| Kommentar |
Social research has many different traditions, one of them is the distinction between quantitative and qualitative research. This distinction lies behind the structure of the proposed course with a sensitivity to disciplinary and paradigmatic diversity that demands attention to the epistemological and ontological underpinnings of different research traditions. Based on this structure, the proposed course will give an overview of the basics of the scientific approach in social and urban research. The aim of the course is to provide the skills that will allow students to do their own research, but also to provide them with the tools for a critical appreciation of how research is done and with what assumptions. The course will address the issues of research design, data collection and analysis in relation to qualitative research methods focusing on ethnography, in-depth interviewing and focus group meetings, but will cover archival, online, and visual methods, as well. Based on the principle that doing is one of the best means of learning, this course is highly interactive and requires ‘hands-on’ participation in a series of practical exercises and project work throughout the term. |
