RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

STUDY MODULES

MODULE 1 | DESK RESEARCH - LIST OF ENGINEERING INSTITUTES FOR THE SURVEY

module 1 was a secondary research module. A comprehensive list of engineering Institutes was generated with the help of the internet, magazines and other publications. The various sources used for generation of engineering college list included:

• List of colleges/ universities from previous surveys
• A discussion with industry experts to add/ delete any college to ensure we have a comprehensive list

However, as it is not possible to get a completely exhaustive list of colleges and include them in the survey, we had the option of adding any new college name to the survey form if any respondent mentioned any college name outside our list. Effectively, every engineering college had a chance of getting covered in the survey if their name was mentioned by the respondents.

MODULE 2 | FACTUAL DATA COLLECTION

In module 2, more than 900 engineering Institutes were sent factual data questionnaires and then rigorously followed up through different modes such as telephone, email and face-to-face, wherever required. 254 Engineering (Institutes & Universities) have participated and shared their Fact files for this year’s Times Engineering Rankings.

The factual data sheet was focused on the following information areas:

• General information about the college: Establishment, College type, Affiliation etc.
• Courses offered & number of seats
• Infrastructure
• Faculty
• Industry interface
• Placement
• Potential to network
• Exchange programs & Global exposure
• Research Orientation & focus
• Alumni chapter

MODULE 3 | PERCEPTUAL SURVEY

In the Perceptual Survey Module, a structured Questionnaire was administered to selected respondents including HR professionals, faculty, parent, alumni, current students, aspiring students to get ranking and rating of engineering Institutes. The sample selection was done using convenience sampling method though the sample was spread out geographically to get better representation. The survey was conducted across 16 cities i.e., Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad, Chandigarh, Pune, Indore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Kochi and Ranchi. The geographical spread of the sample was ensured by selecting multiple starting points within each city.

The following key parameters were covered in Perceptual Rating

• Academic Excellence
• Faculty
• Infrastructure
• Industry Interaction
• Placement
• All round Personality Development
• Overall Brand Value

ANALYSIS: FINAL RANKING OF ENGINEERING INSTITUTES

A robust approach was followed to arrive at the final rankings. The step by step process is given below:

• Factual Score
  • The information collected corresponded to similar parameters as in the perceptual survey
  • A detailed scoring system was developed for each parameter
  • After assigning scores to each parameter, raw scores were calculated
  • The raw scores were weighted by their importance to arrive at weighted scores
• Perceptual Score
  • Ratings on various parameters for each college
  • Calculating importance of various parameters to arrive at weights for each parameter – we used a regression model to arrive at the importance of various parameters
  • Calculation of raw scores and weighted scores for each parameter
  • Calculation of overall score for each college using importance weightages.

SOME CAVEATS

• Only those colleges who participated in the Factual Survey have been included in the ranking.
• For the convenience of the readers, we have also listed engineering Institutes who had a good Perceptual score (but did not submit factual) in alphabetical order even though they have not been included in the ranking.
• Relatively newer Institutes who have less than 5 batches graduated out of their Institutes have been included in engineering Emerging Institutes List.

Note: The study has been carried out by an Independent Market Research Agency named Avance Insights Pvt. Ltd. using the stated methodology for arriving at given rankings.