obsess about your first paragraph, thinking that it has to be perfect right away. Or at least close to perfect, well written perhaps. Usually, this ends up in frustration and lost time. Just start writing. Good writing is in editing, no first draft is ever going to be as good as you want it to be. Or at least mine wasn’t.

You should ideally write the final version of your introduction last. Your introduction sets the pace for your whole paper or thesis. There is no way you could possibly know the exact flow your paper will take at the very start. I always write a temporary introduction just to help clear my thoughts and set a tentative outline. More often than not, I go back after I’ve written my conclusion and either tweak or completely change my introduction.

Edit, Edit, Edit…

Leave plenty of time for editing. I’ll say it again, good writing is in editing. I find editing to be the most fun part actually. But it is important that you spend time reviewing your paper, checking for grammatical errors, citations, and of course, the overall flow. Is your argument clear? Are you rambling in some parts? Could you make your conclusion stronger? If so, how? Have you backed up all your claims? Have you made sure to address opposing points of view? How well have you refuted other arguments?

You must edit. For shorter papers, I always left a full day for editing. So I would finish a paper, sleep on it, and edit the next day with a fresh mind. Truly, my papers improved significantly once I started making a habit out of this.

Research Paper Topics

Please bear in mind that I have put this list together from multiple different sources online, and so I have kept them broad. It is only intended to get you thinking. You should still spend time on figuring out what you’re interested in.

Cybersecurity

E-business/ e-commerce, glass ceiling, online retail, outsourcing, white collar crime, ethics/ morality, doping in sports, drug testing, drunk driving, law and justice, police brutality, prisons and prisoners, roe vs. wade, serial killers, sexual harassment, acquaintance rape, animal rights, assisted suicide, campus violence, civil rights, the drinking age, legal, drug legalization, gun control, hate crimes, insanity defense, more specific:.

Again, I have taken these from a number of different websites . Please do conduct further research. Here is a link to another site that I used.

Digital Marketing Techniques used by Businesses Are Effective Enough to Increase Their Popularity of Smartphone Segment

Abandonment of e-shopping cart in e-commerce, the influence and prospect of online shopping in china, international market entry – case of starbucks, effect of non-financial rewards on employee’s motivation: an empirical study of china mobile communications corporation, social media influences the travelling decision of chinese international students in the uk., how to implement efficiency e-crm., sensory marketing role in consumer buying behaviour., how do brands exploit impulsive buying, the role of information technology in revolutionizing marketer’s approach towards the manipulative advertisement., impact of e-marketing on influencing consumer purchase decision: a case of uk luxury industry., the evolution and implementation of investment banking in emerging markets., how does european financial supervision affect cross-border financial investment, what is the impact of foreign direct investment on emerging economies, assessing the factors that promote foreign direct investment in asian economies – the case of india., the challenges of financial institutions in emerging economies., a study into the impact of multinational trade agreements on the growth of emerging economies: the case of russia., the role of leadership and culture in organisational change., how online digital platforms have helped organizations in recruiting effectively and efficiently., analyzing the factors which directly impact employee’s personal decision to leave employment., investigating the efficacy of performance appraisal from the perception of employees in the uk retail industry., to investigate the role of motivation in hrm – a study highlighting the most important motivation factors for future business leaders., the effect of performance management for large and diversified business organizations., the role of organizational support programs to enhance work outcome and employees’ behaviour., analyzing the impact of enterprise resource planning (erp) in improvising business operations of multinational companies., the impact of latest technological developments on inventory management systems; a case of uk’s manufacturing industry., the role of ict in supply chain management., impact of information technology on supply chain management., promoting creativity in organization: a case study of asian kindergarten, non-experimental research methods in psychology, importance of following ethics in psychological research, substance abuse, evolutionary aspects of mate preferences, advantages of social education in groups, factors that impact animal behaviour/growth, eyewitness testimony & memory: the correlation between them, attention-deficit syndrome: myth to justify persons or reality, is artificial intelligence going to dominate the planet, how do stereotypes appear in society, steps necessary to end cyber crimes, methods criminals target cyber zones, medical services to save babies born before 27 weeks, different types of stem cells and their usage, sleep disorders’ impact on the overall health condition, proof that screening for breast cancer is helpful, a correlation between breastfeeding & improved baby’s health, stem cells to assist in reducing death rates in heart attack cases, several reasons why eating disorders can lead to the patient’s death, compare & contrast the effectiveness of various managerial techniques, elucidate the pros of the small businesses, does franchising make it easier to run a business, what are the impacts of global warming on a specific type of business, pros & cons of outsourcing services, old & rigid corporate traditions that save some popular companies, the effectiveness of online grammar checkers & plagiarism detectors, self-defending networks: their importance, the most useful way to connect to the internet and use your email, exploring how gps system functions, controlling airport security via computer technologies, the primary dangerous computer viruses, the basics of search engine optimization (seo), international criminal law court tools: evaluate their effectiveness, comparative criminal procedure: report & analysis with details, the mission of wipo: world intellectual property organization, the us copyright office: does it really help the local writers to defend their business, what a european patent office does, why is it important to learn gatt documents, women’s authority in different parts of the planet, inter-american human rights library: exciting outtakes & full report, mass communications law, ecolex: a gateway to environmental law, dadt repeal and its significance, the united states border control: the collected insights & analysis, advantages & disadvantages of breastfeeding, child adoption by a gay family, the average wage in the us, why is it immoral for an old lady to date a young boy, no child left behind act: assessment of its effectiveness, does grade inflation take place in the united states, living on campus help to develop independence, reading & literacy in the early days, curriculum, teaching, and assessment nowadays, history of schooling statement, should the federal government be allowed to regulate information on the internet.

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