AOS240 Research in Social Sciences
Norsk emneinformasjon
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Showing course contents for the educational year 2019 - 2020 .
Course responsible: Frode Alfnes
ECTS credits: 5
Faculty: School of Economics and Business
Teaching language: NO
(NO=norsk, EN=Engelsk)
(NO=norsk, EN=Engelsk)
Limits of class size:
-
Teaching exam periods:
This course starts in Autumn parallel. This course has teaching/evaluation in Autumn parallel, .
Course frequency: Annually
First time: Study year 2004-2005
Course contents:
The course is organised around three types of empirical design used in social science research: explorative design (including interviews and focus groups), descriptive design (including surveys) and causal design (inkluding experiments). Emphasis will be placed on the students' understanding of the possibilities and limitations of these three designs and how the concrete question that is analysed influences them, and which of the designs should be chosen and how the shaping of the chosen design determines what conclusions can be drawn on the basis of the conducted investigation.
Learning outcome:
After the students have completed the course, they are expected to have acquired the following knowledge, skills and general competence:
The student shall
- have basic knowledge of various forms of research design used in social science research
- have knowledge of the design and conduct of surveys, interviews, focus groups and experiments in social science research
- have knowledge of probability and non-probability
- have knowledge of requirements for causal explanations in social sciences
- have knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of different social science methods
- have knowledge of validity and reliability
The student shall
- be able to evaluate what kind of research design is best suited to different issues
- be able to define research questions and testable hypotheses
- be able to understand and use key concepts related to social science methodology
- be able to create web-based questionnaires of good quality
- be able to assess whether causal explanations satisfy common requirements for causal explanations
The student shall
- be able to obtain relevant answers to academic issues, through the use of different forms of social science methods
- be able to carry out data collection for a social science master's thesis using surveys, interviews, focus groups or experiments
- be able to critically assess the performance and results of social sciences research
Learning activities:
Lectures, group work, and exercises.
Teaching support:
The teacher gives online feedback on the project sketch for the group assignment.
The teacher is available for guidance on the group assignments and other questions during the set office hours for the course.
Syllabus:
Textbook and some additional reading.
Recommended prerequisites:
Basic statistics.
Mandatory activity:
-
Assessment:
Written examination, 3 hours (counts 2/3 of the total grade). Group assignment (counts 1/3 of the total grade). If you fail the written exam, you fail the course.
The course has continuous assessment, and one can therefore only register for the examination at regular time for the final examination.
Nominal workload:
150 hours.
Entrance requirements:
Minimum requirements for entrance to higher education in Norway (generell studiekompetanse)
Reduction of credits:
-
Type of course:
2 hours per week with classroom lectures + a few weeks with 2 hours per week with other activities.
Note:
-
Examiner:
An external examiner will assess the curriculum and the exam. Grades will be set by the internal examiner (teacher).
Allowed examination aids: A1 No calculator, no other aids
Examination details: Continuous exam: A - E / F