Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences (P02547)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : SPS-P-P02547

This is a core course in documentary and archival research within the framework of historical sociology.
The course is designed to complement the existing core research skills courses, to provide a foundation for students wishing to work on documentary sources in a structured analytical way and to use these in carrying out a grounded piece of research. It emphasises the need to do such research in the context of theoretical ideas and issues which direct the practical focus and enable it to address core questions and ideas.

With its conceptual and practical focus, the course will provide a foundation for any postgraduate student wishing to work in-depth on documentary sources and gain ‘hands-on’ skills in doing this in a small-scale but real-world archival research project to address key ideas and debates.

Entry Requirements

none

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Sociology, (School of Social and Political Studies, Schedule J)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course students will have:

an understanding of key theories and debates in historical sociology and how these have been explored in grounded research practice.
an understanding of the key theoretical, methodological and practical issues arising in such practical investigations.
an understanding of the key methods and techniques of documentary analysis.
an understanding of the key methods and techniques of archival research.
an understanding of what is involved in exploring core debates and key theories through designing and carrying out a piece of grounded research.
an understanding of the ways in which such research can illuminate, expand or undermine key theories and debates, and also awareness of the boundaries and limitations involved in using the specific and ‘local’ to address the general.

Assessment Information

Students will be required to carry out and write-up a small-scale archive-based project around a pre-set group of questions to guide their investigation, analysis and reporting. The list of projects will be set up by the course teachers to ensure they are of an appropriate scale and comparable ‘do-ability’. Students will discuss the results of the project work in the final meetings of the course so as to receive feedback in advance of the material being written up and submitted.
The assessment will report on the process of the investigation, and the analysis of its results, in the context of the students critically reflecting on their research management and analysis and their use of the basic techniques of documentary and archival investigation, and also their awareness of the boundaries and limitations involved in using specific and ‘local’ research to address general theoretical debates and issues.