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Research Methods in Social Sciences

Class at Faculty of Social Sciences |
JSB722

Syllabus

Week 1: Introduction

About the course, lecturers and students

Lectures and seminars

Assignments

Lay people and expert knowledge. Presentation

Week 2: Social Theory and Social Research: Doing Social Science

Empirical and theoretical knowledge. Presentation

Induction and deduction. Presentation

Quantitative, measurement-oriented approach and qualitative, meaning-oriented approach. Presentation

Sampling.

Reading: Babbie ch. 1 and 32-57, Schutt 644-653; Gliner-Leech-Morgan 3-20

Week 3: Formulation of Research Problem 

What is a research problem Presentation. (Propose a simple research problem)

What is a research question Presentation (Propose a research question)

Reading: Corbin-Strauss 52-56; Gliner-Leech-Morgan 23-29, 45-52

Week 4: How to start with qualitative research

Finding the research problem and question suitable for qualitative research (S: formulating the qualitative research question)

Main modes of qualitative data production (S: which combination would keep the things plumb)

Research journal: place for reflexivity (S: where to start to write)

Reading qualitative research  to start your own (S: bibliographical research)

Reading: Corbin - Strauss: 52-75

Week 5: Modes of Qualitative Data Production

Ethnography (S: inducting main features of ethnographic knowledge from cases)

Observation (S: whose fieldnotes are the most complex? )

Position of the observer (S: discussion: limits of participation?) 

How to write fieldnotes

Reading: Corbin-Strauss: 56-58, 60-67; Babbie: 287- 296

Suggested reading: Hammersley - Atkinson: 1-5

Homework:  to perform an observation and write down the fieldnotes, min. 250 words

Week 6: Analysis of Data in Qualitative Research 

Presentation and reflections on homeworks

Types of Interviewing (S: active listening and entering the world of speaker, asking open ended narrative questions)  

Open  and thematic coding (S: Coding a text)

Memoing (S: write down different types of memos)

Reading: Corbin-Strauss: 103-121

Week 7: Operationalization, Types of Quantitative Data, Variables, Analytical Research Design

Hypotheses; conceptualization, operationalization (S: create on operational definition of the given term)

Exploration, description, explanation, prediction; time-frame in research design

Variables, attributes; measurement, types of data (S: define a variable for given topic)

Sampling techniques

Reading: Babbie

Week 8: Modes of Quantitative Data Production (Fieldwork Techniques)

Primary and secondary research

Interviews, CAPI, CATI

SAQ, CAWI

Observation

Reading: Babbie

Week 9: Quantitative Analysis of Research Findings

Analytical strategies; principles and elements of analysis

Presenting numerical information

Data visualization

Reading: Babbie

Week 10: Research Project

      How to write a research project

Week 11: Final seminar with presentations on the topics of the term papers

First round.

Week 12: Final seminar with presentations on the topics of the term papers

Second round.

Annotation

The course is open only to students of the Social Sciences (SOSCI) programme and visiting sociology students under the Erasmus+ programme. Please do not enrol in the course if you are not studying another programme.

This introductory course of research methods deals with the most important issues in scientific research. It describes the main steps of an analytical investigation and provides an overview of practical procedures, methods and instruments. The key methodological cornerstones (e.g. defining the research problems, setting the research design, choosing the proper data generation method, and utilization of analytical techniques) are discussed in detail. The students will learn the basics of social research methodology.