Module SSI2004 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
SSI2004: Research Design in the Social Sciences
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content will vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover the following themes:
- Descriptive and causal logic in social science research.
- The problem of causal inference.
- Experiments: field, laboratory, and survey.
- Survey research.
- Natural experiments and instrumental variables.
- Longitudinal research and difference-in-differences estimation.
- Computational social science.
- Mixed methods for social science research.
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 | 22 | 11 x 2 hour lectures/workshops |
Guided independent study | 78 | Reading and preparation for classes |
Guided independent study | 50 | Reading, preparation and writing of the assignments |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
R.A.Singleton & B.C.Straits. Approaches to Social Research. Oxford University Press (2017).
M.Salganik, Bit by Bit: Social Research in the Digital Age. Princeton University Press (2017).
F.J.Fowler, Survey Research Methods, 5th ed., Sage (2013).
J.D.Angrist and J.-S.Pischke, Mastering ‘Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect. Princeton University Press (2014).
K.Imai, Quantitative Social Science: An Introduction. Princeton University Press (2017).
T.Dunning, Natural Experiments in the Social Sciences: A Design-Based Approach. Cambridge University Press (2012).
A.S.Gerber and D.P.Green, Field Experiments: Design, Analysis, and Interpretation. W.W.Norton (2012).
R.Glennerster and K.Takavarasha, Running Randomized Evaluations: A Practical Guide. Princeton University Press (2013).
G.King, R.O.Keohane & S.Verba. Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton University Press (1994).
R.B.Morton & K.C.Williams, Experimental Political Science and the Study of Causality: From Nature to the Lab. Cambridge University Press (2010).
D.C.Mutz, Population-Based Survey Experiments, Princeton University Press (2011).