Social Research Methods - Syllabus, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Research Methodology

Download Social Research Methods - Syllabus and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Research Methodology in PDF only on Docsity! SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE COURSE GUIDE 2007/8 Department of Sociology SO3522 - SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS Please check your university e-mail account regularly. THE COURSE Course Co-ordinator The Course Co-ordinator for SO3522 is Professor Bernadette C Hayes (Room: F5, Edward Wright Building; e-mail: [email protected]; Tel: 27- 3128). Credit Rating This course is offered in the second semester. It has a credit rating of 30; that is, it is expected to take up half of the time of a full-time student. Course Aims To promote an introductory knowledge of quantitative and qualitative data analysis. To provide students with a critical awareness of the strengths and limitations of large-scale survey methods in sociological research and secondary data analysis. To promote an awareness of the importance of level of measurement to the application of specific statistical techniques. Learning Outcomes The course will provide students with an elementary knowledge of a range of techniques, both quantitative and qualitative, for the collection and analysis of data. The course will enable students to read and make sense of survey data presented in tabular and graphical form and to interpret the results of some elementary statistical analysis of survey data. The course will enable students to develop the ability to critically examine the methodology and findings of sociological studies, particularly when the survey method has been employed. 2 Course Requirements/Assessment The course is assessed as follows: 50%: Final examination in June based on the methods section from week 1 to week 5. 50%: Continuous assessment based on one unseen 50-minute ‘open-book’ examination at the end of the semester. In addition there will be unassessed practical work that will be required during the semester. Students are expected to do this work. Failure to do so will adversely affect your performance in the module and may lead to your removal from the course. If you fail to meet these requirements, we may remove you from the course. The details of the School’s policy for enforcing requirements can be found in the Handbook at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/socsci/about/course or through your portal, and the University’s procedures for monitoring student progress are explained at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/calendar/generalregulations If you are having trouble meeting our requirements, you must talk to your tutor or Course Co-ordinator. Examination papers Past examination papers are available at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/library/examdb/ LECTURES There are 2 lectures per week in this course and one practical workshop. Lectures will be held on Mondays and Tuesdays 10.00 - 11.00 am in New Kings in Room: 10 (Mondays) and Meston in Room: 6 (Tuesdays). Practicals will be held on Thursday 10.00 - 11.00 am in King’s College in Room: KCF8 (Thursdays). The lectures and practicals are planned as a coherent series, and you will gain a full understanding of the issues they raise only if you attend regularly. The lecturers are Professor Bernadette C Hayes (BH), Dr Christopher Kollmeyer (CK) and Dr Richie Nimmo (RN). Lecture Timetable WEEK 1 (28 January – 1 February) Mon BH Introduction to the Course Tues CK Logic of Social Science Research Thurs CK What is Qualitative Research? WEEK 2 (4 February – 8 February) Mon RN Ethnography and Participant Observation Tues RN Interviews Thurs CK Unobtrusive Methods 5 Look up keywords in a Sociology Dictionary Supplementary Readings Benton, T. and Craib, I. 2001. Philosophy of Social Science. New York: Palgrave Hughes, John. 1990. The Philosophy of Social Research. London: Longman Marsh, Ian, Campbell, Rosie, Keating, Mike (eds) 1998. Classic and contemporary readings in sociology. Harlow: Longman (Part IV) May, Tim. 1997. Social Research. Second edition. Buckingham: Open University Press, Chapter 1. Payne, G. And Payne, J., 2004. Key concepts in social research. London: SAGE (positivism and realism) Seale, C. (ed) 1998. Researching Society and Culture. London: Sage, Chapter 1. Williams, Malcolm, May, Tim, and Wiggins, Richard D. 1996. Introduction to the philosophy of social research. London: UCL Press What is Qualitative Research? This lecture will explore the nature of qualitative research, and what makes it distinctive from quantitative. We will review some studies that have used qualitative methods and consider the ways in which these methods have been used to understand sociological issues and to generate sociological knowledge. We will discuss issues of research design (including case studies and longitudinal designs) and go on to explore the range of methods used in qualitative research. Key Readings Bryman, Alan. 2004. Social Research Methods. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter 1. Silverman, David. 2001. Interpreting Qualitative Data. Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and Interaction. 2nd ed. London: Sage, Chapter 2 Supplementary Readings Berg, Bruce L. 2004. Qualitative Research Methods. 5th Edition. London: Allyn and Bacon, Chapter 1 Flick, Uwe, 1998. An introduction to qualitative research London; Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, Chapters 1 and 2. 6 Payne, G. and J. Payne. 2004. Key concepts in social research. London: SAGE (qualitative research) Travers, Max. Qualitative research through case studies, London: Sage Publications, 2001. There is a whole host of texts available in the library. Simply search for ‘qualitative methods’ or ‘qualitative research’ Week 2: Lecture Topics Ethnographic Research and Participant Observation Ethnography can be understood as iterative-inductive research (i.e. research which evolves in design during the study), that draws on a family of methods, and involves direct and sustained contact with human agents, within the context of their daily lives (and cultures). Ethnographers watch what happens, listen to what is said, ask questions, and try to produce a richly written account which respects the irreducibility of human experience, which acknowledges the role of theory, as well as the researcher's own role, and which views humans as part object/part subject. This lecture will elucidate these various elements of ethnographic research and will consider the practical implications of such an approach. Key Readings Bryman, Alan. 2004. Social Research Methods. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter 14. Silverman, David. 2001. Interpreting Qualitative Data. Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and Interaction. 2nd Edition. London: Sage, Chapter 3 Supplementary Readings Brewer, J.D., 2000. Ethnography. Buckingham: Open University Press. Flick, Uwe, 1998. An introduction to qualitative research, London: Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage, Chapter 12 O'Reilly, K., 2005. Ethnographic methods. London: Routledge, Chapters 1 and 4. Seale, C. (ed) 1998. Researching Society and Culture. London: Sage, Chapter 17 Whyte, W. F. 1955 Street Corner Society: the social structure of an Italian slum, Chicago: University of Chicago Press (appendix, any edition) Interviews In this lecture we will look at one of the most popular methods of research used by sociologists: the interview method. We will explore the difference between interviews within qualitative and quantitative research, but the focus here is on in-depth interviewing; oral and 7 life histories; and focus groups interviews. Some of the issues covered, with reference to existing studies, are types of interview, levels of formality and structure, access, approaches, taping and transcribing, and memory and validity. We will consider the practical issues in designing an interview guide and conducting individual and group interviews. Key Readings Bryman, Alan. 2004. Social Research Methods. 2nd Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapters 13-16 Rubin, Herbert J. and Rubin, Irene S. (1995) Qualitative interviewing: the art of hearing data. Thousand Oaks, Sage (Introduction) Supplementary Readings Flick, Uwe. 1998. An introduction to qualitative research, London: Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, Chapters 8 -11 O'Reilly, K., 2005. Ethnographic methods. London: Routledge, Chapter 5 and 6 Plummer, Ken. 2000. Documents of Life. 2nd Edition. London: Sage Silverman, David. 2001. Interpreting Qualitative Data. Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and Interaction. 2nd Edition. London: Sage, Chapter 4 Unobtrusive Methods: Texts, Documents and Diaries Qualitative Researchers (and sometimes quantitative ones) sometimes study documents that exist without their having had to collect them: official records, diaries, newspapers, archives, letters, and even visual data. This lecture will consider the range of ‘documents’ that might be included in a research study and how they might methodologically be read, interpreted, understood or applied. Key Readings Bryman, Alan. 2004. Social Research Methods. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter 18 Silverman, David. 2001. Interpreting Qualitative Data. Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and Interaction. 2nd Edition. London: Sage, Chapter 5 Supplementary Readings Berg, Bruce L. 2004. Qualitative Research Methods. 