pathway: Advanced Quantitative Methods Alumni

My PhD explores the training of judges who hear asylum appeals. The project proposes a mixed methods approach. The purpose is to arrive at a well-rounded picture of asylum-related training and its role in supporting judges in adjudicating asylum (in the UK context). I will combine quantitative and qualitative methods, to both trace second-instance evaluations of first-instance judicial decisions (text mining “error of law” findings), and to capture relevant individuals’ views and experiences of training (observation, interviews/ focus groups). The novelty in the proposed approach lies in making a new field fruitful for text mining and mixed methods analysis.

My research looks at the relationship between teachers’ levels of professional motivation and student learning attainment within secondary school classrooms in two states in India. The context for this research is the ‘learning crisis’ which existing research has highlighted within Indian schools in recent years, with evidence of a decline in learning levels despite increased enrolment, declining class size and greater teacher availability. I am interested in understanding more about the influence of teachers within this ‘learning crisis’.

Methodologically, my interests are in defining a measure of the latent trait of teacher motivation, and in modelling the pathways through which this influences how teachers teach, and how much students learn.

My research examines: a) the campaign (mis)information on the social media, and b) voter perception towards misinformation, during the 2019 national election in India. Using Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning techniques and other computational methods, I explore the information space for misinformation, and measure its volume and diffusion, identify the characteristics of the content, medium of propagation (Facebook and Twitter), dissemination strategies, and examine whether the correction of misinformation matters, thereby addressing the supply-side and consumption side of the campaign misinformation. Further, through social network analysis I analyze the misinformation sharing eco-system.

Kiran has recently been selected as a Junior Fellow for the 2022 cohort of Electoral Integrity Project’s 2022 Fellowship programme, for his project “Misinformation, Campaigning and Perceptions of Electoral Integrity in India”.

Despite the progress made in the last few decades in developing countries, evidence demonstrates a lack of translation of schooling into learning. The role of systemic factors such as accountability processes continues to remain under researched amidst the prevailing challenges. In this backdrop, my research seeks to bridge the knowledge gap by studying, how accountability processes in public secondary school education systems affect the learning outcomes of students from various socio-economic backgrounds? My study employs a systems approach which views school system as a set of or a network of relationships and cumulative practices occurring in a particular format.

You can find a recent article from Kalyan here

My research concerns the mechanisms and temporality of the relationships between neighbourhood deprivation, social capital and stress with overall health and wellbeing. My research draws on life-course and biosocial theories and employs advanced quantitative techniques, particularly multilevel modelling and mediation analysis to expose complex health and place relationships. I am using data from the British Household Panel Survey and the Understanding Society study to conduct the research.