Courses

Social Science (SOSC) 366

Research Methods in the Social Sciences (Revision 4)

Revision 4 closed, replaced by current version.

View previous syllabus

Delivery Mode: Individualized study or grouped study.

Credits: 3

Area of Study: Social Science

Prerequisite: A junior social science course is recommended but not required.

Precluded Course: PSYC 304. SOSC 366 may not be taken for credit if credit has already been obtained for PSYC 304.

Centre: Centre for Global and Social Analysis

TELUQ equivalency: SOC 1013.

SOSC 366 is not available for challenge.

Télé-université du Québec equivalency

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Overview

SOSC 366 is designed for students who wish to gain an understanding of the limits and potentials of social science research, and for those who intend to research social phenomena scientifically. This course is intended to facilitate the student's awareness of the research process and their ability to conduct research in an ethical and thorough manner with appropriate research strategies.

Upon completion of the course, students will be better prepared to examine systematically such things as human society, the interaction of groups, social change, and social behaviour.

Outline

Unit 1: The Ethics and Politics of Social Research

Unit 2: Human Inquiry and Science

Unit 3: The Nature of Causation

Unit 4: Theory and Research

Unit 5: Obstacles to Scientific Inquiry

Unit 6: Research Design

Unit 7: Conceptualization and Measurement

Unit 8: Operationalization

Unit 9: Indexes, Scales, and Typologies

Unit 10: The Logic of Sampling

Unit 11: Field Research

Unit 12: Survey Research

Unit 13: Experimental Design

Evaluation

To receive credit for SOSC 366, you must achieve a passing grade of C- (60 percent) on assignments and a course composite grade of at least "D" (50 percent). The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

Quiz 1	Quiz 2	Quiz 3	Mid-term Exam	Essay	Research Proposal	Research Project	Total
3%	3%	4%	20%	20%	25%	25%	100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbook

Babbie, Earl R. The Practice of Social Research. 7th ed. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1995.

Simon, Julian. The Art of Empirical Investigation. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 2009.

Ray, William J. Methods Toward a Science of Behavior and Experience. 7th ed. Scarborough: Nelson/Thomson Learning, 2003.

Other Materials

The course materials also include a student manual, workbook and a reader.

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.

Opened in Revision 4, August 2003.