This course presents the epistemological and methodological foundations of empirical social research and supplies the students with the critical attitudes and technical skills enabling them to design and conduct quantitative investigations in political science.
PIERGIORGIO CORBETTA (2014) Metodologia e tecniche della ricerca sociale, Il Mulino, Bologna. Capp. da 1 a 9; 13 e 14.
LEONARDO MORLINO (2005) Introduzione alla ricerca comparata, Il Mulino, Bologna.
Learning Objectives
Knowledge of the basic concepts of theoretical and epistemological approaches to empirical research in the social sciences, as well as to critically use the main empirical techniques, with particular reference to quantitative approaches. At the end of the course students will be able to use of epistemological language and logical reasoning, as well as the main data collection and analysis techniques. In detail, students will learn how to design and conduct a quantitative research project consistent with the theoretical orientations, research questions and hypotheses of a research group and the main advantages and limits of different techniques of data collection. Students will also be given the main principles of data analysis.
Prerequisites
None
Teaching Methods
Lectures and discussions with students
Further information
Some lessons of the course will be dedicated to workshop activities in which students will practically get the skills for an appropriate use of a data analysis software
Type of Assessment
Oral examination. Written exam for those who want to pass the examination in english. Through questions concerning the student's acquired knowledge of concepts and procedures and his capacity to correctly apply them in exemplary cases, it will be evaluated the acquisition of the main conceptual and analytical categories of the epistemology and methodology of social science. Furthermore, it will be evaluated the ability to collect and interpret data in social science research using the main quantitative data collection and analysis techniques.
Course program
The first module of the course presents the quantitative social research design (different kinds of unit of analysis; the operational definition of variables; choice and construction of indicators; the data matrix) with a focus on:
a) the difference between primary data analysis (analysis of information directly collected and recorded by the inquirer for his own purposes) and secondary data analysis (recourse to data which have not been directly collected, in particular to data which are collected and published by official and administrative statistical sources for general purposes);
b) the difference between individual and aggregate, spatially or otherwise, unit of analysis.
The second module deals with the main techniques of univariate and bivariate data analysis, with a focus on comparative analysis in the social sciences.