Undergraduate Course: Designing and Doing Social Research (SCIL10062)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course is for anyone who wants practical experience and skills in social research. The course is designed to mimic a real world research scenario, in which a multi-disciplinary research team takes varying approaches to a topic but works together towards the same goal. The emphasis is on learning while doing, and giving you a structured environment where you can learn how to reflect on your research while you are doing it. Many of the skills you learn on the course will be relevant to your Honours project and to your future career. |
| Course description |
The course is taught through lectures and group work. The lectures give you grounding in various research skills, debates and controversies in social research. The main focus of the course is the group work. The class is divided into two project streams, each of which is given a contemporary topic to investigate. You sign up for a group and conduct a research project under the guidance of a tutor.
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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 | Visiting students should have at least 2 social science courses (such as Sociology, Politics, Social Policy, Social Anthropology, etc) at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses |
| 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: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Formative Assessment Hours 3,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
173 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
60 %,
Practical Exam
40 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
30% 3 x Group Project Presentations, 10% Individual Contribution to Group Project, 60% final essay |
| Feedback |
Assessment will be by a group presentation of your research (30%), individual performance mark (10%) and a final essay (60%). The assessment balances the work your group has done with your own individual commentary on it. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Students will understand the principles and approaches to social research, and have the ability to compare different perspectives on research methods
- Students will be able to design their own research project and methodology, write it up and present it to their peers
- Students will learn to work with others in a group around a common problem, allocate tasks and responsibilities, mediate and manage group work processes
- Students will be able to evaluate different methodological approaches to various research topics of current relevance
- Students will be able to compare and critically assess research findings, and make judgments on research quality and validity
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Reading List
| The main textbook for the course is Rossman, Gretchen, and Sharon F. Rallis. 2003. Learning in the Field: An Introduction to Qualitative Research. Sage Publications. You might also like: Clough, Peter, and Cathy Nutbrown. 2007. A student¿s guide to methodology: justifying enquiry. Sage, and David Silverman, 2007, A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about qualitative research, Sage. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
You will have demonstrable skills in:
· Team and personal management
· Report writing, summarising, and presentation
· Analytical and critical thinking
· Evaluation of your own and others¿ work'
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Angus Bancroft
Tel: (0131 6)50 6642
Email: Angus.Bancroft@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ewen Miller
Tel: (0131 6)50 3925
Email: Ewen.Miller@ed.ac.uk |
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