Why is a Conceptual Framework not a Conceptual Model?

Over the years, South Indian universities have reached a new pinnacle of success in academia with their research faculty, infrastructure and cutting-edge innovation. Several of these universities have now metamorphosed into global hubs for research.

If you are looking to get your PhD from a good university in South India, this is a guide that is tailor-made for you. Get all details about the top South Indian universities so that you can make an educated choice as to where you’d want to pursue your PhD from.

BHARATHIYAR UNIVERSITY

One of the most noted South Indian University, Bharathiyar University has 13 schools and 37 Research Departments on its campus.
Eligibility Criteria:

1. Eligibility assistants / Project Fellows / Research associates / appointed in the research projects funded by recognized agencies / Government / industries are eligible to register for Ph.D. Any professional with minimum period of two years of experience after obtaining their professional qualification is eligible for Part-time Ph.D. registration
2. Subjects like Engineering, Medicine, Law and Agriculture are not eligible to register under Bharathiar University.
3. A candidate must have a minimum 55% (5% relaxation for SC/ST candidates in the minimum eligibility) marks in the qualifying examinations.
4. Candidate working as a Guest Lecturer in a Govt. College or a Govt. Aided College in Tamil Nadu is allowed to register after producing a NOC from their employer.
5. Those who are going to register Ph.D. without fellowship must have appeared the Common Eligibility Test (CET) conducted by the Bharathiar University.

6. Candidates from outside Tamil Nadu will be allowed to register for Part time Ph.D. subject to production of NOC from HOD/Head of the Employer.

GITAM UNIVERSITY

Tucked away in the beautiful port city of Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management is one of the top most South Indian Universities for PhD. With excellent infrastructure and an unfettered dedication to research, GITAM has branches in Hyderabad and Bangalore too.

Eligibility Criteria: (Full/Part time)

1. The admissions are based on merit in the qualifying examination and entrance examination.
2. Admission for the following categories will be taken up during any time of the year. (i) Candidates with JRF (CSIR/UGC/NET qualification). (ii) Candidates selected as project fellows in the projects sanctioned by national funding agencies. (iii) Candidates under FIP program. (iv) Candidates under extramural category.
3. A candidate must secure prescribed marks in the entrance examination and personal interview.
4. Candidates admitted to full-time Ph.D. should not undertake any assignment / employment or shall not pursue any other full-time program of study simultaneously.

Find out more at http://www.gitam.edu/

VIT UNIVERSITY

Located in the serene town of Vellore, Tamil Nadu, VIT has a mammoth campus with world-class infrastructure and research facilities.

Eligibility Criteria:

1. To apply for Ph.D. in Engineering, Candidates must have Master’s degree in Engineering / Technology / Business Administration with a first class (min 60% or 6.5 CGPA) or equivalent M.Sc/M.S.
2. To apply for Ph.D. in Sciences / Humanities / Languages, Candidates must have Master’s degree in Science (min 60%) / Humanities (55%) / Social Sciences / Languages.
3. All the staff members of the institute having the requisite minimum qualifications can work on a part time basis for Ph.D degree.
4. Teachers working in other colleges and candidates sponsored by R & D organisations, National laboratories and Industries having R & D facilities recognized by DSIR, with requisite minimum qualifications can also work on part time basis for Ph.D degree

Selection Procedure:

School will short-list the candidates to be called for written and test / interview. Selection will be based on the overall merit index of the candidate which calculated on the candidate’s performance in the previous university examinations at Bachelor’s (20%) and Master’s level (20%) and the performance in the written test and / the interview (60%).

Candidates qualified in CSIR-UGC NET for JRF may be exempted from the written test requirement.

Duration Of the Programme:

All full-time Research Scholars should submit the thesis within five years from the date of registration. The Doctoral Committee may extend the period of submission of thesis by one year on valid reasons.

 All part-time Research Scholars should submit their thesis within six years from the date of their registration.

The Doctoral Committee may extend the period of submission of thesis by one year on valid reasons.

Find out more at http://www.vit.ac.in/

VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Located in Karnataka, Visvesvaraya Technological University has Ph.D. in Engineering, Science, Architecture and Management studies

Eligibility:

Course work details, rules & regulations pertaining to Ph.D./M.Sc.(Engg.) by Research is available on website https://vtu.ac.in/

Research Methodology:

Module 1: Meaning, Objectives and Characteristics of research – Research methods Vs Methodology – Types of research – Descriptive Vs. Analytical, Applied Vs. Fundamental, Quantitative Vs. Qualitative, Conceptual Vs. Empirical – Research process – Criteria of good research – Developing a research plan.

