.
Social Research Methods
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:9.00
Study Course Accepted:02.02.2024 12:25:26
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | KSK_063 | LQF level: | Level 6 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 2.00 | ECTS: | 3.00 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Communication Sciences | Target Audience: | Information and Communication Science; Communication Science | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Alnis Stakle | ||||||||
| Study Course Implementer | |||||||||
| Structural Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences | ||||||||
| The Head of Structural Unit: | |||||||||
| Contacts: | Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szf rsu[pnkts]lv | ||||||||
| Study Course Planning | |||||||||
| Full-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 6 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 12 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 6 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 12 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 24 | ||||||||
| Part-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 4 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 8 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 4 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 8 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 16 | ||||||||
| Study course description | |||||||||
| Preliminary Knowledge: | Basic computer skills. | ||||||||
| Objective: | To acquaint students with the logic of social research process, design of quantitative and qualitative methodologies and methods of data collection. To enable students to read and understand scientific literature in the field of social studies. To provide the necessary basic knowledge and skills for students to independently develop their own research projects and course papers: choose appropriate research methods, perform data processing and analysis. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Social research process. Qualitative and quantitative research strategy. Research strategy and research design. Quantitative research designs | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Research ethics. Scientific strength of the research | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Creating a research concept. The issue of the research. Question of research. Research's hypothesis. Concepts and Variables | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Population, target population and sample. Sampling types and sampling principles | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Data acquisition methods. Primary, secondary and tertiary data. Data acquisition methods in quantitative research. | Lectures | 1.00 | computer room | |||||
| 6 | Formation of a questionnaire for data collection of quantitative surveys, basic questions formulation. Scales. | Lectures | 1.00 | computer room | |||||
| 7 | Qualitative and quantitative research strategy. Research strategy and research design. Quantitative research designs | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Research ethics | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | Development of research concept. Research problem. Research question. Research hypothesis. Concepts and variables. | Classes | 2.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 10 | Formation of a questionnaire for data collection of quantitative surveys, basic questions formulation. Scales. | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 11 | Statistical analysis programs. Working with SPSS. Creating a data file. Descriptive statistics. Differences between groups. Correlation analysis | Classes | 2.50 | auditorium | |||||
| Topic Layout (Part-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Social research process. Qualitative and quantitative research strategy. Research strategy and research design. Quantitative research designs | Lectures | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Research ethics. Scientific strength of the research | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Creating a research concept. The issue of the research. Question of research. Research's hypothesis. Concepts and Variables | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Data acquisition methods. Primary, secondary and tertiary data. Data acquisition methods in quantitative research. | Lectures | 1.00 | computer room | |||||
| 6 | Formation of a questionnaire for data collection of quantitative surveys, basic questions formulation. Scales. | Lectures | 0.50 | computer room | |||||
| 7 | Qualitative and quantitative research strategy. Research strategy and research design. Quantitative research designs | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Research ethics | Classes | 0.50 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | Development of research concept. Research problem. Research question. Research hypothesis. Concepts and variables. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 10 | Formation of a questionnaire for data collection of quantitative surveys, basic questions formulation. Scales. | Classes | 0.50 | ||||||
| 11 | Statistical analysis programs. Working with SPSS. Creating a data file. Descriptive statistics. Differences between groups. Correlation analysis | Classes | 1.50 | auditorium | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | Students work in groups carrying out the full cycle of a pilot study using quantitative research methods. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | Attendance – 15%, tests – 25% (10% sample calculation, 15% work with SPSS), exam/ independent research – 60% (20% preparation of the questionnaire, 40% summary, interpretation and presentation). | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | Students will gain knowledge of the importance of research in the social sciences; on the various strategies for conducting social research, their benefits and limitations. Gain an understanding of the criteria for qualitative conducted research. | ||||||||
| Skills: | Students will acquire the skills to choose the research method appropriate to the needs of the research, to define the target group and to draw the sample according to the research task. During the course students will learn how to create a questionnaire, formulate and compose questions of different structure. They will learn how to process quantitative research data independently, to analyze statistical indicators and to draw correct conclusions. Students will acquire the skills to work with the statistical program SPSS and will appreciate the accuracy and reliability of quantitative research results available in the public domain. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | During the course students will get an insight into different research methodologies and their application in sociological research. They will learn to critically evaluate the reliability of information available in the public space on data collected in various surveys. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Pētniecība: Teorija un Prakse / Kristīnes Mārtinsones, Anitas Piperes, Daigas Kamerādes Zinātniskajā Redakcijā. Rīga: RaKa, 2016. | ||||||||
| 2 | Methodological Thinking: Basic Principles of Social Research Design / Donileen R. Loseke. Los Angeles: Sage, 2013. | ||||||||
| 3 | Statistika: Mācību Grāmāmata Augstskolām / Oļģerts Krastiņš, Inta Ciemiņa; Latvijas Republikas Centrālā Statistikas Pārvalde. Rīga: Latvijas Republikas Centrālā Statistikas Pārvalde, 2003. | ||||||||
| 4 | Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics: And Sex and Drugs and Rock'n'roll / Andy Field. 4th ed. Los Angeles [etc.]: Sage, 2013. | ||||||||
| 5 | Zinātniskā Rakstīšana un Pētījumu Rezultātu Izplatīšana / Kristīnes Mārtinsones un Anitas Piperes Zinātniskajā Redakcijā; 2018. | ||||||||
| Additional Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Long, A. (n. d.) Evaluation Tool for Quantitative Research Studies. | ||||||||
| 2 | University of the West of England. Data Analysis: Critical appraisal. 2019. | ||||||||
| 3 | Raff, J. How to read and understand a scientific paper: a guide for non-scientists. 2013. | ||||||||
| 4 | Vasermanis, E., Šķiltere, D. Varbūtību teorija un matemātiskā statistika. Rīga, LU. 2003. | ||||||||
| 5 | Нименья, И.Н. Статистика. Санкт-Петербург, Издательский дом «Нева». 2004. | ||||||||
| 6 | The Sage Handbook of Innovation in Social Research Methods / Edited by Malcolm Williams, W. Paul Vogt. 1st ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2011. | ||||||||
| 7 | Real World Research: A Resource for Users of Social Research Methods in Applied Settings / Colin Robson. 3rd ed. Chichester, West Sussex; Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Blackwel, 2011. | ||||||||
| 8 | The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Research Methods / Edited by Luke Sloan, Anabel Quan-Haase. 2017. | ||||||||
| 9 | Sage Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social & Behavioral Research / Edited by Abbas Tashakkori, Charles Teddlie. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, 2010. | ||||||||
| 10 | Ruane, Janet M. Introducing Social Research Methods. Wiley-Blackwell, 2016. | ||||||||
| Other Information Sources | |||||||||
| 1 | Latvijas Statistikas gadagrāmata, 2017. Rīga: Centrālā statistikas pārvalde, 2018. | ||||||||
| 2 | Izlases lieluma aprēķināšanas programma | ||||||||
| 3 | LR CSP mājas lapa | ||||||||
| 4 | Pētījumu un publikāciju datu bāze | ||||||||
| 5 | WVS mājas lapa | ||||||||
| 6 | EVS mājas lapa | ||||||||
| 7 | https://www.rsu.lv/petnieciba | ||||||||
| 8 | https://www.rsu.lv/biblioteka | ||||||||
| 9 | https://www.openintro.org/stat/textbook.php | ||||||||
