• Descripció

This course is intended for students who begin to build their thesis projects in social science research. The objective of the subject is to give students the basic tools to conceptualize their stiffs in terms of research issues, analytical frameworks, empirical methods and global design. This course aims primarily to be practical: in the end you have to be more very trained to design your own research - and, in particular, the proposal of your master's degree or doctoral thesis.
In this course you will read and discuss different texts related to the design of the research. You will also work on your own research proposal, from an early and short draft at the beginning to a more developed and expanded draft at the end of the course. You will be encouraged to apply the tips and recommendations provided by the course materials to your own project, to improve the basics of research design.
Proposals will be discussed collectively throughout the course in the virtual classroom, in a type of expert (non-blind) review process. Participation in these discussions is therefore a key element of the course.

• Camps professionals en què es projecta

This course assumes that students have some basic notions about qualitative methods, so the emphasis (beyond discussing each technique that discusses what aspects are believed to be necessary in dialogue with students) will be established in the development of a general methodological approach to qualitative research in the social sciences; just by understanding what we do, what we can do, and we seek to do it in our research, we can use data collection and analysis techniques without losing a certain creative perspective that makes us teachers of our own research.

• Objectius i competències

At the end of the course, the following skills are expected to be learned:

Enabled methodological block advances

• Mastering of processes and stages of empirical research.
• Successful design of an empirical research study, especially in terms of its descriptive and/or explanatory capacity, selection of cases and variables, combination of techniques and methods, and consideration of technical limitations and resources available to the researcher.
• Mastery of logical empirical research processes: deduction and induction, coherence, observation, causation, data analysis, useful and communicable conclusions.
• Awareness of decisions, challenges and empirical research problems.
• Know the importance of theoretical development and knowledge other research and literature studies when conducting empirical research.

Social Science Research Design Course-Specific Competencies

• Understand the basic principles of empirical social research.
• Know the most important features of research on the interaction of social change and technological innovation.
• Build and ask a proper research question.
• Selection of relevant literature and construction of an analytical model.
• Selection of the most suitable methodology.
• Conceptualization, operationalization and evaluation of variables.
• Empirical study design: determination of analysis units and time dimension.
• Realization of a thesis project (research proposal).

• Continguts

1. Empirical research in social sciences: Introduction.

• What kind of research are we doing?  What dream do you dream methodological focuses on?
• Analytical models?  Theoretical frameworks?
• Presentation of a pre-proposal.

2. Review of literature and formulation of a research question.

• Research questions will be justified with relevant literature in your field of study.
• Scary review for proposals.

3. Methods and analysis units.

• Review (and rewrite) your pre-proposal - a proposal by checking how you have argued the case with the methods you will use and your analysis units.

4. The structure of a research proposal.

• Study an example of a research proposal according to the elements Discussed so far. Review your proposal based on the elements explored in this example.

5. Presentation of a research proposal. Final draft.

• Rewrite and release your research proposal.
• Oral presentation of your proposal (maximum 10 minutes).
• Presentation of your research journal.

• Consulta dels recursos d'aprenentatge de la UOC per a l'assignatura

• Informació addicional sobre els recursos d'aprenentatge i eines de suport

In addition to the manual, other texts will be provided for each unit, which will serve as a starting point for our discussion.

• Informacions sobre l'avaluació a la UOC

El procés d'avaluació es fonamenta en el treball personal de l'estudiant i pressuposa l'autenticitat de l'autoria i l'originalitat dels exercicis realitzats.

La manca d'autenticitat en l'autoria o d'originalitat de les proves d'avaluació; la còpia o el plagi; l'intent fraudulent d'obtenir un resultat acadèmic millor; la col·laboració, l'encobriment o l'afavoriment de la còpia, o la utilització de material o dispositius no autoritzats durant l'avaluació, entre d'altres, són conductes irregulars que poden tenir conseqüències acadèmiques i disciplinàries greus.

D'una banda, si es detecta alguna d'aquestes conductes irregulars, pot comportar el suspens (D/0) en les activitats avaluables que es defineixin en el pla docent - incloses les proves finals - o en la qualificació final de l'assignatura, sigui perquè s'han utilitzat materials o dispositius no autoritzats durant les proves, com ara xarxes socials o cercadors d'informació a internet, perquè s'han copiat fragments de text d'una font externa (internet, apunts, llibres, articles, treballs o proves d'altres estudiants, etc.) sense la citació corresponent, o perquè s'ha practicat qualsevol altra conducta irregular.

De l'altra, i d'acord amb les normatives acadèmiques, les conductes irregulars en l'avaluació, a més de comportar el suspens de l'assignatura, poden donar lloc a la incoació d'un procediment disciplinari i a l'aplicació, si escau, de la sanció que correspongui.

La UOC es reserva la potestat de sol·licitar a l'estudiant que s'identifiqui o que acrediti l'autoria del seu treball al llarg de tot el procés d'avaluació pels mitjans que estableixi la Universitat (síncrons o asíncrons). A aquests efectes, la UOC pot exigir a l'estudiant l'ús d'un micròfon, una càmera o altres eines durant l'avaluació i que s'asseguri que funcionen correctament.

La verificació dels coneixements per garantir l'autoria de la prova no implicarà en cap cas una segona avaluació.

• Consulta del model d'avaluació