Methodology in Social and Education Research PDF Print

Y25 -Methodology in Social and Education Research

Tutor: Athanassios Katsis

Semester: 2nd

ECTS: 5

Short Description:

The course aims at developing students’ skills regarding the process of an empirical study in the field of social sciences. More specifically, the course covers the concepts of literature review, research hypotheses/questions, sampling designs, developing a research instrument, quantitative and qualitative studies, descriptive statistics, validity and reliability and the use of SPSS. The students will be asked to develop and present their own empirical study.

Aims:

Upon completion of the course the student will be able to:
(a) Perform a thorough literature review
(b) Set up the appropriate research questions and/or research hypotheses
(c) Devise and execute a sampling plan for quantitative and qualitative studies in social and education policy
(d) Adopt the appropriate approach (quantitative and/or qualitative) to draw inferences from the empirical data
(e) Develop interview guides and questionnaires
(f) Check the validity and reliability of the design and the data
(g) Put in writing a report of the empirical study suitable for publication in a scientific journal
(h) Know the fundamental commands of SPSS

Learning Outcomes:

  • Developing skills regarding designing an empirical study, analyzing and comparing concepts and findings in quantitative and qualitative research
  • Developing skills in using SPSS

Structure:

13 three-hour lectures and 13 three-hour labwork

Assessment:

Written assignment in which students will develop, conduct and present their own research results and findings.

Bibliography:

Creswell, J. (2011). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, Athens: Ellin/Ion.
Robson, C. (2010). Real world research. Athens, Gutenberg.