Besides the routine activities of processing and analysing data of Lokniti-CSDS surveys, the team at the Data Unit also takes up two broad types of services:

• Survey Design and Analysis
• Guidance and Consultancy

Survey Design and Analysis

Over the years there have been increasing demands on Lokniti-CSDS to conduct surveys for different organisations. However, the team at the centre has been selective in taking up survey-based projects. It has been committed to taking up projects that serve its long-term research agenda of understanding and analysing political processes across South Asia. Yet another commitment of the centre has been to develop high levels of sophistication in survey research methods, in order to raise the overall quality of surveys in South Asia. It is for this reason that the team at the centre has been involved with a number of sample surveys, which are not conducted by CSDS, but are designed and analysed by its research team. Consultancy is provided in designing the survey instruments, sampling and in data processing and analysis. The CSDS Data Unit holds the right to archive and use the data set for social scientific analysis, once it has been used by the organisation that conducts the survey. This has helped the Data Unit in acquiring new data sets.

 

Guidance and Consultancy

The Guidance and Consultancy services located at Lokniti-CSDS are a valuable help for young researchers doing research in any Indian university. Students/ Researchers doing research on attitudes, opinions and political behaviour of the people have greatly benefited from this scheme for past many years. Under this scheme the researchers are provided research support in terms of constructing their hypothesis, designing their research instruments, data collection, data entry and analysis. There has always been an effort to encourage these researchers and involve them in their research work with greater interest. There have always been efforts to keep in touch with many of the researchers who visit the Centre under this scheme. Some of them are even encouraged to participate in some of the ongoing project work, which relates to their research topic. Under the scheme, a researcher is entitled to sleeper class railway fare and an allowance of Rs. 150 per day for a maximum of 7 days. Visiting researchers from institutions listed by the ICSSR are entitled to the above. The researcher can avail the following facilities:

• Research Design
• Designing Research Instruments
• Data Processing
• Data Analysis