Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Nicholas Harrigan
Contact via nicholas.harrigan@mq.edu.au
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
12cp at 100 level or above
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
Social research is essential in the contemporary world and an important field of employment for graduates in the social sciences and humanities. This unit gives students an opportunity to develop practical skills designing social and organisational research; and in collecting, analysing and presenting data to address research questions. You will consider the best research methods to use and the problems, limitations and traps likely to be encountered by inexperienced researchers. You will also consider the ethical issues in social research, and the impact of new information technologies on social research. A major emphasis in the unit is on the practice of social research. A series of workshops introduces major methodological techniques, basic qualitative and quantitative approaches, including interviewing, focus groups, textual analysis, and participant observation. Students also receive a basic introduction to SPSS. Research methods useful to community generated research are also explored. No knowledge of statistics is required. The unit is suitable for all students in the social sciences, humanities, media, creative arts or business and finance. It is particularly useful for those seeking interesting and meaningful employment after graduation or for anyone wanting to go on to undertake higher degree research.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Information Skills Modules | 5% | No | By the end of Week 5 |
Literature Review | 20% | No | End of Week 6 |
Research Proposal | 40% | No | End of Week 12 |
On-line test | 20% | No | Week 13 |
Participation | 15% | No | Weekly |
Due: By the end of Week 5
Weighting: 5%
As part of preparing for the Literature Review Task, students will be required to undertake four Information Retrieval Skills modules. These modules develop students abilities to search for a range of academic sources and assess the quality of such sources. Each module has a quiz testing skills developed in that module. The results of these quizzes will comprise 5 percent of the overall mark for SOC224.
Internal students will undertake these modules in the Workshops in Weeks 2 to 5. External students will be able to access the modules online and undertake them as self-guided modules.
Due: End of Week 6
Weighting: 20%
For this task, students are required to present a research literature review, which will provide some of the background for the research proposal undertaken later in the unit. Students will be required to:
Further details will be presented in the Unit Outline.
Due: End of Week 12
Weighting: 40%
Students will be required to submit a research proposal outlining the research topic, background to the proposed study and a methodology for investigating their research question. The proposal should identify the research methods proposed and justify their use. In most cases, it will incorporate a summary of the revised literature review submitted earlier in the course.
Further details will be provided in the Unit Outline.
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 20%
The on-line test examines concepts covered in the lectures and workshops. This includes questions about quantitative and qualitative methods, research design and social statistics. A few questions will involve interpreting research materials, including tables and charts. The exam will be accessed via the unit iLearn page.
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 15%
Each week students are expected to engage with on-line activities designed to develop practical research skills. All students will be assigned a mark for participation in these activities and discussion forums. The mark will be based on evidence that student's are completing the readings each week; and contribution to weekly on-line activities.
The course comprises a one-hour lecture and a two-hour workshop each week. The workshops take the form of practical, skills-development sessions, involving demonstrations, discussions and research exercises, related to the methods discussed in the lectures.
Readings for each week will be made available through e-reserve. However students might consider purchasing Bryman, A. Social Research Methods Oxford University Press: Oxford. (Fourth of Fifth Edition are appropriate)
Additionally a workbook covering the exercises for each week's workshop will be made available on the SOC224 iLearn page.
Lecture |
On-line Activity |
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1 |
Introduction: Research in the social sciences |
No Workshops |
2 |
Research Traditions, Design and Questions |
Start of Activity program. Selecting research themes and developing topics/ Scoping a research project |
3 |
Research data and using secondary sources |
Research development: Research questions and using existing data |
4 |
Introduction to Qualitative research |
Qualitative research methods I: Observation in practice |
5 |
Collecting qualitative data |
Qualitative research methods II: Conducting interviews |
6 |
Analysing qualitative data |
Qualitative research methods III: Working with focus groups |
7 |
Qualitative research in practice - lessons from the field |
Qualitative research methods IV: Analysing qualitative data |
8 |
Introduction to Quantitative Social Research |
Social statistics I: The Census, opinion polls and classifying data |
9 |
Social surveys and sampling |
Social statistics II: Working with social surveys and reading quantitative data |
10 |
Writing social surveys: conceptualising and operationalising |
Social statistics III: Introduction to SPSS |
11 |
Quantitative data analysis I: Uni-variate analysis |
Social statistics IV: Analysis with SPSS |
12 |
Quantitative data analysis II: Choosing the right statistical test: Bi-variate analysis |
Ethics in social research |
13 |
Ethics in social research |
Course Reflections and Wrap-Up |
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Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
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