Postgraduate research in agricultural extension education in the DBSKKV, Dapoli, Maharashtra: A content analysis

Abstract

Content analysis is a research method used to systematically examine and interpret the content of written, spoken or visual material to identify patterns, themes or meanings. The study was carried out to analyze research areas of postgraduate research conducted in the Department of Agricultural Extension Education, College of Agriculture, Dapoli under Dr. B. S. Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth (DBSKKV), Dapoli, Maharashtra. A 10 year period from 2014 to 2023 was selected for this study. A total of 77 theses were submitted during this period. Qualitative or relational content analysis was the research method utilized for data collection. Data were collected from the hard copies of theses available in the university library using a structured proforma, and were analyzed using frequency and percentage method. The results revealed that most of the research was concentrated on the theme area of agricultural extension (45.45%), followed by extension education (38.97%). Research on agricultural communication and agriculture and allied enterprises was comparatively lower, with each accounting for 7.79 per cent. Among the subareas of research social and educational psychology held the highest proportion (31.18%), followed by knowledge diffusion and adoption (19.48%) and human resource development (10.39%), entrepreneurship development and behavior, extension communication methods, crop production and cropping pattern (7.79% each), administration, personal development and role performance, agricultural and rural development programmes (6.49% each), capacity development and impact assessment (2.60%). The concentration of research in only a few areas and limited work in others indicates a mismatch between field needs and academic output, implying that curriculum in agricultural extension education must be revised to promote balanced research by integrating emerging themes such as climate services, digital extension, AI in agriculture, policy research and social innovation.