Overview
Social Science 366: Research Methods in the Social Sciences is designed to help students gain an understanding of the limits and potentials of social science research, and to give them the skills to research social phenomena scientifically.
Social Science 366 teaches students about the research process and fosters their ability to conduct research in an ethical way using appropriate research strategies. The course has both technical and critical components. This means that the course requires that students gain a good grasp of many technical concepts and processes and learn to apply what they have acquired to the study of social phenomena.
Outline
Social Science 366: Research Methods in the Social Sciences consists of fifteen units:
- Unit 1: Doing Social Research—An Introduction to Inquiry
- Unit 2: Theory and Research
- Unit 3: The Ethics and Politics of Social Research
- Unit 4: The Logic of Causation
- Unit 5: Obstacles to Scientific Inquiry
- Unit 6: Research Design
- Unit 7: Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement
- Unit 8: The Logic of Sampling
- Unit 9: Survey Research
- Unit 10: Experiments
- Unit 11: Nonreactive or Unobtrusive Research
- Unit 12: Qualitative Field Research
- Unit 13: Evaluation Research
- Unit 14: Mixed Methods
- Unit 15: Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis
Learning outcomes
Social Science 366: Research Methods in the Social Sciences has been designed to help students achieve these course learning outcomes:
- Outline the ethical responsibilities of a social researcher toward research participants.
- Explain the principles and objectives of social science research.
- Describe the use of common research methods in the social sciences.
- Define a research problem.
- Write a research proposal.
- Conduct an independent pilot research project involving the collection of empirical data.
- Analyze and report findings from a research project.
- Better understand research reported in the media and critically analyze research studies.
Evaluation
To receive credit for Social Sciences 366: Research Methods in the Social Sciences, students must achieve an overall passing grade of 60 percent and a minimum of 60 percent on all written assignments (Midterm Test, Literature Review, Essay, Research Proposal, and Research Project). It is also a mandatory, pass/fail requirement that they contact their tutor both before they complete the Literature Review and before they complete the Research Proposal. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in failing the course.
| Activity | Weight |
| Quiz 1 | 3% |
| Midterm Test | 15% |
| Literature Review | 10% |
| Quiz 2 | 3% |
| Essay | 20% |
| Research Proposal | 20% |
| Quiz 3 | 4% |
| Research Project | 25% |
| Total | 100% |
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Babbie, E., Edgerton, J. D., & Roberts L. W. (2023). Fundamentals of social research (6th Canadian ed.). Cengage.
Neuman, W. L., & Robson, K. (2022). Basics of social research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (5th Canadian ed.). Pearson Canada.
All other materials, including a Study Guide and additional reading and viewing materials, are available online through the course site.