ESS401 Social Science Methodology

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2014
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Petr Ocelík, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Jan Osička, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Filip Černoch, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Filip Černoch, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 9:45–11:15 U42
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course introduces students to the range of methods with which social scientists work as they attempt to systematically understand social phenomena. It provides first hand experience with the specific procedures through which social science knowledge is developed. The course is divided into two parts. The first part introduces framework of social science research providing the students with knowledge of the necessary questions and dilemmas that need to be tackled during the course of preparation and conducting a research. The second part, in turn, emphasizes general procedures such as discriminating between theories, posing proper research questions, operationalizing concepts, or collecting data. At the end of the course the students use the acquired knowledge and skills in research design building workshops.
Syllabus
  • Course Structure (1) Research in Social Sciences: Assumptions, Concepts, Limits (2) Social Science Methodologies: Explanation vs. Understanding (3) Research Strategy: Inductive vs. Deductive Approaches (4) Research Design: Research Question, Literature Review and the Role of Theory, Concepts and Measurements, Population Definition and Sampling (5) Data Collection and Processing: Interviews, Surveys, Data Extraction Techniques and Coding (6) Workshop
Literature
  • CRESWELL, John W. Qualitative inquiry & research design : choosing among five approaches. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 2013, xxi, 448. ISBN 9781412995306. info
  • GEORGE, Alexander L. and Andrew BENNETT. Case studies and theory development in the social sciences. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2005, xv, 331. ISBN 0262572222. info
  • GERRING, John. Social science methodology : a criterial framework. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, xx, 300. ISBN 0521805139. info
  • VAN EVERA, Stephen. Guide to methods for students of political science. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997, vi, 136. ISBN 080148457X. info
  • KING, Gary, Sidney VERBA and Robert O. KEOHANE. Designing social inquiry :scientific inference in qualitative research. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994, xi, 247 s. ISBN 0-691-03471-0. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, seminars and workshops
Assessment methods
Final project, final test.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
Teacher's information
http://www.ceners.org/education/master-program/curriculum/courses/#Social_Science_Methodology
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2015, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2014, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2014/ESS401