Undergraduate - UnitAZA3723 - Methodological issues in the social sciences

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	South Africa School of Social Sciences
Offered	South Africa Second semester 2015 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Alex Asakitikpi

Synopsis

Sociological research requires the capacity to think conceptually, to systematically plan how to obtain valid information relevant to research questions and to analyze and evaluate information. Because sociological research draws on people's experiences, it is intended in ethical and political questions. In this unit students discuss these issues and consider various qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and techniques for data gathering when documenting the social world.

Outcomes

On completion of the unit, students will have:

An understanding of the strengths, limitations and appropriate application of quantitative and qualitative approaches to research;
Knowledge data collection techniques in both quantitative and qualitative research;
Understanding of the theoretical, practical and ethical considerations in research;
Knowledge of issues related to the design and implementation of social science research;
Aquired the skills relevant to group work.
The ability to write an essay that is well structured and develops a coherent argument.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 100%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.