82129 - Methodology and Technique of Social Research

Academic Year 2021/2022

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Forli
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Sociology (cod. 8495)

Learning outcomes

Knowledge about research methodology and the ability to identify the best method according to topics, hypothesis and available resources (human, economic and temporal limits).

Course contents

During the course the main methodology techniques of research and their relations with epistemological theories will be discussed, in according to a pluralistic model based on methodological integration. The aim is to provide the knowledge necessary to identify the best technique within different settings.

The course is divided into two parts: the first part is based on the handbook and shows the main epistemological choices, the second one focuses on Mixed Methods, e-Methods and Big Data.

Readings/Bibliography

A. Marradi, Metodologia delle scienze sociali, il Mulino, Bologna, 2007.

M. Cardano, Tecniche di ricerca qualitativa. Percorsi di ricerca nelle scienze sociali, Carocci, Roma, 2012.

E. Ammaturo e G. Punziano, I Mixed Methods nella ricerca sociale, Carocci, Roma, 2016.

L. Lombi, La ricerca sociale al tempo dei Big Data: sfide e prospettive, "Studi di sociologia", n. 2, 2015: 215-227.

Students may choose a different exam program only with the instructor's approval.

Teaching methods

In the first semester of 2021/22, teaching will be delivered in a mixed mode, so students can follow the lessons remotely or attend lessons face-to-face (in compliance with regulatory provisions and safety protocols) by booking through the "Presente" service.

Lectures. To facilitate learning, lectures are organized into a logical sequence:

1) general principles and frameworks of empirical research: basic concepts, link between epistemology, methodology and techniques; research questions; types of research.

2) the cycle of statistical research: the questionnaire and the statistical treatment of data; analysis of statistical data.

3) the cycle of empathic research: the interview, the participant observation, the content analysis.

4) the new frontiers of research: Mixed Methods, e-Methods and Big Data.

During each lecture, the instructor will handle each topic in its essential components, with the support of PowerPoint slides and giving practical examples of research.

Within the download area of the course website, PowerPoint presentations will be available a week before each lessons (you can clearly identify file by topic and date).

It is recommended to print all lecture notes to facilitate the learning process. Please note that slides do not replace suggested books, they are a studyng support.

Assessment methods

All students, attending and non-attending, must pass TWO WRITTEN TESTS ONLINE:

- the first relating to standard research (chapters IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and IX of Marradi's text);

- the second concerning qualitative research (Cardano text) and Big Data (Lombi article)

Plus AN ORAL PART, to be held in the appeals of the winter session (and in the recovery of September), which concerns general methodological issues (chapters I, II, III and X of Marradi's text) and Mixed Methods (Ammaturo, Punziano text).

The examination is the same for students attending and not attending, only the evaluation process is different.

ATTENDING STUDENTS are understood to be those who take the two partial online written tests during the period of the lessons.

Both tests consist of multiple choice closed questions. Each question is worth 1 point. The score of each test, from 0 to 15, will be made up of the sum of the points foreseen for each correct answer. Wrong answers are not awarded points (nor do they subtract points from the total grade). To consider the written test passed, the student must achieve a score equal to or greater than 9/15. The score obtained in the first test will be added to the score of the second test, becoming an overall mark of the written tests, expressed out of thirty, which corresponds to 40% of the final mark.

Those who fail to pass one, or both tests, will have to repeat the writing on the part / parts not passed or not sustained in the appeals of the winter session (and in the recovery of September).

NON ATTENDING STUDENTS, those who have not taken or passed one or both partial tests during the course of the lessons, will take the exam on the entire program in the sessions scheduled for the winter session and for the recovery session (September), facing first a written on the first and second part of the program, consisting of 30 questions and, to follow, an oral on the third part of the program.

The score of the written test, from 0 to 30, will be made up of the sum of the points required for each correct answer. Wrong answers are not awarded points (nor do they subtract points from the total grade). To consider the written test passed, the student must achieve a score equal to or greater than 18/30. The grade obtained, expressed out of thirty, corresponds to 40% of the final grade.

Online written tests will take place via EOL, while student recognition and supervision will take place via ZOOM.

The online tests (partial or total) passed positively remain valid until the recovery session scheduled for September 2022. Those who do not take (or pass) the third part of the oral exam, after that date will have to repeat the exam in full.

As for the final oral exam, assessment criteria relate to three areas:

1. the ability of defining the subject and to develop it in its essential components;

2. accuracy in the discussion of the individual components of the topic;

3. mastery of expository style.

To pass the examination the exact execution of the first point is required.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint slide.

Office hours

See the website of Francesca Cremonini