Postgraduate Course: Advanced Methods Workshops (10 credit) (PGSP11597)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course gives students the opportunity to pick a selection of advanced social science methods workshops that are of cross-disciplinary interest and relevance. The workshops will provide hands-on experience of methods that either extend or complement those covered elsewhere in the curriculum. Workshops will likely be useful preparation for dissertation projects or in developing PhD research proposals or in providing valuable methodological experience for CVs. Overall, the aim of the course is to develop the ability to apply cutting-edge social science methods in research practice alongside the capacity to reflect on the associated strengths and weaknesses. |
| Course description |
Methodological developments in the Social Sciences over the past decades have led to strong increases in the specialisation and diversity of techniques that are used to make sense of the social world. This Research Training Centre course responds to these trends by providing access to an exciting programme of cutting-edge methods workshops all delivered by experts in the field. The workshops complement and extend the base of methods training in our core methods courses. To receive 10 credits students must attend two methods workshop, complete the exercise associated with each workshop (10% for each workshop making 20% of final mark in total) and submit a 2000-word essay (80%).
A typical workshop will consist of around 5 hours of contact time with additional study or reading time around this core provision. The learning experience will include:
- An introduction by an expert in the area that will outline core themes, issues and debates
- A 'hand-on' opportunity to apply a method in practice and supported opportunities to interpret and critique results
- Additional readings and activities to support the workshop content
- Opportunities for formative assessment through bespoke quizzes (within and outside classes) and exercises
Each workshop will include a follow up exercise that on completion will provide a full 10% of their final mark. The exercise may be written, an online quiz or a presentation in which students may:
- Present results/analysis from application of a method
- Reflect on themes and questions pertaining to the method
- Evaluate the application of a method in practice
The final essay will comprise 80% of the final mark. Students must choose at least one of the methods from the workshops they have taken and produce a detailed account of how a research method(s) would be applied to a research problem or a presentation of results from application of a method in practice.
Syllabus
The precise syllabus offered in any given year will be vary from year to year. This year the programme includes workshops covering a wide range of advanced methods such as latent class analysis, in-depth interviews, natural experiments and computational text analysis. Workshops will be arranged throughout the year to avoid clashes as far as it possible.
Students will attend an introductory lecture in week 1 of semester 1 during which they will be provided full details on the workshops offered. They will be expected to select their choices of workshops by the end of week 1.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 25 |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 4,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 2,
Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 2,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 6,
Online Activities 2,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
80 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Each workshop will include a follow up exercise that on completion will provide a full 10% of their final mark. Since students take two workshops, this workshop element of the assessment sums to 20% of their final mark. The workshop exercise may be written, an online quiz or a presentation. «br /»
«br /»
The final essay will comprise 80% of the final mark.«br /»
«br /»
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| Feedback |
Essays will be returned with feedback within 15 working days of submission. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate and work with social science methods which are at, or informed by, developments at the forefront
- Apply knowledge, skills and understanding in social science methods that are at, or informed by, forefront developments
- Develop original and creative responses to methodological problems and issues
- Communicate evidence and results from complex social science methods that are at, or informed by, forefront developments
- Exercise substantial autonomy and initiative in linking complex social science methods to social research questions
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Reading List
| The nature of this course is such that each workshop will require separate core readings. Workshop convenors will provide 1-2 key texts. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Angus Bancroft
Tel: (0131 6)50 6642
Email: Angus.Bancroft@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Beth Richardson-Mills
Tel: (0131 6)51 1659
Email: brichar3@ed.ac.uk |
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