SOC2069 : Researching Social Life I
- Offered for Year: 2019/20
- Module Leader(s): Dr Adél Pásztor
- Owning School: Geography, Politics & Sociology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
Aims
Sociology is based on systematic knowledge about the social world that we inhabit. ‘Researching Social Life I’ introduces the range of ways that sociologists do research by generating information so that they can develop their sociological ideas. Its core theme is the importance of evidence: the way we collect information has a huge effect on our research findings. Data collection is a practical activity, and therefore the module is distinctive in involving a series of hands-on workshops and practical assignments, as well as lectures. It is in these small group sessions that you will convert the principles explained in the lectures into skills, so that you too can carry out research. Although concerned to convey the systematic application of appropriate professional standards, the module also tries to communicate some of the excitement and fun of doing research.
The module makes four main contributions to the degree program:
1. It lays a foundation of knowledge and critical awareness about how research gets done, which helps to appreciate and make sense of the other sociological sources used in the rest of the degree’s modules.
2. It enables the best choice of research methods to be made for doing your research for the Final Year Dissertation in sociology.
3. More generally, the informed and critical thinking learned in the module can also be applied to analyse what really lies behind media news-stories, politicians’ speeches, lobby groups’ reports on social problems – and even gossip – that we all encounter as citizens.
4. Finally, because Research Social Life I delivers a substantial part of “what every sociology graduate can be expected to knowâ€, having studied the subject, it offers the opportunity to acquire transferable skills for later employment in a range of professions. These include interviewing, analysing social behaviour, using computers to process quantitative information, where to locate data on public issues and how to apply them, and how to make sense of social surveys.
Outline Of Syllabus
The lectures will introduce the core research methods of ethnography, sampling, questionnaire
design, interviewing, textual analysis, coding, basic statistical analysis using SPSS, and secondary
analysis of large data-sets. These skills will be presented in the context of the research process, as
exemplified by selected sociological studies.
The Workshops will be organised around exercises giving students hands-on experience of analysing
large data sets, sampling, designing questionnaires, interviewing, coding data, observation, and
textual analysis.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 11 | 2:00 | 22:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Computer lab session |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 156:00 | 156:00 | Includes assessment preparation |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 10 | 2:00 | 20:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The lectures provide the main framework and content with respect to the foundations and building blocks of sociological research and how these relate to social knowledge. The workshops will allow students to enhance their comprehension and practise the discipline’s main empirical and methodological approaches, in order to achieve the learning outcomes through discussion, practical exercises and both formative and summative assessment.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prof skill assessmnt | 1 | M | 10 | Active seminar participation |
| Report | 1 | M | 45 | Thematic coding & analysis - 1800 words |
| Computer assessment | 1 | M | 45 | Analysing data with SPSS - 1200 words |
Formative Assessments
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prob solv exercises | 1 | M | Oral commentary on practice exercises pre-assessment |
| Prob solv exercises | 1 | M | Oral commentary on practice exercises pre-assessment |
| Prob solv exercises | 1 | M | Oral commentary on practice exercises pre-assessment |
| Prob solv exercises | 1 | M | Oral commentary on practice exercises pre-assessment |
| Prob solv exercises | 1 | M | Oral commentary on practical exercises |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
There are no formal exams.
The importance of sociological skills and practice is recognised by assessing students’ capacities to put their newly acquired skills into action by performing set tasks. The topics for all the assessments are introduced and demonstrated in lectures, then practiced in at least one workshop, before students do an individual piece of assessment inter alia to discover how far they have achieved the learning outcomes and the relevant items in the graduate skills framework. Although the assessment focuses on skills outcomes, these skills cannot be deployed on the tasks without students also having achieved the knowledge outcomes.
The class tests assess student learning from lectures and set reading and to assist students in monitoring their own progress.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- SOC2069's Timetable