On successful completion of this course students will be able to:
1.Demonstrate an understanding of a range of social science methods, related ethical issues, and the relationship between social science methods and social theory.
2.Critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of various social science methods and select appropriate methods to answer and resolve social science questions and problems.
3. Effectively communicate results in written and oral form.

This course is a prescribed course for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Social Science and is also open to all students as an elective. It particularly provides grounding in social science methods as preparation for continued development of research methods skills in SOCS3200 Applied Social Research.

In this course students develop a comprehensive understanding of social science methods for the design of social inquiry, the collection and analysis of quantitative data and the reporting of results. Topics will include consideration of the relationship between knowledge and social science methodology, the use and misuse of social science techniques, the use of evidence to substantiate conclusions, and the ethics of social inquiry. In relation to quantitative research, the course will develop competencies in the collection and processing of numerical data, visualisation and presentation techniques, questionnaire design and processing, descriptive and inferential statistics, using a range of computing packages which may include Excel and SPSS. Through this students will develop an understanding of the strengths and limitations of various methods, ethical issues in conducting research, debates over epistemology and interpretation, skills in social inquiry design, report writing, and interpretation of numerical and statistical data.

The introduction of SOCS2400 in 2006 will enable GEOG2150 Geography Methodologies and SOCA2040 Theory & Practice of Social Research to be discontinued.

From 2006 onwards, students required to do GEOG2150 or SOCA2040 will instead enroll in SOCS2400. No additional strategies are required.

0

40 units of study at 1000 level.

Internal Mode

Lecture
Workshop
Computer Lab

Lecture: for 1 hour(s) per Week for Full Term
Computer Lab: for 2 hour(s) per Week for 7 weeks
Workshop: for 2 hour(s) per Week for 5 weeks