Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC2050: Knowing the Social World

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The module draws theory and empirical work together in ways that help us to understand the social world. In this module we will explore a variety of approaches to social research and gain hands-on experience with some of the techniques these sources have employed. The aim is to equip you with key life skills that are applicable in the workplace and in daily life – for example, evaluating the veracity of accounts and claims, judging situations, and learning about people and their ways.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. demonstrate knowledge of various methodological approaches to sociological research; 2. demonstrate an understanding of the advantages and limitations of those approaches; 3. evaluate critically empirical social research; 4. use and evaluate critically techniques of sociological research;
Discipline-Specific Skills	5. use methodological knowledge and awareness of techniques to assess critically empirical claims in different areas of sociology; 6. demonstrate an understanding of the interrelations between empirical research and sociological theory;
Personal and Key Skills	7. assess critically research-based claims in public discourse; 8. communicate effectively in written and verbal form.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Sessions will consist of lectures with question/answer and discussion, hands-on workshops and tutorials linked to honing research techniques.

From year to year, the module’s precise content may vary. The syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics::

Introduction: Knowing the Social (perception and reality; epistemology and ontology; meaning; framing; ethics)
Unobtrusive measures (physical traces; oblique perspectives, the ‘light footprint’, archives and numbers)
Sensory methods (multi-sensory and cross-sensory issues, non-verbal, the material world, embodiment)
Textual methods (poetics and metaphor, style, content, narrative and discourse analysis, voice)
Talk and spoken discourse (personae, turn-taking, cueing and discourse strands and registers, ensemble)
Interviews and focus groups (performance, leading, prompting, the self-effacing interviewer, what we say vs what we do?, cueing, follow-up, the micro-macro link)
Ethnography and Participant Observation (materiality, embodiment, practice, setting, scenes, organisations, ethnomethods, experience)
Practical Workshops (on sensory, textual, interview and participant observation)
Portfolio Clinic (on the written assignments)

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	16	8 Lectures 2 hours each
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	3	2 revision session 1.5 hours
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	3	Tutorials 1 hour each
Guided Independent study	64	Reading set texts and wider reading to inform formative assessment items
Guided Independent study	64	Application of data collection /analysis for essay preparation

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).