Science Philosophy, Research Principles, Methods, Methodology and Praxis of Social Science in Interdisciplinary Perspective

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved

Course Description Version:2.00

Study Course Accepted:09.02.2023 15:40:10

Study Course Information
Course Code:		DN_198			LQF level:		Level 8
Credit Points:		2.00			ECTS:		3.00
Branch of Science:		Philosophy; Philosophy of Science			Target Audience:		Business Management; Communication Science; Health Management; Social Anthropology; Management Science; Information and Communication Science; Juridical Science; Political Science
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:		Gunda Reire
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:		Department of Doctoral Studies
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:		Riga, 16 Dzirciema Street, dnrsu[pnkts]lv, +371 67409120
Study Course Planning
Full-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:
Master's thesis experience in research, defended master's study research.
Objective:
The aim of the study course is to introduce doctoral students in an intensive way to various schools of science philosophy, principles of social science research, theories, and methods to form the basis for the development of their doctoral thesis in an interdisciplinary perspective. This knowledge will allow to acquire different approaches in the individual research process and will provide an in-depth comprehension of such concepts as reality, objectivity and subjectivity, truth, and values, thus providing additional tools in the development of the research design. The aim of the course is to strengthen the skills of students of the doctoral study programme to use different theoretical frameworks and social sciences methods in their scientific work, as well as to develop the ability to work interdisciplinary.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.	Topic				Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	Introduction to the basic issues of modern science and social sciences.				Lectures		1.00	E-Studies platform
2	Hypothetico-deductive explanation concept v. epistemological anarchism.				Lectures		0.50	E-Studies platform
					Classes		0.50	E-Studies platform
3	Individualism and holism.				Lectures		0.50
					Classes		0.50
4	Rational action: its justification and limitations.				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
					Classes		0.50	auditorium
5	Interpretation and meaning v. approach of positivism.				Lectures		0.50	auditorium
					Classes		0.50	auditorium
6	Functionalism and social theory.				Lectures		0.50	E-Studies platform
					Classes		0.50	E-Studies platform
7	Research design and main types of research related to the construction of theories.				Lectures		0.50	E-Studies platform
					Classes		0.50	E-Studies platform
8	Methods of science philosophy and social sciences in the context of the doctoral thesis.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
1. In the study process, students should read the course literature and must be able to express themselves about it in the context of their doctoral thesis during seminars. 2. Within the framework of thematic blocks, during the study course, students must create an assessment "How this topic is important in the context of my doctoral thesis" (reflection on a scientific issue topical for my work). 3. Creation of a draft of an abstract of the scientific article on the selected topic of the doctoral thesis. 4. Review of little researched and unexplored issues within the framework of the topic of the doctoral thesis. 5. Creation of a Twitter post (140 characters) that best reflects the scientific value of the doctoral thesis The student's contribution to the improvement of the study process is the provision of meaningful feedback on the study course by filling out its evaluation questionnaire.
Assessment Criteria:
Active participation in lectures and seminars - 20%; draft abstract of the scientific article – 15%; Twitter post – 5%; justification of scientific novelty of the doctoral thesis – 20%; compact research design of the doctoral thesis (submitted, presented and discussed) – 40%.
Final Examination (Full-Time):		Test
Final Examination (Part-Time):
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:		The doctoral student is familiar with various schools of science philosophy, principles of social science research, theories, and methods to form the basis for the doctoral thesis in an interdisciplinary perspective. The doctoral student correctly applies the terminology of social sciences and confirms orientation in the field of science, describing the theory and methodology of his or her work and research steps according to the current stage of the doctoral thesis.
Skills:		The doctoral student is able to apply different approaches in the advancement of the individual research process and knows how to define the theoretical framework, methodology of his doctoral thesis, is able to critically analyse scientific literature on the subject of the doctoral thesis, shows competence to discuss, argue and deliberate the research designs developed by him or her and other doctoral students, based on the criteria of scientific novelty, topicality of the doctoral thesis, scientific problem and aim, theoretical basis and methodological framework. Doctoral student can use different theoretical frameworks and methods of social sciences in his or her scientific work, as well as has developed the ability to work interdisciplinary
Competencies:		Doctoral student is able to develop the research design of his or her doctoral thesis in an academically correct manner, is competent to present it, participate in scientific discussions, as well as is able to maintain a scientific discussion in an interdisciplinary perspective.
Bibliography
No.	Reference
Required Reading
1	Blaikie, Norman (2007). Approaches to Social Enquiry: Advancing Knowledge. 2nd edition. Polity.
2	Durkheim, Emile (2014). The Rules of Sociological Method: And Selected Texts on Sociology and its Method. Free Press; Expanded, Updated edition, Chapters 27, 28.
3	Kuhn, Thomas Samuel (2012). The structure of scientific revolutions. 4th edition. Chicago, London: The University of Chicago Press.
4	Lakatos, Imre; Feyerabend, Paul (1999). For and Against Method: Including Lakatos's Lectures on Scientific Method and the Lakatos-Feyerabend Correspondence. 1st edition. University of Chicago Press.
5	Merton, Robert K. (2017) Social Theory and Social Structure. Rawat.
6	Popper, Karl Raimund (2002). The logic of scientific discovery. New York: Routledge.
7	Trochim, William M., Donnelly, Kanika Arora (2016). Research methods: the essential knowledge base. 2nd edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning
8	Creswell, John W. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.
Additional Reading
1	King, Gary; Keohane, Robert O.; Verba, Sidney (2021). Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton University Press.
2	Rosenberg, Alexander (2018). Philosophy of Social Science. 5th edition. Routledge. Chapters 6; 10.
3	Merton, Robert K. (1942). The Normative Structure of Science. Panarchy
4	Winch, Peter (2007). The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Philosophy. 1st edition. Routledge
Other Information Sources
1	Kincaid, Harold (2017). The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Social Science. Oxford University Press.
2	Rosenberg, Alex; McIntyre (2020). Philosophy of Social Science. A Contemporary Introduction. Routledge.