81945 - Social and Political Research Methodology

Learning outcomes

The course deals with topics concerning the methodology of socio-political empirical research and addresses statistical data analysis techniques. Students who have completed this course will be able to: a) examine the pros and cons of the main data collection designs; b) explore quantitative data and interpret empirical results; c) analyze quantitative datasets resorting to statistical software; d) define a research problem, formulate research questions, collect data, test research hypotheses empirically, draw conclusions, and communicate research results.

Course contents

The course is dedicated to students who have never studied topics concerning key concepts underlying social research method and techniques, neither theoretically nor empirically.

The course aims to retrace the debate around social science method and offers knowledge about the most common data collection and analysis strategies in the field of socio-political empirical research. Lessons will address the following topics: logic of social research; standard and non-standard approaches to social research; operationalization and operational definitions; concepts and indicators; questionnaires; types of property and types of variables; displaying social research results; basic (descriptive) statistical analysis; monovariate and bivariate analysis; some preliminary notions concerning regression models.

Readings/Bibliography

Regularly attending students

Corbetta P., Metodologia e tecniche della ricerca sociale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014 (chapters 1, 3, 5, 7, 13, 14).

 

Non-attending students

Corbetta P., Metodologia e tecniche della ricerca sociale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014 (chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14).

Teaching methods

Regularly attending students

Face-to-face lessons (20 lessons, 40 hours) and – only for regularly attending students – computer-based lessons (7 lessons, 20 hours). Computer-based lessons are not compulsory, but regularly attending students are highly encouraged to attend the lab course.

Computer-based lessons will be given starting from the end of October 2022. Computer-based lessons will be given twice a week only the first week (2-hour lesson + 3-hour lesson). All the following lessons will last 3 hours and will be given once a week. In order to facilitate learning and interaction, students attending computer-based lessons will work in relatively small groups in a computer lab.

During face-to-face lessons, students will acquire theoretical knowledge as regards data analysis, whereas in computer-based lessons students will acquire a practical knowledge as regards data mining and will be required to produce and discuss a report based on socio-political phenomena. More precisely, resorting to the use of the statistical software called “STATA”, students will empirically learn how to organize and analyse data and draft reports. Students have the opportunity to download STATA freely on their pc and practice STATA at home too The link to download STATA is https://svc.unibo.it/dipartimenti/SPS/software/default.aspx (please, follow the instructions).

 

Non-attending students

Face-to-face lessons (20 lessons, 40 hours).

Assessment methods

The exam format and the syllabus to be studied vary depending on whether the student is attending or non-attending.

Attending students

Students who intend to take the exam as regularly attending students are required to participate in both lectures and laboratory sessions as specified below. Attendance will not be recorded; students are free to organize and manage their participation as they see fit. However, the exam for attending students is also designed to test the ability to use the STATA software, which can be learned by attending the course.

Attending students may take the exam according to the procedures reserved for attending students ONLY during the two midterm assessments that will take place before Christmas 2026.

Attending students who do not pass the exam, or who pass but reject the grade, must then take one of the regular exam sessions, following the procedures and syllabus for non-attending students.

A student is considered attending if, by 25 September 2026, they have registered by entering their name and surname in this form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/HxE2cJ8tC7

Exam for attending students

Attending students will take two midterm tests.

The first midterm will take place on 16 October 2026 at 3:00 p.m. in Aula Poeti.

Students will have 70 minutes to answer 8 questions, each divided into sub-questions. For each sub-question, the corresponding score for a correct answer is specified.

No penalties are applied for incorrect answers.

The test consists of open-ended questions requiring reasoning skills in order to apply the theoretical concepts learned.

The grade obtained in this first part of the exam accounts for 40% of the final grade. Only students who achieve at least 18/30 in this first part may access the second part of the exam.

The syllabus for the first part includes chapters 1, 3, 5, and 7 of Corbetta and the lecture notes from the first 8 classes.

The second part of the exam takes place at the end of the course, on 15 December 2026 at 9:30 a.m.

Students must bring their own laptop with STATA installed. If a laptop is not available, students must contact the instructor by email (d.mantovani@unibo.it ) no later than 15 November 2026.

Students will have 120 minutes to complete the second part of the exam, which consists of a data analysis task. Students must analyze the questionnaire associated with the dataset provided and, using STATA, perform univariate and bivariate analyses and comment on the main results.

More specifically, they will be required to carry out tasks such as: describing the main socio-demographic variables; calculating and discussing the most appropriate measures of central tendency and variability; constructing additive and/or typological indices; analyzing relationships between two variables; calculating and discussing appropriate indices/measures; and performing necessary recoding of variables if needed.

The grade obtained in this second part accounts for the remaining 60% of the final grade.

The final grade is therefore the weighted average of the first and second parts.

Attending students who pass the attending-student exam and accept the grade must register for the first January 2027 exam session for automatic recording of the grade obtained.

Attending students who do not pass or decide to reject the grade may retake the exam in any session following the procedures for non-attending students and will be assessed according to the syllabus and methods for non-attending students.

Exam for NON-attending students

The exam is administered exclusively in written form and consists of multiple-choice and/or open-ended questions. Each question has a different weight depending on its complexity, which is visible to the student.

Students will have 60 minutes to answer all questions.

To take the exam, students must register via Almaesami.

Non-attending students are not required to use STATA.

The use of a calculator is allowed (mobile phones may not be used even as calculators).

Students with SLD (DSA) or temporary/permanent disabilities

Students are advised to contact the relevant university office in advance (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it ). This office will propose possible accommodations, which must be submitted to the instructor for approval at least 15 days in advance, and will be evaluated in relation to the course learning objectives.

General rules

Candidates may only have the grade obtained in their most recent attempt recognized.

IMPORTANT: Exam registration is carried out by students via Almaesami. Registration lists close 5 days before the exam date. It is not possible to register once the lists are closed. It is therefore the sole responsibility of the student to register on time.

Withdrawal from the list must be completed before the registration deadline. Students who register for an exam and fail to withdraw in time will incur a 3-point penalty on the final grade. This penalty is applied because classroom capacity must be planned based on the number of enrolled students; therefore, the exact number of participants must be known.

Only in exceptional cases (e.g., illness, bereavement, or similar) may students request withdrawal after the lists have closed (i.e., within 5 days before the exam). In such cases, students must immediately notify the instructor by email (d.mantovani@unibo.it ) and provide supporting documentation.

 

USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
AI can be a useful tool to support individual study through in-depth exploration, synthesis, and self-assessment activities.

During the examination, the use of AI is prohibited. Any use constitutes a violation of academic integrity.

Final grade scale

• Analytical ability that emerges only with the instructor’s support; generally correct language → 18–19
• Independent analytical ability; correct language → 20–24
• Ability to perform critical analysis; command of specific terminology → 25–29
• Ability to perform critical and connected analysis; full mastery of terminology; strong argumentation and self-reflection → 30–30L

Grade rejection

Students who pass the exam may reject the grade only once. This principle is in accordance with Article 16(5) of the University Teaching Regulations, as amended by the Academic Senate resolution approved by the Board of Directors in February 2018: “in case of a positive result, the student may request to reject the grade. The rejection must be granted by the instructor at least once for the same course.” After a rejection, any subsequent positive result will be officially recorded.

 

Teaching tools

Materials available on Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Debora Mantovani