Sociology and Social Policy PhD

The objective of this module is to further students' familiarity with the practice of quantitative data analysis in the social sciences at a foundation level. The lecture component of the module will explore a variety of the most commonly used statistical methods; in the laboratory component, will provide students with an opportunity to apply these statistical techniques to the analysis of contemporary data. The module should provide a sound grasp of the possibilities, methods, and pitfalls inherent in quantitative social/health science research.

This module provides a conceptual overview of the various approaches and debates associated with theory and practice of qualitative research. It examines a range of contrasting perspectives on the design of research including problem identification, selection and sampling, and analysis.

Research ethics, and the role of the researcher in generating qualitative data, are key themes which run through the module. Specific consideration is given to the ways in which qualitative and quantitative approaches may be seen as complementary, and the use of mixed methods.

The module will also cover the ways in which qualitative research can be evaluated. The module will also facilitate dialogue between members of different social science disciplines, to give an understanding of how some issues or practices may be viewed differently from different disciplinary perspectives.

The module has three parts:

1. Science and the philosophical critique of science
2. Epistemological debates in the social sciences - including, but not limited to, positivism and its critics, interpretative approaches including phenomenology, critical realism, social construction and the politics of knowledge and the sociology of science
3. The funding environment - interdisciplinarity and the impact agenda

This module focuses on the analytical, practical and ethical organisation of social science research. 

The analytical organisation is often referred to as 'research design' and will constitute the bulk of the content of this module. Research design consists of choices necessary to transform a research question into actual research. These choices pertain to strategies and modes of case selection, observation methods, data collection and modes of analysis. 

Every research question can be elaborated in different ways (ie with different designs), none of which will be ideal in all respects as the various choices pertain to trade-offs. Each design has its own implications in terms of costs and in terms of potential threats to the validity of its eventual results. These implications will be elaborated in the module, as well as ways how to handle the resulting choice problems in actual practice.

The practical organisation of research is closely related to design choices, but focuses particularly on logistical and timing issues. Ethical organisation of the research involves awareness of ethical issues, of ethical consent procedures and of their implications for research design and practical organisation.

This module considers in detail 'ethnography' as a qualitative research method. It explores the underlying principles and practices of the approach, which, broadly speaking, involves studying people 'at first hand', in detail, usually at length and in the context in which they live, work, play etc. It will explore:

• Key concepts and approaches
• Important ethnographic studies
• Critiques, strengths and weaknesses
• Designing and planning your own ethnographic study

Students will experience a range of learning methods including lectures, workshops, film viewings, student presentations and group work.

This is an intensive advanced DTP training module that provides students additional skills to analyse quantitative social science. We will discuss how to manage datasets, how to prepare data for analysis, how to analyse such data, and how to present the findings of the analysis.

As part of data analysis element, the course will focus firstly on generalized linear models (multivariate linear regression, logistic, ordered logistic, multinomial logistic etc.) Such techniques and methods extend the linear model.

The emphasis throughout this module is on providing students with hands-on training in applying various quantitative research techniques on actual quantitative data. We will use modern and widely used statistical software.

This module focuses on the use of structural equation models (SEM), in empirical social research. 

You will cover the methodological background of SEM, practical considerations in actual applications, empirical examples from different disciplines, and hands-on training (using the STATA software). The module is also relevant for those using other software such as AMOS, LISREL or MPlus.