ZURn6301 Research Project

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Taught in person.
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Marína Urbániková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Iveta Jansová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. et Mgr. Marína Urbániková, Ph.D.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Boris Rafailov, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites (in Czech)
TYP_STUDIA ( MN )
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 aim of this course is to equip students with the skills and abilities needed to design their own quantitative or qualitative empirical research projects. The course will guide students through various phases of the research process, starting from the choice of the research topic, through the formulation of the research problem, specification of the research goal and research question, formulation of hypotheses, operationalization, choice of method(s), and sample selection (including considerations of representativity). Concurrently, it will address common problems and risks that researchers often encounter. Throughout the course, students will actively engage in developing their own research projects. These projects will be discussed in practical workshops throughout the semester, forming the main output of the course.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, students will:
- Possess knowledge of the main stages of empirical research
- Understand the importance of research design
- Have knowledge of the main building blocks of a research project
- Demonstrate the ability to design their own research project and defend their methodological choices.
Syllabus
  • Introduction to the course. Introduction of the syllabus. Prerequisites.
  • Design of empirical research. Creating a research proposal. Research quality criteria. Principles of research ethics. Research topic and research problem. How to write an introduction.
  • Workshop I: discussion of research topic and problem proposals.
  • Theoretical context of the research. Literature review. Research objective. Research questions. Choice of research strategy, methods and techniques.
  • Basic concepts of qualitative research, specifics of qualitative research, selection of research population, research narrative.
  • Hypotheses and operationalization. Selection of the research population in quantitative research.
  • Workshop II: discussion of project proposals.
  • Research interview and its analysis.
  • Survey.
  • Workshop III: discussion of project proposals.
  • Quantitative content analysis.
  • Qualitative analysis of media content.
Literature
  • RAGIN, Charles C. and Lisa M. AMOROSO. Constructing social research : the unity and diversity of method. Third edition. Los Angeles: Sage, 2019, xii, 217. ISBN 9781483379302. info
  • BABBIE, Earl R. The practice of social research. Fourteenth edition. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2016, xxiv, 566. ISBN 9781305104945. info
  • CRESWELL, John W. Research design : qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. International student editio. Los Angeles: Sage, 2014, xxix, 273. ISBN 9781452274614. info
  • The handbook of media and communication research : qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Edited by Klaus Jensen. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2012, xii, 431. ISBN 9780415609661. info
  • BLAIKIE, Norman W. H. Designing social research : the logic of anticipation. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2010, ix, 298. ISBN 9780745643380. info
  • PUNCH, Keith. Základy kvantitativního šetření. Translated by Jan Hendl. Vyd. 1. Praha: Portál, 2008, 150 s. ISBN 9788073673819. info
  • DAVIES, Máire Messenger and Nick MOSDELL. Practical research methods for media and cultural studies : making people count. Jaipur: Rawat publications, 2006, 202 s. ISBN 8131601005. info
  • BERTRAND, Ina and Peter HUGHES. Media research methods : audiences, institutions, texts. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005, x, 286. ISBN 0333960955. URL info
Teaching methods
lecture, seminar, workshop, exercise, reading, research proposal
Assessment methods
submission of own research project
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2025/ZURn6301