Seminar Lecture Methods

The course on Advanced Research Methods contains two components: - a weekly lecture, - specialized seminars, including student working groups (you select one). This course seeks to advance skills in research methods. It covers important topics in social science research methods: the foundations of social science, research design, data collection, and data analysis. We will also consider the ethical implications of research and gender-sensitivity in research. These topics will be dealt with in the weekly lecture (on Tuesdays). In the related courses (see below), you will practice the methods. Social science research is a craft, and like any other craft, it takes practice to do it well. Therefore, the approach will be hands-on. You will work in small groups of 3-4 students. The steps consist in finding and justifying a feasible research question, designing an adequate methodological framework, collecting the required data and making sense of it by analysing it. The group is going to document the whole process in a research diary. At the end of the semester, you’ll present the results and the way you solved difficult questions to the whole course. By the end of the course, you should be able to: • Formulate good research questions and design appropriate research. • Collect your own data using a variety of methods. • Analyze data. • Critically evaluate your own research and that of other social scientists. Lecture (Helen Schwenken) Every Tuesday 13-14:15 (starting October 16) Groups (all on Wed, starting October 24) – select only one: a) Comparative methods (Christoph Scherrer), Wed 10am-12pm b) Qualitative methods A: -Work and labour relations in Kassel” (Helen Schwenken), Wed 8-10am c) Qualitative methods B: -Measuring the impact of trade union and social movement campaigns” (Helen Schwenken), Wed 10am-12pm Course requirements: - regular attendance of the lecture - active participation in all phases of the group work - presentation of the results of the group work in the seminar - writing an individual MA thesis outline. If you have any questions, please contact hschwenken@uni-kassel.de FB 05 Gesellschaftswissenschaften Uni Kassel WiSe 2012/13 Labour Policies and Globalisation Prof. Dr. Schwenken Helen