Sociology

Course summary

Students must examine the following areas: - Quantitative and qualitative methods of research; research design - Sources of data, including questionnaires, interviews, participant and non-participant observation, experiments, documents, and official statistics - The distinction between primary and secondary data, and between quantitative and qualitative data - The relationship between positivism, interpretivism, and sociological methods; the nature of ‘social facts’ - The theoretical, practical, and ethical considerations influencing the choice of topic, choice of method(s), and the conduct of research.