FAQs on Psychology Paper 2 Preparation

Q 1 Where to read Psychology paper 2 from?

Applied Psychology by Smarak Swain

Social Psychology by  Baron, Branscombe et al

Paper 2 notes by Mukul Pathak Sir

psychologytoday.com

Tests, Measurements and Research Methods in Behavioural Sciences  by A K Singh

Newspaper articles that deal with topics like work satisfaction, Role of emotions in workplace, Leaking Pipeline phenomenon, Wellness, Pedagogic innovations in classroom  etc. One needs to scan them from psychology point of view.

Q2  Where from diversity in answers be brought?

Some of the ways diversity can be brought in answers:

Rearrange the talked about concepts in answers such that a touch of novelty is felt while reading it.

Illustrating the answer with newer flowcharts, diagrams. One can think of them while revising the syllabus  and insert them at appropriate places.

Writing newer research findings, case studies in the answers. Giving it a real practical touch by citing examples.

Adopting a newer approach to answer like starting with a quote, or dropping a quote in between or adopting an interactive approach in answers.

Above all there should be diversity in thoughts generated in mind while reading the same material. It is important to focus on different areas of notes to do the same. Herein lies a the challenge for aspirant. Conceptual clarity is needed for this and that comes from good understanding of paper 1.

Q3 What clicked for me this time?

Honestly I cannot tell with 100% conviction what clicked for me this time. In my third attempt i.e. CSE 2013 I scored 237 out of 500. In CSE 2012, I could barely cross 200 marks out of 600. In my first attempt, i.e. in CSE 2011 I scored a handsome 318 out of 600 which was pretty decent considering the highest score was around 350 and scores were not high in general.

But I can to some extent surmise that the extra effort put in this time to improve answer writing skills, thoroughly read the aforesaid books on paper 2 and better command over the concepts of paper 1 helped me frame better answers.

Q4 Are Psycho scores unpredictable?

I have tasted the unpredictability of scores a little. But a lot depends upon what kind of preparation is going into the attempt. With adequate coverage of syllabus and writing practice I think scores don’t vary much. More often than not the complacency that creeps in after a decent score lets one down.

Q5 Is Mukul Pathak Sir’s material sufficient?

I feel if the material is read along with the books mentioned it is sufficient. I recommend referring to the books to grasp the concepts well. Pathak sir’s paper 2 notes provide lot of diverse content whose assimilation itself is a challenging task. I feel it’s always better to refer to books like Baron or NCERT for concepts of paper 1 for greater clarity. Besides this addresses the problem of lack of diversity in answers as well.

Q6 How to revise?

Revision is very key for doing well in this examination. One page notes can be made writing the key words of a chapter for quick revision. It specially helps before examination. I have uploaded a sample of the same earlier in the blog along with test series answers. The subject should not be left at a stretch for say 1-2 months I feel. It is also good to revise chapters of paper 2 with concepts of paper 1 simultaneously. For instance, while studying Work psychology it is better to simultaneously visit chapters like Motivation and Emotion, concepts of Personality and Self, Attitude and Prejudice.

Q7 How to manage such a huge syllabus of Psychology?

When viewed from paper 1 perspective, the syllabus is actually not that huge although it is definitely long. Whole of paper 2 can be written just on the basis of concepts in paper 1. But each chapter of paper 2 brings its own flavor in the concepts of paper 1. It is that flavor that needs to be assimilated while writing answers. For instance, the way attitude and prejudice is talked about in Organizational Psychology is different from the way it is discussed in the chapter of Social Integration and Intergroup conflict. But essentially, concepts are the same. Hence it is important to read paper 2 from the perspective of paper 1. If a compartmentalized approach is adopted the syllabus appears veritably unmanageable. 

