ENSb1331 Environmental Studies Methodology I

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2027
Extent and Intensity
2/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Lucie Galčanová Batista, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Ing. Tomáš Doseděl, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Lucie Galčanová Batista, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Klára Dubinová
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites
(!ENSb1117 Introduction to the methodology) && !NOW(ENSb1117 Introduction to the methodology) && TYP_STUDIA(B)
This course is intended for students starting in the 2026/2027 academic year (beginning in fall 2026 and later). Students who began their studies earlier should take the course with the code ENSb1117. When registering for courses, please follow your Monitoring and registration templates.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Abstract
The course aims to familiarise students with key approaches, methods, and research techniques in the social sciences. The course is divided into three parts: the first focuses on the general principles of scientific knowledge, while the other two focus on quantitative and qualitative research principles. Through lectures, reading basic methodological texts, and practical exercises, students will gain knowledge and practical skills that they will apply in the independent preparation of their bachelor's thesis and in the interpretation of research results in professional texts. In addition to research design, students will be introduced to the basics of presenting research results and writing academic texts.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will be able to identify the key features of the main research approaches in the social sciences and their strengths and weaknesses. They will be able to select an appropriate research design based on the research question and the nature of the research problem. They will understand data collection, interpretation and evaluation. They will acquire the basic skills for writing a bachelor's thesis via practical exercises.
Key topics
Block 1: Basic principles of scientific knowledge, specifics of environmental studies. Block 2: Qualitative research – data collection, interviews, analysis and presentation, research ethics. Block 3: Quantitative research – data collection, questionnaire creation and administration, basics of statistical analysis, presentation of results. The course concludes with the presentation of the results of the seminar paper.
Study resources and literature
    required literature
  • MAREŠ, Petr; Ladislav RABUŠIC and Petr SOUKUP. Analýza sociálněvědních dat (nejen) v SPSS (Data analysis in social sciences (using SPSS)). První. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2015, 508 pp. ISBN 978-80-210-6362-4. info
  • BABBIE, Earl R. The practice of social research. 13th ed., international ed. [Australia]: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013, xxiii, 584. ISBN 9781133050094. info
  • BRYMAN, Alan. Social research methods. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012, xli, 766. ISBN 9780199588053. info
    not specified
  • Metody výzkumu ve společenských vědách. Edited by Hedvika Novotná - Ondřej Špaček - Magdaléna Šťovíčková. Vydání první. Praha: FHS UK, 2019, 495 stran. ISBN 9788075710253. info
  • ESTERBERG, Kristin G. Qualitative methods in social research. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2002, xv, 256. ISBN 0767415604. info
Approaches, practices, and methods used in teaching
Teaching methods include lectures, discussions, and students´ individual work (reading, written assessments, and final paper).
Method of verifying learning outcomes and course completion requirements
Written semester assignments and a test.
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught every week.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
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