The course first aims at making students familiar with the main methodological principles that inspire scientific research in the social sciences. Second objective is to provide students with a full comprehension of the importance of the research design. At the end of the course students should be able to evaluate the validity and reliability of findings obtained from different research tecniques. Moreover, students will master research methods that could be useful in many working sectors.
Course Prerequisites
None Introductory course to the methodological principles for research in social sciences
Teaching Methods
Lectures and group works. All lectures come with power point slides.
Assessment Methods
No in itinere examination. Final written exam with open questions. Students will have to choose among three topics and must develop two. Questions will be both theoretical and practical, asking students to apply the learned methodologies to concrete research issues. Each answer will be evaluated by the teacher on a scale between 0 and 30 with encomium on the basis of the exactness of the theoretical notions and of the validity of the applied methodological procedures. The mean of the two scores will result in the final grade. To pass the exam the final score must be at least 18/30.
The exam outcome will be commuticated through the Esse3 system. To accept or reject the grade students must abide by the University teaching regulation.
Texts
Bob Matthews and Liz Ross, RESEARCH METHODS. A practical guide for the social sciences. Longman, 2010.
ISBN: 1405858508, 9781405858502
Contents
- basic epistemological and methodological principles - research topic and question -research design - data collection tecniques - data analysis -final report
