Foundations of Social Science Research: Philosophy, Design, & Practice

Module overview

In this module, we will look at the dominant traditions in the philosophy of social science and how these have shaped substantive research within the study of the social sciences. Furthermore, we will deal with the practical challenges of designing and conducting research, including defining research questions, identifying appropriate methods, research management and problem solving, writing up research, ethical issues, and thinking reflexively about research practice. By the end of this module you should be able to design and produce an original and viable research proposal that demonstrates your understanding of the utility of concrete methodological approaches and the appropriateness of the same for your concrete research question.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding to describe the utility of diverse methodological approaches to research.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding to critically evaluate philosophical debates in social science.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding to describe the relationship between philosophical standpoints and methodological strategies.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding to identify different value positions and their implications for research.

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Develop practical skills in academic writing, qualitative and quantitative data analysis and presentation
Demonstrate ability to define and formulate research problems, questions and hypotheses.
Demonstrate ability to design an original research project recognising philosophical, methodological, and practical demands and trade-offs involved in research.
Demonstrate ability to identify and apply key principles of research ethics in research design and practice, including developing principles and practices towards open science and reproducibility.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Develop practical skills in implementing a specific theoretical or empirical research method from a broad range of methodological approaches which may include - for example - methods approaches such: quantitative, qualitative, experimental, mixed methods, AI and machine learning, visual, text data, social media and big data.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

12x 2-hour dynamic workshop sessions combining instructor-led lectures and student-led interactive activities

Study time
Type	Hours
Teaching	24
Independent Study	126
Total study time	150

Assessment

Assessment strategy

2 essays, each worth 25% with 1000 words 1 essay, worth 50% and 2000 words

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	25%
Research proposal	50%
Essay	25%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Research proposal	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Research proposal	100%