Methodology of Social Sciences 02.06-S2-EN-MOSC
Course content:
A. Lectures:
• Approaching Reality: Engaging the Empirical
• Research Design and Planning
• Methods of Data Collection
• Qualitative Research Methods – Field Research
• Quantitative Research Methods – Surveys
• Case Study and Desk Research
• Conducting Research
• Strategies for Data Analysis
• Representing and Disseminating Research
B. Exercises:
• Ontological and epistemological discussions and conceptualization of the research process
• Planning a research project
• Survey of methods of data collection in sociology
• Inductive inquiry: data grounded logic of sociological research
• Deductive hypothesis testing
• Designing a case study or desk research
• Interviewing
• Ethical issues of sociological research
• The impact of sociological research
Supplementary literature
Type of course
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
Student:
• Is aware of the position of sociology among other social sciences and science in general.
• Knows different methodological approaches to social reality and methods within these different theoretical paradigms with special emphasis on qualitative-quantitative distinction and inductive-deductive division.
• Understands the rational model of science and the dynamic position of sociology within it.
• Knows how to design a research project, starting with ontological issues, through appropriate selection of method, sampling and analytical strategy.
Skills
Student:
• Is able to conceptualize her research problem in the context of existing body of research and theorizing.
• Is able to formulate a research problem and post the research questions.
• Can use the theoretical framework of other social scientist in her own work critically evaluating it.
• Can design the research project, select the most productive methods and justify this selection.
• Is ready to design a strategy of interpretation of data.
Social competences
Student:
• Is eager to position herself within a strand of sociological thinking and engage in an informed discussion with other theoretical perspectives.
• Realizes the sensitivity of working with human subjects in sociological research.
• Is creative and critical in empirical thinking.
Assessment criteria
• Exam
• Research proposal project development
• Evaluation of the in class discussion.
• Evaluation of the development of the research project in class.
• Evaluation of the exam performance.
Basic criteria:
Exam:
According to the scale of the test:
• Satisfactory if the student grasps the minimum of the course content.
• Good if the student masters majority of the content of the course.
• Very good is the student knows almost all of the content of the course.
In case of the re-take examination:
• Satisfactory if the student is able to refer to the basic concepts of the course content.
• Good if the student can discuss majority of the content of the course.
• Very good is the student is able to elaborate on most of the issues of the content of the course.
Exercises:
• Satisfactory if the student takes part in the classes and delivers a research proposal with minimum information.
• Good if the student contributes to the class discussion and submits an elaborate research proposal.
• Very good if the student participates in the classes with a meaningful input to the discussions and turns in an elaborate, innovative, critical and insightful research proposal.
Bibliography
Selection:
Ken Plummer, Sociology the Basics, ch. 6
Earl Babbie, The Practice of Social Research, ch. 4
Clive Seale, Researching Society and Culture, ch. 1 - 11
Chava Frankfort-Nachmias, Anna Leon-Guerrero, Social Statistics for a Diverse Society
Jack Levin, James Alan Fox,, David Forde, Elementary Statistics in Social Research
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: