London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Modules

54
Methods of social research

Prerequisite – 10 Introduction to sociology

This subject is concerned with the nature of empirical investigation in the social sciences; it considers in turn the various stages of the research process, the different types of research strategies that are in use, and some general methodological problems about the conduct of inquiry. The emphasis is upon the design, execution and analysis of social surveys but, where appropriate and relevant, other strategies are introduced.

Subjects that are included are: the relationship between research and theory; conceptualisation, measurement and operationalisation; experiments and quasi-experiments; non-experimental research designs, especially surveys and panel studies; approaches to sampling; questionnaire design and question wording; attitude measurement and scaling; interviewing; participant observation; unobtrusive measures; data coding and preparation; tabular presentation and interpretation; elaboration and the search for ‘causes’; explanation and understanding in social research.