SOC4042 - Contemporary Research 1

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Understand the constituent aspects of sociological / criminological data, such as the design, scale, delivery, analysis of data and the presentation of conclusions;
Understand the appropriate use of statistical data, the imporatance of specific forms of analysis, and the limitations of quantitative data in the social sciences.
Read and understand the importance of methodology and research methods in social science research.
Understand the appropriate use of qualitative data, the imporatance of specific forms of analysis, and the limitations of qualitative data in the social sciences.

Content:

This module examines how sociological data may be collected, analysed, displayed and explained effectively. This module introduces students to becoming research literate. Students will examine different ways of communicating research, to identify the methods used by contemporary criminologists and sociologists, and explore the suitability of the methods selected. In doing this students will be able to critically evaluate the strength of the researches findings, and identify ethical moments.

Learning and Teaching Information:

A range of learning and teaching methods are used, including workshops, group work and group presentations.

Students will focus upon a specific piece of qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods research that demonstrates different forms of research methods, to examine how the research is presented, identify the research methods used, assess the suitability of the chosen methods, propose other ways of examining the same issue, and assess the ethical validity of the research. This will build academic and research skills.

Seminars/workshops
Hours: 10
Intended Group size: 50

Group tutorials
Hours: 20
Intended Group size: 50

Guided independent study
Hours: 170

Further details relating to assessment
The case study report requires students to pick case study from the supplied journal articles to critically evaluate the research presentation to demonstrate the research methods used, the rationale behind their use, explain how such methods can answer the research question, and suggest ways that the research questions may have been answered using a contrasting research method.
The group presentation will require students to pick a case study from the supplied journal articles, then as a group the students will dissect the research presentation to demonstrate the research methods used, the rationale behind their use, explain how such methods can answer the research question, and suggest ways that the research questions may have been answered using a contrasting research method.

Other relevant matters
The module forms a research strand and thus prepares students for SOC 5042 Contemporary Research 2. Students of SOC 4042 will develop a basic awareness of the nature of research, both qualitative and quantitative This will prepare students with basic research elements before they are introduced to more advanced research methods in SOC 5042 Contemporary Research 2. As part of this preparation for the L5 module a basic awareness of the nature of research, statistical evidence and methods for capturing and presenting qualitative data will enable students to be pro-active and creative in their collection and analysis of data.

Assessment:

001 Directed activities; mid-semester 2 10%
002 Group presentation; 10 minutes; mid-semester 2 45%
003 Practical research report; 2000 words; end of semester 2 45%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Russell Woodfield
Level - 4
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 4S2

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