How to study Psychology Part 3

Hello everyone! I want to thank friends and aspirants who followed the blog and gave suggestions for putting up more content. It was requested that I put up some answers of Paper 2 of Psychology that I wrote in Civil Services Mains Examination 2013. Well, I have compiled some answers. But these are not exactly the same that I wrote. But definitely, they are roughly similar to what I wrote. I have provided the structure of answers that I wrote with the possible source in parenthesis at the end. Friends, one can add in this structure to make the answers even better. I hope these answers will not be the end but only the beginning of more amazing answers that you all will write in the coming examination. I will furnish answers for some more questions of  paper 2 in subsequent post.


I am also considering putting FAQ for preparing Paper 2 of Psychology in subsequent posts. Please be kind to point out any flaws and suggest more content to be put here. This is a humble effort to help you all and hence it will be futile without your suggestions.


All the best for coming Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2014.

PSYCHOLOGY QUESTION PAPER ANSWERS CSE 2013

Q1

1.1

How will you ensure that a newly constructed personnel selection test measures that it purports to measure and predicts what it intends to predict? Explain.

Structure: The sought quality of test is called Validity of test. Face Validity. Criterion Validity through comparison with tests for similar purpose.  If new construct is to be tested then there is also a need of Construct Validity which can be done through Multi Trait Multi Method Matrix. (refer A K Singh’s Statistics book )

 

1.2

Reflect on the major issues and contradictions related to the understanding of well-being. Discuss with reference to current social trends.

Structure:  Well being defn; perspectives like Hedonic View, Eudaimonic View. Hedonic view contradicts the Eudaimonic view (explain it), Common misconceptions prevalent in society about well being like rich are happy, well being reduces with age, factors that affect well being purpose in life, personality factors Type A, B Hardy Personality, marriage (refer Baron, Mukul Pathak sir notes)

 

  

1.3

How would you identify gifted children? Explain with examples.

Structure: gifted children defn, parent and significant others, teacher referral. However these are not very reliable and need to be supported by Psychometric tests. Deviation IQ based measure, multiple intelligence based measure of giftedness. (Mukul Pathak sir notes)

 

 

1.4

Discuss the steps that can be taken to improve the quality of group decision-making.

Structure: grp decision making can be improved using Brainstorming, allowing for Performance Matching, avoiding Groupthink. Depending upon the nature of group, participative decision making can be resorted to where there is bidirectional flow of ideas. Other methods like NGT etc. (Social Psychology Baron, Mukul Pathak sir notes)

 

 

1.5

India rates very high on carbon emission. What use can be made of psychological knowledge to reduce the level of carbon emission in India?

Structure: principle of learning in that addressing the antecedent and consequent determinants of behaviour that affect carbon emission levels.  Theory of reasoned action and planned behaviour. Public commitment and invoking hypocrisy. (Social Psychology Baron Attitude Change, Mukul Pathak sir notes)

 

 

Q2

2.1

What is your understanding of organizational politics? Discuss how it impacts decision-making processes in bureaucratic organizations.

Structure: Organizational politics defn, bureaucratic organizations are characterized by hierarchy and top down communication. Power is concentrated in the higher positions with the lower rungs following the instructions. There is limited participation in decision making nor is there any autonomy in practice. Besides there are many positions not significant different in job design and authority enjoyed by them. This breeds a lot of power struggle. There is tendency to move up the hierarchy as power is concentrated there. Hence power struggle. Subordinates distort flow of communication in the organization to suit their personalized needs of affection. This affects the quality of decisions taken. Also, constant power struggle leads to poor flow of ideas and reduces the efficacy of techniques like brainstorming while making decisions. For instance, being conscious of power rivalry members in such a session may not freely contribute.

 

However, organizational politics aids decision making positively too. If the organizational power is vested as per principles of merit aligned with organizational values and goals then decision making is facilitated as leader can get participative in decision making with subordinates' moral high owing to perceived distributive and procedural justice.

 

(Applied Psycho Swain, Social Psychology Baron)

 

 

2.2

Discuss the psychological implications of the ‘glass ceiling’ effect from the perspective of an administrator.

