Undergraduate Course: Introduction to Social Sciences for Natural Scientists (ECSC10041)
Course Outline
School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
Summary | Addressing global environmental challenges involves understanding the complex relationships between humans and the natural world. This course will provide students coming from a natural sciences background with an introduction to the social sciences, focused on understanding the breadth of ways in which social science research contributes to understanding and addressing environmental challenges, and developing a conceptual and practical understanding of key research methods that are commonly used to answer questions about humans' relationships to their environments. |
Course description |
The course will focus on developing an understanding of the breadth and diversity of topics and approaches that fall within 'the social sciences' and the contributions that the social sciences make to solving environmental challenges, and providing students with a practical grounding in the use of common social science research methods. It is intended for students with a background in the natural sciences who are keen to develop their ability to work across disciplinary boundaries or as part of interdisciplinary teams. It will also provide an excellent grounding for students who wish to incorporate social science techniques into their dissertation research.
Across ten weeks, the course will address the following questions:
What are 'the social sciences', and why should I care about them?
What is different about social science research? (and what is not?)
How can I take care to ensure that my research is ethical?
How can I use interviews and focus groups to explore topics in depth?
How can I design and use questionnaires effectively?
How can I use existing documents or texts in research?
How should I analyse the data I have collected?
Students will be helped to answer them by exploring a set of focal themes - environmental attitudes, human wellbeing and justice - which will be used throughout the course to introduce core concepts that are particularly important in the social sciences (e.g. the role of theory, latent and multidimensional constructs, positionality, different philosophies of knowledge) and to explore when and how a natural scientist might have to think differently about topics they will already be familiar with (e.g. sampling, measurement).
The course is designed to encourage active learning and uses a flipped classroom approach. Each week the students will be provided with a set of learning materials and associated tasks which they will be asked to review and complete in advance of a three hour timetabled session. The classes will build directly on this preparatory work, using a mixture of lecture content, facilitated group discussion, class presentations, and other interactive activities.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This course has an overall quota of 25 students. GeoSciences students will be given priority for the first 20 places, with SBS students given priority for the remaining 5 places. If these allocations are not filled, places will be offered to visiting students and students from other Schools. |
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites | The course is not intended for students who have prior training in social science research methods. |
High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 25 |
Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 8,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 10,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
166 )
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Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework (100% of final mark):
Pre-class quizzes (20%) [Learning outcome 1]: Prior to each class students will be provided with learning materials and activities, and asked to complete a short quiz assessing their knowledge and understanding.
Learning packs (40%)) [Learning outcome 2]: Students will work in small groups to create and present short 'learning packs' intended to introduce the class to a relevant technique or theory from the social sciences.
Research project (40%) [Learning outcomes 3 & 4]: Students will develop a research question, choose an appropriate means to collect and analyse the data required to answer it and present their research a short report.
Students must attain an overall mark of 40% (or above) to pass the course. |
Feedback |
Within the flipped classroom approach adopted by the course, the teaching team will provide regular formative feedback to the class based on needs identified through pre-class quizzes and within small group tutorials. Additional feedback will be provided by peers on the presentation of the learning packs. Written feedback will be provided on all summative assessments. |
No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe how social science research contributes to solving environmental challenges
- Interpret and critically evaluate published research which uses social science concepts or techniques to address environmental challenges
- Select and use appropriate research methods to collect data about humans¿ relationships to their environments.
- Choose and apply appropriate techniques to analyse both qualitative and quantitative data
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Reading List
Bryman, A. & Bell, E. Social Research Methods, 5th Edition (Oxford University Press, 2019).
Stern, MJ., Social Science Theory for Environmental Sustainability: A Practical Guide, Techniques in Ecology & Conservation (Oxford, 2018)
Vaccaro, I., Smith, E. A. & Aswani, S. Environmental Social Sciences: Methods and Research Design. (Cambridge University Press, 2010). |
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The course complements, builds upon and extends the skills training currently offered within the EES programme several ways. First, it encourages students to actively explore the complexity and ambiguity that is an inherent part of studying and tackling environmental challenges (e.g. through examination of the concepts of wellbeing and justice). Second, it includes a significant focus on developing an appreciation of the ethical issues that can arise when studying human relationships with the natural world, and the ability to understand when and how to apply relevant social science methods. Third, through the concepts of positionality and reflexivity, it introduces students to the importance of critical self-reflection.
The delivery methods used in the course are also chosen to develop a broad range of personal and professional skills in students that take it. The classes are designed to be highly interactive, and will promote analytical and critical thinking by encouraging students to actively explore the subject. The course assessments are intended to develop skills in team working and verbal communication and presentation, through the creation and presentation of the learning packs, and to provide students with an opportunity to design and conduct a piece of independent research prior to their dissertations, further developing skills in independent learning and problem solving and written communication. |
Keywords | research methods,survey,interview,focus group,qualitative,quantitative,study design,analysis |
Contacts
Course organiser | Dr Aidan Keane
Tel: (01316)50 5094
Email: aidan.keane@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Francesca Nadal Finnegan
Tel: (0131 6)50 4842
Email: Francesca.Finnegan@ed.ac.uk |
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