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 Aims
The aim of this module is to introduce you to the principles of research design in the social sciences so that you are able to assess the research of others (e.g. in the media, in research articles) and use quantitative skills in your own research projects. This module covers the basics of research design and the scientific method, explaining how measuring variables allows us to test theories and hypotheses. It guides you in how to collect and manage social data, using surveys and experiments. It also discusses the concept of causality and introduces various research designs that can be used for causal inference with social data.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of research design in the social sciences. 2. Demonstrate knowledge of different types of empirical research and data collection techniques. |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Apply knowledge of the principles of research design to social science problems. 4. Critically evaluate empirical research in the social sciences. |
Personal and Key Skills | 5. Write reports to a deadline. 6. Evaluate the quality of empirical evidence in the public debate on social and political matters. |
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).