Glass ceiling what? Administrator's concern : prejudice and discrimination in organization, reduces employee productivity and organizational efficiency. It may lead to loss of workforce and eats into competitiveness of org. It also signals a deficiency in leadership models and organizational culture. Highlights the need of gender sensitivity training. Also it's an opportunity to look at the institutional barriers leading to Leaking Pipeline phenomenon. As an administrator, it is time to focus on creating enabling environment ensure women employees are adequately represented at higher rungs and have support structures like women groups looking after their interests.

 

(Swain Applied Psychology, Social Psychology Baron)

 

 

2.3

Reflecting on the status of education in India, state whether it can help in reducing the gap which has been experienced due to social inequality.

Status of education in India: gaps in physical infrastructure and learning outcomes.
Privately governed schools are at a distinct advantage vis a vis government schools. They have better infrastructure and learning outcomes than the government schools. Teacher student ratio is closer to that mandated by Right to Education Act. However they also suffer from problems like undue focus on rote learning, lack of creativity, and insufficient counselling opportunities are a few to cite.

 
Government schools not only have shortage of teachers but also teaching learning materials and toilets and classrooms. Poor teaching strategies have led to insufficient capabilities in 3Rs in children of classes as high as fifth.

 

Besides there are problems in learning outcomes owing to unfavourable teacher's expectations towards students as discussed in Pygmalion effect( Rosenthal and Jacobson). Unfavourable expectations of for instance a higher caste teacher towards a lower caste student leads to student's dismal performance.

 

However there are many bright spots also catching attention in Indian education sector that may lead to filling gaps. Recently passed RTE makes the admission of disadvantaged children in schools mandatory based on affirmative action. This is a potent weapon to reduce inequality in benefits of education. Programmes like Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan, Special schemes for education of girls, model schools like Navodaya, KVs aim to reduce inequality.

 

Distance learning and e-learning has helped in filling up infrastructural deficit and teacher shortage. Smart classes based on Intelligent Tutoring System have allowed for better conceptual understanding in a diverse classroom. Aakash tablets and e-learning programmes are making learning universal.

 

All said and done, teachers remain an integral part of teaching learning experience. Hence there is also emphasis on training them to teach well in a diverse classroom of today’s India. Focus in  training is to teach how to nurture multiple intelligence and vary teaching style to  match learning styles.

 

(Applied Psycho Swain, Social Psychology Baron)

 

 

 

 

Q5
5.1

Discuss how the psychological training given to sports persons can be useful for administrators with reference to maintaining team spirit and group morale.

Sports psycho aims at building teams and making them function effectively with right team spirit and morale. Administration also requires group of persons working together to meet a deadline or look after certain work led by a leader. Principles of sports psycho can be of immense applicability here.
Administration requires ppl to function based on their skills and knowledge and coordinate with each other. Without this coordination actions turn wayward and haphazard. There is a need for pep talks for team members to keep them motivated throughout the task at hand. Principles used in sports teams to manage stress and frustration in failure can be applied here as well as the negative affect generated is the same. Team morale is built up by making teams achieve specific, measurable, action oriented, and realistic goals together as a team. This can be directly applied to build team morale in administrative settings.(Examples can be cited) Making super ordinate goals helps in diffusing petty intragroup skirmishes and fosters ‘team chemistry '.

 

(Applied Psycho Swain)

 

How to clear Prelims?

Hello Everyone! Thank you for the encouraging response to my write ups. I hope it was helpful to you all. I again maintain that the information provided therein is just recommendatory and not to be treated in a manner of one size fits all. Exact method of preparation may vary from individual to individual. So, if any piece of advice doesn't suit the strategy followed by an aspirant, s/he may ignore and read on. This write up is for Prelims preparation. This is around the corner and many aspirants buzzed me for booklist and strategy for prelims. Here's my booklist for paper1 of prelims:

Paper 1

History- Spectrum Modern India, Bipan Chandra's NCERT book Modern India

Geography- NCERT Geography textbooks XI & XII, Certificate Physical and Human Geography by G C Leong

Economy- Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh, Sri Ram's Indian Economy, Economic Survey, India Year Book (schemes in social sector)

