Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC3130: Digital Society

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

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics: 

  • The role of information technology, networks, data and algorithms in society
  • Key issues from interdisciplinary literature such as Internet studies, software studies, data studies, algorithm studies, platform studies, information infrastructures and digital sociology.
    For example, key issues might include: the politics of social media, surveillance, scoring, rankings, classifications, infrastructures, standards, protocols, affordances, profiling, prediction, analytics search, retrieval, blackboxes, crowdsourcing and the gig, sharing and digital economies
  • Challenges and opportunities for digital social science and digital sociology scholarship
  • Analysis of real-world cases and issues in the light of key theoretical frameworks
  • Introduction to systems design problems and techniques

Learning and Teaching

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

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
221280

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

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled learning and teaching activity1111 x 1 hour weekly lectures
Scheduled learning and teaching activity1111 x 1 hour weekly seminars
Guided independent study70Module reading
Guided independent study58Research and writing for group report and individual essay

Online Resources

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

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Group project report planPlan 500 wordsWritten

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
10000

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Group project report302000 words1-9Written comments and marks
Essay702000 words1-9Written comments and marks
0
0
0
0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
Group project reportGroup project report 2000 words (30%)1-9August/September Reassessment Period
EssayEssay 2000 words (70%)1-9August/September Reassessment Period