Module 2: Defining the research problem – Selecting the problem – Necessity of defining the problem – Techniques involved in defining the problem – Importance of literature review in defining a problem – Survey of literature – Primary and secondary sources – Reviews, treatise, monograph spatents – web as a source – searching the web – Identifying gap areas from literature review – Development of working hypothesis.

Module 3: Research design and methods – Research design – Basic Principles- Need of research design –– Features of good design – Important concepts relating to research design – Observation and Facts, Laws and Theories, Prediction and explanation, Induction, Deduction, Development of Models – Developing a research plan – Exploration, Description, Diagnosis, and Experimentation – Determining experimental and sample designs.

Module 4: Sampling design – Steps in sampling design – Characteristics of a good sample design – Types of sample designs – Measurement and scaling techniques – Methods of data collection – Collection of primary data – Data collection instruments

Module 5: Testing of hypotheses – Basic concepts – Procedure for hypotheses testing flow diagram for hypotheses testing – Data analysis with Statistical Packages – Correlation and Regression – Important parametric test – Chi-square test – Analysis of variance and Covariance

Module 6: IPRs- Invention and Creativity- Intellectual Property-Importance and Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs).A brief summary of: Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, Industrial Designs- Integrated Circuits-Geographical Indications-Establishment of WIPO-Application and Procedures.

Module 7: Interpretation and report writing – Techniques of interpretation – Structure and components of scientific reports – Different steps in the preparation – Layout, structure and language of the report – Illustrations and tables – Types of report – Technical reports and thesis

SRM UNIVERSITY

SRM University is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu with a boastful infrastructure and a dedicated staff that makes it a paradise for any research student.

Eligibility

Minimum academic qualification required for admission is that the candidate should possess a PG Degree / PG Diploma of two years duration recognized by the respective statutory bodies for pursuing research.

Guides

All Ph.D. candidates are required to work under the guidance of a recognized guide from the University.

The part time (external) candidates shall be required to have, in addition to a Research Guide from the respective faculty of this University, a recognized Co-guide/Research coordinator.

Documenting the results of years of PhD research into a single thesis can be a challenge for most PhD students. As a PhD research student, you want to quickly prepare and submit your thesis at the earliest.

This article focusses on 25 proven tips that you can use to complete your thesis at the earliest:

1. Get the exact requirements of your thesis from your supervisor. You don’t want to exceed the word or page count, and then spend time editing the content.
2. Prepare an outline or structure for your thesis.
3. Do not delay the start of your thesis writing. Delay in thesis writing can increase your stress.
4. Work on your thesis each day. Keep adding content to your thesis. On days when you don’t feel like writing, spend time on reading research material and jotting down useful notes.
5. Focus on the content of your thesis and do not bother much about spellings and sentence construction in your first draft.
6. Rework is an integral part of your thesis writing, so do not spend time trying to avoid it.
7. You do not need to complete the chapter introduction first before moving to the body.
8. Work on the easier sections of your thesis first.
9. You do not need to complete a particular section before moving on to the next. Switch between sections to avoid getting stuck at any point.
10. Develop a weekly plan for your thesis and break it down to manageable daily activities.
11. Plan more time for the difficult part of your thesis than the easier parts.
12. Even when writing on your thesis, ensure that you keep reading research material for fresh ideas and concepts.
13. In addition to your thesis writing, you also need to prepare for your viva or thesis defense.
14. Write the introduction section of your thesis last in order to include all your ideas.
15. Do not neglect your sleep and physical well-being during thesis writing.
16. Don’t spend more than a couple of hours each day on your thesis.
17. Discuss your research ideas with your peers and friends.
18. Maintain a checklist of important tasks and tick them off when completed.
19. Remember that your Phd thesis must be rich in content, not in page count.
20. Don’t treat your PhD thesis as your most important submission.
21. Use a notepad or journal to jot down your research ideas.
22. Maintain good relations with your supervisor.
23. Remember it is your research project, so take ownership of your thesis.
24. Develop your own style of writing.
25. Focus more on completion than on perfection.