Polity- Laxmikanth's Indian Polity, Sri Ram's Indian Polity

Culture- Spectrum's Facets of Indian Culture (Buddhist and Jainism religion & culture is a favourite of UPSC and must be read)

Environment- Any magazine like Civil Services Chronicles or Wizard's dedicated issue on Environment. Last three chapters of Biology textbook of class XII. can be downloaded from this link:  

Science & Technology- No specific material except reading newspapers like The Hindu, TOI. Concepts of biology can be brushed up from ncert biology textbooks of classes VIII, IX, Xth (for those who are out of touch). At least one reading of Science textbooks from VI to Xth is also advisable for aspirant from non-science backgrounds.Newspapers for current developments in science, environment, polity, economy.

I didn't focus much on ancient history of India as its weightage in questions asked is quite less. The same is true with Medieval Indian history. However, it's always advisable to go through it just for knowledge sake after one has covered aforesaid portions. Also, I have observed through my attempts that UPSC checks the conceptual clarity of candidates in prelims. The focus is not on checking memory of facts and figures. It's more on analytic ability of candidates given a few facts in the questions. Elimination works big time in paper 1. One may not know the exact answer, but looking at the options with partial knowledge one can choose the right option eliminating the others with a little reasoning. But, to be expert at this one needs to have a solid command over the material mentioned above. For that keep on going over them again and again. 

While reading them I emphasize that every line of the texts is important. It is important not just to cover the syllabus by reading them once in record time and boast among friends. It's more important to remember the concepts and for that keep on re-reading.This not only improves the chances of selection in prelims but also prepares a solid ground for mains, which is according to me the real challenge of this examination. The overlap of syllabus between the two stages allows one to prepare for mains even before prelims is over. Command over these resources and little bit of mock tests can fetch more than 100 marks in paper 1 easily. 

I found mock tests of Synergy or Sri Ram quite useful.

Paper 2

In this paper I didn't follow any particular book but only solved test papers before the examination. But aspirants can read any standard CSAT book in the market. In this paper practise is the most important. In aptitude tests, time management is the key exercise. This can be learnt from taking tests. CL, TIME, Vajiram there are plenty of options available and all are good. I think practising a lot reading comprehensions, logical reasoning, quantitative aptitude is the only way to score well in it. It's quite easy paper, and a bit of practice fetches one easily a score of about 140-150. Depending upon the degree of comfort, a test a day can be taken up from a month before the examination to a week before the examination, with extra practice sessions on troublesome areas.

Thanx and All the best !

How to Study Psychology? Part 2

Hello Everyone! In the previous note I shared my booklist for psychology. In this note I am going to talk about how i prepared this optional. Besides, there were many requests for uploading my handwritten notes of Psychology and also uploading some of the answerscripts that I wrote in psychology test series conducted by Mukul Pathak sir. Friends, I didn't prepare handwritten notes as such for preparation. I relied on book reading and marking the important portions therein. I do have handwritten notes of Mukul Pathak sir, but that's available in Old Rajinder Nagar as well. This notes is too voluminous to upload. But, I am sharing some snapshots of answer scripts at the end in my note. 

The structure of psychology syllabus is such that if read and understood in the right manner it becomes quite manageable. Paper 1 of psychology is the foundation of whole syllabus. Paper 2 is it's application in myriad ways. Hence, it's absolutely essential to have all the concepts of Paper 1 in mind. How to do that?

This is why i find this optional so much interesting. The solution to above question is provided by the same Paper 1. The answer is, as far as I have realized, to make a book or notes as the base, reading it multiple times so that its concepts seep deep into the cognitive structure. All the techniques of remembering need to be applied here. Revise and re-revise. Once a degree of remembrance is achieved, one can read other books for value addition in terms of better diagrams, examples etc. But, essentially, the concepts remain unchanged even if books one refers to change.

The second aspect while doing this is to look for the connections in the chapters of Paper 2 and noting them down. But here again i must say, the more is the frequency of revisions, the better is the base or foundation in one's memory, the effortless will be the connections, the greater will be writing speed provided a decent command on language (which is anyways expected of  candidate!). As i wrote in the previous note for GS, what's in mind that will be on paper.

