Research Methods in the Social Sciences

The aim of the course is to provide students with the theoretical and empirical knowledge bases of the two main paradigms of social research: the interpretative (qualitative research) and the positivist or post-positivist (quantitative research). For the first area, the goal is to make understand the theoretical hypotheses underlying the research ("analysis by subjects") and the main empirical tools (participant observation, qualitative interview, "focus groups", Neuro Linguistic Programming, etc.). For the second area, both the theoretical foundations of the quantitative analysis and the criteria for the correct execution of a survey and the different types of sampling will be discussed. A basic review of the main monovariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis techniques will also be provided. Within the course, space will also be given to the analysis of the web and, for the attending students, to a field research carried out by the students themselves.

At the end of the course, each student will have learned the main methods of analysis for social research and will be able to understand which techniques are suitable for the type of research he must perform and the correct statistical procedures to be used to analyze its results. If attending, he will also be in possession of the empirical bases in order to be able to independently carry out a survey, from the drafting of the questionnaire to the organization of the fieldwork, from the analysis of the results to the final research report.