Academic Aims
The academic aims of the course are to expand and deepen students’ knowledge of the
methodologies, theories, and practices of the social science as well as provide them with
the ability to critically read the sophisticated literature of the discipline and understand its
methodology.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course the students will be able to:
- formulate good research questions and design appropriate research;
- to be able to collect own data using a variety of methods;
- analyze both qualitative and quantitative data;
- critically evaluate own research and that of other social scientists;
Teaching Methodology
Since the course consists of theoretical and practical materials, it will be taught through
lectures, discussions, case studies and the one or two lab sessions. The course will
employ student-and learning centered approach. Discussions based on student
contributions add a vital and dynamic element to the class. The classes will be held twice
a week and ready for discussion. As a rule of thumb, everyone should come to class
with comments or questions from the core readings.
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The course is organized in four teaching parts. The first block will introduce students to
the nature of human inquiry and science; paradigms and theories of social research as
well as ethics and politics of social research. In the first part the students will also get
familiarized with various search tools and engines for collection of literature and data.
The second section of the course will concentrate on structuring of inquiry. Here we are
particular interested in understanding and comprehending the research design;
conceptualization, operationalisation and measurement. Furthermore, in this section the
students will learn on logic of sampling, indexes and scales for successful analysis of
various literatures. Third part will focus on modes of observation: quantitative and
qualitative type of research. Here we will talk about experiment, survey research,
unobtrusive research as well as evaluation research. The last but one of the most
important parts of the course will concentrate on data analysis. At this section the
students will learn on making qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Here we will
spend significant amount of time on statistical analysis. The last couple of classes will be
dedicated to reading and writing social research. Beside the core readings from textbook,
student will be responsible for reading additional articles and materials which will be
provided by the instructor.
Class 2: Human Inquiry Overview of some of the basic variations in social Babbie - Chapter 1. Any
and Science research. additional material TBD.
2 Search Engines and To learn using the search engines: JSTOR; Proquest;; Lab 1. Bring your Laptops
Data Collection- An WDI; Statistical Committee of Pakistan; US Census or Devices.
Introductory Overview Bureau; World Indicators. Explain how search engines
can be used to search web sites. Provide advice for
assessing data found on web sites .
Class 4: Paradigm, List the three functions of theory for research; Define Babbie - Chapter 3
Theory and Social paradigm. Provide synopses for each of the following
Research paradigms: early positivism, social Darwinism,
conflict, symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology,
structural-functionalism, feminist, and critical race
theory. Differentiate theory from paradigm. Define
hypothesis testing. Differentiate inductive logic from
deductive reasoning by definition and example.
Outline the steps in deductive theory construction.
Summarize the links between theory and research.
3 The Ethics and Politics Discuss why ethical issues are frequently not apparent Babbie: Chapter 2
of Social Research. to the researcher. Describe and illustrate the ethical Additional Material TBD.
issues involved involuntary participation, no harm to
subjects, anonymity and confidentiality, the
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14 Statistical Analysis Define central tendency. Compare the mode, mean, and Babbie: Chapter 16 and
median in terms of calculation and interpretation. Chapter 17
Describe the information provided by measures of
dispersion. Compare the range, standard deviation, and
interquartile range in terms of calculation and
interpretation. Distinguish continuous variables from
discrete variables by definition and example. Provide
guidelines for balancing the demands of detail versus
manageability of data presentation.
Differentiate the goals of univariate, bivariate, and
multivariate analyses. Identify the goal of subgroup
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Reading List
Babbie, Earl. (2009). The Practice of Social Research. 12th ed. Bedmont, CA: Wadsworth
Wagner, W. (2009). Using SPSS for Social Statistics and Research Methods. California
State University: CA, Bakersfield
Hedrick, T. (1993). Applied Research Design. A Practical Guide. Sage Publications, CA.
Grading
Attendance 10%
Class Participations [Regular Readings] 10%
Academic Research Paper 15%
Academic Research Paper Presentation 5%
Mid-Term Exam 30%
Final Exam 30%
Total 100%
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