Not digressing away from the second aspect, it's important to read the paper 2 along with paper 1 concepts of specially Social Psychology, Personality & Self, Motivation and Emotion, Thinking and Problem Solving, Developmental psychology to name a few. Here also the same approach helps. Making a particular resource as base resource helps. But, here one also needs to have an open mind to receive fresh perspective from multiple sources as I mentioned in my booklist. I feel there's a need to accommodate as many psychological dimensions as possible in answers in paper 2. For that one needs to be an intelligent receptor of fresh perspectives.Newspapers, psychologytoday.com, among many that an aspirant himself/herself, can stumble upon are the places to look for fresh perspectives. Besides, it's also helpful to remember the syllabus and sit 5-10 minutes regularly to reflect upon the possible interconnections between paper 1 and 2 with syllabi in front of us. Preparing a list of terms to be used in answers for chapters in paper 2 also helps during revision especially before examination. 

Covering the entire syllabus is mandatory i will state. One cannot leave some portions and take chances. Questions are such that they cover the entire syllabus. Not doing this means less attempt in the paper which definitely leads to less marks. With proper grasp of paper 1 it's not that demanding a task as it appears.

A special paragraph needs to be dedicated to Research methods and Methods in psychology portions of paper 1. I found the books mentioned in the booklist in the previous note quite helpful. I will recommend reading them multiple times. I personally read the A K Singh's book multiple times and also referred to Statistics for Psychology by Aron, Aron, Coups. This portion is the heart and soul of psychological research and is the reason why this subject claims to be science. While reading this, one needs to have paper 1 and 2  famous research works in mind. That way, it's easier to understand them.For instance, while reading experiments one should also relate concepts with Milgram's famous experiment or experiments studying attachment. Identify the operational definition, IV, DV, EVs etc. Similarly for other research methods, one can look for examples through which one can understand the concepts therein. Reading this part in isolation doesn't aid in understanding as i felt. While reading the statistics part, it's important to understand the 'psychology' hidden in the mathematics and bring that out in the answers explicitly. Just writing the mathematics part doesn't fetch marks. There's no need to get afraid of mathematics in this part as it's not asked. It's the psychology that is important.

Answer writing practice is an important part of this preparation. I joined Vajiram Psychology test series for the same. The feedback given was quite helpful. Test series needs to be joined only when one has gone through the entire syllabus at least once after the classes. Feedback is helpful only when one has put in effort to write answers after proper study. Then only one can judge one's strong and weak areas. Otherwise, this becomes a worthless ritual. Besides, after every test one needs to analyze, time management part, content part of answers, writing style and presentation part, strategy part of attempting the paper. It's this analysis and a sincere effort at improving in the next test makes all the difference I feel. It's also helpful to practise from previous year question papers and show answers to experts.

Another important area pertains to the way of attempting paper. It happens very often that we write a few good to excellent answers but fair abysmally in others. Friends, it's very important to write average answers in all the 5 questions. This way one's score will be quite good. It will always happen that one will write above average answers of some questions. But, the aim must be to write at least average answers in all, answers that fetch about 45%-50% marks. For that time management and covering syllabus hold key. This thing should be taken care of while writing tests.   

I am posting links of some snapshots hereunder. The questions answered are:

1. Is perception plastic? substantiate. (10 marks)

2. What is Metamemory? How does it help in remembering? (20 marks)

3. What are barriers of communication? (20 marks)

4. How does Transferance and Countertransferance affect psychoanalytical psychotherapy? (10 marks)

5. What role does non-cognitive factors play in remembering and forgetting ? (20 marks)

6. What is Community Psychology? Discuss its scope and applicability? (30marks)

I have also given links to a few snapshots of one page notes of psychological terms for paper 2 as sample, about which i talked in the note above.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/ravi-ranjan/my-experiences-with-civil-services-examination-part-3/10202349223806098

Thanx and all the best !

