India’s doctoral research ecosystem in Social Sciences is in urgent need of a structural overhaul. While doctoral scholars in other countries are evaluated on working prototypes and real-world applications, the Indian system remains wedded to voluminous dissertations and the pressure to publish in so-called peer-reviewed or indexed journals.

Problems

The mandatory publication requirement has lowered the quality of research and spawned an entire ecosystem of predatory and cloned journals that exploit desperate doctoral candidates who pay hefty sums to get their papers published. The publishing landscape has undergone a damaging inversion: where journals once paid scholars for their contributions, today scholars pay for the privilege of being published. Even more troubling is the exploitation by supervisors, ranging from demands to ghostwrite papers under the supervisor’s name to performing domestic errands and, in extreme cases, being asked to pay to complete research within stipulated deadlines.

Universities themselves are not free of blame. Administrative delays plague doctoral candidates from the moment of registration up to thesis adjudication and result publication. In one reported incident, a Teacher Association had to intervene just to clear procedural formalities and resolve the reasons behind a delay.

The contrast with the Sciences is stark. Doctoral students collaborate on lab experiments, co-develop working protocols, create patentable products, and contribute to joint intellectual property. Social Science scholars, meanwhile, work in relative isolation on topics chosen less for societal relevance than for administrative compliance, completing research that is rarely tested against real-world rigour.

Revamp needed

A resurgence in the research environment in Social Science requires regulatory bodies to ensure that universities are linked with the society around them. A mandatory academia-industry link for research and adoption of higher education institutes by industries can lead to research projects that address the problems that these companies face.

The departments of Pedagogy, Adult Education, and Lifelong Learning can be directed to focus on issues such as curriculum design challenges, the integration of Artificial Intelligence in teaching and learning, and the development of scientific student assessment tools. By maintaining direct links with government departments and organisations working with child welfare, the Departments of Special Education and Rehabilitation can look at early identification of differently-abled children and their integration into mainstream life.

The Economics Department can work with district, state, and national planning bodies to prepare annual plans meant for optimal allocation of government resources. Data collection through field research and the analysis involved are routine aspects of research. Grassroots issues like farmer distress or problems of informal workers can be an area of collaborative research with Labour Commissions, State Finance Commissions and so on. So far, only a handful of institutions such as Gokhale Research Institute and the Madras Institute of Development Studies have made a mark in the national planning bodies. Creating a link with governmental organs can help Economics departments transform shelf-bound research into a mutually beneficial societal endeavour. Departments of Sociology, Social Work, Psychology and Philosophy can establish links to local bodies, prisons, juvenile homes and NGOs working in rehabilitation and child protection to address and find solutions to social problems.

The doctoral theses that result from India’s current research system often lie in university archives; unread, unapplied, and of no use to the stakeholders in whose name they were ostensibly written. This is a systemic failure of purpose. The missing link between academia and society must be not only established but made mandatory in every university. Only then will India’s doctoral degrees reflect the rigour and relevance that the nation’s investment in higher education demands.

Views expressed are personal

V. Manickavasagam is Advisor, IQAC, and K.Alamelu is Director- IQAC and Senior Professor at the Department of Banking Management, Alagappa University.

Published - July 25, 2026 03:39 pm IST