|
Instructors: Dr. Robin Tschötschel
Event type:
Lecture + practical course
Displayed in timetable as:
ICSS-M-1.4.8
Hours per week:
2
Credits:
3,0
Language of instruction:
English
Min. | Max. participants:
- | -
Comments/contents:
This course introduces students to prominent research designs and methodologies used in the social sciences. This course accompanies the lecture "Introduction to Social Science" but will sometimes diverge from the contents of the former. Most of the substantive research discussed will be associated with the field of "Climate Social Science" — i.e. studies aimed at exploring the societal and economic drivers of climate change, its consequences on humans, and political and social processes that further or hinder mitigation and adaptation.
Learning objectives:
After having attended the course, students will
- Have developed a familiarity with prominent social science research designs (including observation, surveys, experiments, content analysis, etc.), their different aims, background assumptions, strengths and weaknesses
- Be able to understand and explain similarities and differences between exploratory and confirmatory designs, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches
- Know and be able to apply concepts and criteria for assessing social science research, such as validity, reliability, generalizability, and reflexivity
- Have developed the skills necessary to evaluate most social science research critically and have become aware of where their abilities to do so reach a limit
- Have practised different research methodologies in short cameos
- Have crafted their own social science research design to study a question of interest
Didactic concept:
The course relies heavily on interactive classroom formats, and students are expected to prepare for each session actively. This usually involves reading two or more research papers or chapters and doing library/online searches to find studies of interest. Alternatively, students will try out different research methodologies through short cameos (e.g. a short ethnographic observation, a mini-survey experiment, or a brief content analysis), which will be discussed in class. Towards the end of the course, students will focus on developing their own research designs and giving each other feedback on their ideas.
Literature:
Will be published in early October
Additional examination information:
The final assessment of this course will take place in the form of a portfolio, including students' reflections on the literature read and found, their methodological notes and memos from the research cameos, and the research design developed towards the end of the course. The former two will be evaluated in terms of completeness, the research design using a grading rubric published at the beginning of the course.
To be awarded a grade, students will also have to
- Participate actively in classroom sessions
- Read assigned literature and prepare for classes
- Collaborate with other students in preparing and conducting research cameos
These study efforts are required but not graded.
|