How to study Psychology?

Hello everybody! In this note i am going to share the strategy i followed for preparation of Psychology as well as the booklist for the same.First let me talk about this optional a bit.

It's quite an interesting optional not only at the face of it but also when u are deep into it. It has tremendous applicability not only in daily life and to manage one's own self, shape one's personality, attitudes, behaviour but also in administration. In a nutshell i have realized that wherever there is human involvement, psychology as a study of behaviour and mental processes has a role to play. Now the revised General Studies syllabus talks about Attitude, Emotional Intelligence, Aptitude which are staight out of the syllabus of Psychology. Psychology aids in the understanding of social issues like Communal violence, Juvenile delinquency, Voilence of all forms against women to name a few. It also aids in essays, personality test. Hence it's a nice optional to take with multiple interlinkages with various stages of this examination as well as portions of GS syllabus.

But, the nice words end here and the somewhat discomforting picture about psychology is the low scores awarded by UPSC. After all, what is the use of the optional if one cannot score in it and get into the preferred service? This is the general concern about this subject. Statistics also buttress this notion. The highest marks have been barely touching 50% at times crossing it marginally. This year i had a tough time finding fellow psycho aspirants and strength in the test series batch of Vajiram was drastically less.

Analyzing closely, i find that this dismal trend of score is just not true for psychology but also in other optional subjects. As i feel, UPSC now checks for greater conceptual clarity across optionals and sets more difficult papers.Also, this is perhaps the way of UPSC to reduce the undue impact on selection due to spiking of marks in optionals, particulary in a few particularly popular ones.I can find similar assessment elsewhere in another piece where Mr. Rahul Pandey AIR 52 has shared his experiences with Public Administration. I quote him " In the last two years, UPSC has deliberately increased the difficulty levels of question paper as they are more interested in those students who have conceptual clarity and ability to write those concepts in a simple manner." Actually, marks are therefore awarded when there is conceptual clarity, originality in analysis and connections highlighted between theoretical concepts and the real life examples. This is simply the logic of whole process of studying optionals for Civil Services, where as an administrator, one is supposed to use the same concepts while performing in the service. A good indicator of whether a person will do that is whether s/he is able to do that on paper in the examination.

Looking at the scores of optionals, it appears that if one can obtain about 45%-50% marks in optionals then one has done reasonably well to quite good job.Hence, to expect that one will become IAS just by studying the optional is going to be suicidal. Every Paper counts now including the Personality Test.

Here's my booklist for Psychology:

Paper 1

Introduction to Psychology Robert Baron
Psychology by Morgan and King
Psychology by Ciccarelli
Psychology NCERT XI XII
Vajiram class notes by Mukul Pathak sir
Tests, Measurements and Research Methods in Behavioural Sciences by A K Singh (Bharti Bhawan publications)
Statistics for Psychology by Aron, Aron, Coups
Cognitive Psychology by Sternberg


Paper 2
Vajiram class notes by Mukul Pathak sir
Applied Psychology by Mr. Smarak Swain
Social Psychology by Robert Baron, Branscombe, Gopa Bhardwaj, Byrne

Besides i also frequently visited pscychologytoday.com for latest updates on applied part and research in psychology.Not to forget, i followed columns dealing with latest practices in organizations in newspapers. These can be readily found in The Hindu, TOI, The Business Standard, The ET. Also, keeping an eye on the news articles from the point of view of psychology syllabus gave me fresh perspective in writing answers.


In the next note i'll specifically talk about how I read paper 1 and paper 2 and practised answer writing.I'll try to upload snapshots of some answers i wrote during test series. 

I thank Mr. Rahul  Pandey for sharing his valuable insights for the benefit of the aspirants. 

Thanx and All the best!

How to study GS?

Hello everybody! By the grace of God and enormous hard work, support of my family and friends and indirect encouragement of my detractors I have been able to succeed with AIR 92 in Civil Services Examination 2013. Since 2010 when I started till 12th June 2014, it's been a long roller coaster ride dense with precious trove of teaching experiences, such that I will cherish throughout my life.