5th Edition. London: Allyn and Bacon, Chapter 8 Miller, R. and J. Brewer. eds, 2003. The a-z of social research: a dictionary of key social science research concepts. London: Sage (several entries, especially ‘documentary sources’). Plummer, Ken. 2000. Documents of Life. 2nd Edition. London: Sage 10 Further References: May, Tim. 1997 (second ed.) Social Research, Buckingham: Open UP (section on documentary research) Steinmetz, George (2007) The Relations Between History and Sociology in the US: The Current State of Affairs, in Journal of Historical Sociology, Vol. 20, Issue 1-2, March/June 2007 (available in the library’s E-journals collection; includes a very good bibliography on the relationship of history to sociology). Smith, D. (1991) The Rise of Historical Sociology, Cambridge: Polity. Kalberg, S. (1994) Max Weber’s Comparative Historical Sociology, Cambridge: Polity. Dean, Mitchell (1994) Critical and Effective Histories: Foucault’s Methods and Historical Sociology, London: Routledge. Studies: Jordan, J. A. (2005) A Matter of Time: Examining Collective Memory in Historical Perspective in Postwar Berlin, Journal of Historical Sociology, Vol. 18, No’s 1-2, March/June 2005. Blaikie, A. (2005) Accounting for Poverty: Conflicting Constructions of Family Survival in Scotland, 1855-1925, in Journal of Historical Sociology, Vol. 18, No. 3, September 2005. Sutton, D. (2000) Memories Cast in Stone: The Relevance of the Past in Everyday Life, Oxford: Berg. Mackenzie, D. (1990) Inventing Accuracy: A Historical Sociology of Nuclear Missile Guidance. Novak, T. (1988) Poverty and the State: An Historical Sociology, Open University Press. Taylor, B. (1983) Eve and the New Jerusalem: Socialism and Feminism in the Nineteenth Century. Skocpol, T. (1979) States and Social Transformations: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia and China, Cambridge University Press. Workshop This session will take the form of a research workshop in which we will explore some of the issues covered this week through practical exercises. The workshop will focus on the practical dimensions of historical social research. Week 5: Lecture Topics 11 Sampling Sampling is vital in social research. In almost all surveys, it is necessary to use a sample. This lecture will critically examine the two main forms of sampling – probability versus non- probability sampling – and their various types. Key Readings Bryman, Alan. 2004. Social Research Methods. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter 4. Supplementary Readings Arber, Sara. 2001. 'Designing samples.' In N. Gilbert (ed.), Researching Social Life. 2nd Edition. London: Sage, pp. 58-82. Miller, R. and J. Brewer. eds, 2003. The a-z of social research: a dictionary of key social science research concepts. London: sage (several entries). Moser, C. A. and G. Kalton. 1971. Survey Methods in Social Investigation. Aldershot: Gower, Chapters 4-8. Payne, Geoff and Judy Payne. 2004. Key concepts in social research. London: SAGE (sampling). Questionnaire Design One of the most important parts of any research survey is the development questions that will provide the most relevant and valuable information. This lecture will examine the process of questionnaire construction, paying particular attention to the format of a questionnaire and ways to avoid common sources of bias in question-wording. Key Readings Bryman, Alan. 2004. Social Research Methods. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapters 6-7. Supplementary Readings Converse, Jean M. and Stanley Presser. 1986. Survey Questions: Handcrafting the Standardized Questionnaire. California: Sage, pp. 48-79. Miller, R. and J. Brewer. eds, 2003. The a-z of social research: a dictionary of key social science research concepts. London: sage (several entries). Oppenheim, A. N. 1992. Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement. London, Pinter, Chapters 7-8. Payne, Geoff and Judy Payne. 2004. Key concepts in social research. London: SAGE (questionnaires). 12 Simmons, Rosemary, Sara 2001. 'Questionnaires.' In N. Gilbert (ed.), Researching Social Life. 2nd Edition. London: Sage, pp. 85-104. Structured Interviews One of the most commonly employed methods in survey research is the structured interview. Otherwise known as the standardised interview, its primary purpose is to ensure that all interviewees are given exactly the same interview stimulus both in terms of question order and content as well as the recording of answers. This lecture focuses on the various prerequisites of structured interviewing and the problems associated with it. Key Readings Bryman, Alan. 2004. Social Research Methods. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter 5. Supplementary Readings Miller, R. and J. Brewer. eds, 2003. The a-z of social research: a dictionary of key social science research concepts. London: sage (several entries). Moser, C. A and G. Kalton. 1971. Survey Methods in Social Investigation. Aldershot: Gower, Chapters. 12. Oppenheim, A. N. 1992. Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement. London, Pinter, Chapter 6. Payne, G. And Payne, J., 2004. Key concepts in social research. London: SAGE (interviews). Week 6: Lecture Topics Levels of Measurement and Frequency Distributions Distributions of variables are the basic materials of social research. Because social research usually involved large numbers of observations, a variety of methods have been developed for organising data into displays that are informative and meaningful. This series of lectures will focus on the various levels of measurement and outline some of the techniques for data display, including frequency distributions, relative frequency distributions and graphic displays. Key Readings Bryman, Alan. 2004. Social Research Methods. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter 11. Supplementary Readings Clegg, Frances 1991. Simple Statistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapter 10.