The purpose of this note is to share some of them for the benefit of those whose journey still continues and those of my friends who want to embark on the same. For those whose journey continues, I want to say that it's a journey of self discovery and please keep the spirit going strong. The destination is definitely worth the toil.

I want to make it clear that every individual carves out one's own unique path to success ultimately. Whatever suggestions or information is shared here is only recommendatory in nature and should not be taken in a manner of one size fits all.  

I will start with my book-list for General Studies and Psychology for CSE 2013 and gradually move back in time in my journey of success as per the queries I get from friends and my own judgement of what's worth sharing.

Here's what I followed for GS:

Paper 1

Modern India: Spectrum, Bipan Chandra (NCERT and thick book), Grover and Mehta

World History: Arjun Dev XII and old NCERT covering French, American Revolutions. These are nicely summarized on mrunal.org. I found it useful.

While studying this portion, lot of correlation among events of world history and Indian freedom struggle needs to be established. This is where questions come up.

Geography: NCERT XI, XII, G C Leong, Khullar, Majid Hussain, Wiki and IMO website, Sri Ram notes on world geography

Sociology: Indian Society (NCERT), Ram Ahuja Social Problems in Indian Society, Indian Society ( S C Dubey), The Hindu, Frontline

Part related to women organizations etc was covered  from internet and Sri Ram material. I visited sites of women organizations and read their history.

Paper 2

Polity: Laxmikanth, Sri Ram polity notes, The Hindu

Comparative constitution: Mostly from internet. read about US, UK, France, Germany, China

IR: The Hindu, BBC (Q&A section is really good), Sri Ram IR notes, IDSA articles on idsa.in

For concepts related to transparency, accountability, good governance i referred to ARC and Indian Administration by Arora and Goyal and Sri Ram notes. A dedicated issue of Yojana on Good Governance was also referred. Here i feel concepts of transparency, types of accountability etc must be clear and it should be understood through operation of schemes and functioning of government agencies. A nice analysis of schemes was given in Sri Ram notes related to this. 

Paper 3

Economy related portions like PPPs, Infrastructure etc. from Sri Ram Indian Economy, Economic Survey and 12th FYP. Financial newspapers like The Economic Times or The Business Standard and The Hindu articles, Sri Ram notes related to ppr3.

Food Processing: Ministry of Food processing website and the annual report

Animal Husbandry and related portions: dahd.nic.in; 12th FYP, relevant posts on mrunal.org

Disaster mgmt: ARC report, NIDM website, book on disaster mgmt by CBSE

Security related: Wiki, Idsa.in, annual of Ministry of Home, Sri Ram notes on internal security, Vajiram printed material on internal security

Science Tech: The Hindu articles, TOI articles related to sci-tech, Wizard science tech

Environment: mostly from newspapers as a part of current affairs

Paper 4

Robert Baron Introduction to psychology for Attitude and Emotional Intelligence, wiki and google for various terms like professionalism, integrity etc

Ethics Integrity and Aptitude by Chandana (I found this book amazingly useful as it came just before mains and had nice approach to cover things)

ARC report on Ethics in governance, Sri ram notes on ethics, famous personalities and administrators of India and the world. Newspaper articles for case studies. 

I relied on explaining the rationale behind the steps i suggested in case studies. In assessment of moral and ethical standards, i have read in psychology, it's the reasoning that is applied while making decisions matter a lot and shows individual's moral fiber. Obviously, the decisions must also be ethical at the end. One's writing style comes handy here i believe. Practice holds key. Also examples are helpful while answering.

Another point i want to put across is that revision is the key in this examination. One's study schedule must accommodate at least 30%-40%  time to revision. Keep on asking questions on outcomes after every study session, summarize the read material. Civil Services preparation is all about building up a well structured and connected knowledge grid in one's mind. What's in mind comes out on the answer script. It doesn't matter how rich and extensive collection of notes one has.

In the next note I will share the approach and book-list for psychology. 

Thanks and All the best !