Sociologia | SOCIAL SCIENCE METHODOLOGY

cod. 0312300007

SOCIAL SCIENCE METHODOLOGY

	0312300007
	DIPARTIMENTO DI STUDI POLITICI E SOCIALI
	EQF6
	SOCIOLOGY
	2019/2020

CURRICULUM ECONOMICO

	OBBLIGATORIO
	YEAR OF COURSE 1
	YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2019
	SECONDO SEMESTRE

TEACHING UNITS

	SSD	CFU	HOURS	ACTIVITY	TYPE OF ACTIVITY
	SPS/07	9	60	LESSONS	BASIC COMPULSORY SUBJECTS

	Objectives
	EDUCATIONAL AIMS THE COURSE AIMS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE AND LINGUISTIC AND OPERATIVE COMPETENCES FOR RESEARCH IN SOCIAL SCIENCES. THE COURSE IS BASED ON THE EXPLANATION OF THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND TENDS TO HIGHLIGHT THE CONCEPTUALIZATION AND OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS IN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH. STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW: - THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN METHODOLOGY, METHODS, AND TECHNIQUES - THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UNDERSTANDING AND EXPLANATION - THE MAIN ISSUES OF THE SCIENTIFICA OBJECTIVITY - THE RULES FOR THE EMPIRICAL RESEARCH - THE MAIN SOURCES OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH AND THEY MUST BE TO ABLE TO - CONCEIVE A POSSIBLE APPROACH TO EMPIRICAL RESEARCH, APPLYING THE RULES OF METHODS LEARNED THROUGH THE COURSE. - SELECT THE APPROPRIATE RESOURCES - ORGANIZE DATA IN THE DATA MATRIX - HONE THEIR SKILLS ABOUT THE CHOICE BETWEEN THE MAIN TOOLS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

EDUCATIONAL AIMS
THE COURSE AIMS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE AND LINGUISTIC AND OPERATIVE COMPETENCES FOR RESEARCH IN SOCIAL SCIENCES.
THE COURSE IS BASED ON THE EXPLANATION OF THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND TENDS TO HIGHLIGHT THE CONCEPTUALIZATION AND OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS IN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH.

STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW:
- THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN METHODOLOGY, METHODS, AND TECHNIQUES
- THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UNDERSTANDING AND EXPLANATION
- THE MAIN ISSUES OF THE SCIENTIFICA OBJECTIVITY
- THE RULES FOR THE EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
- THE MAIN SOURCES OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

AND THEY MUST BE TO ABLE TO
- CONCEIVE A POSSIBLE APPROACH TO EMPIRICAL RESEARCH, APPLYING THE RULES OF METHODS LEARNED THROUGH THE COURSE.
- SELECT THE APPROPRIATE RESOURCES
- ORGANIZE DATA IN THE DATA MATRIX
- HONE THEIR SKILLS ABOUT THE CHOICE BETWEEN THE MAIN TOOLS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

	Prerequisites
	NONE

	Contents
	THE COURSE WILL BE INTRODUCED BY A GENERAL DISCUSSION ON THE PROBLEMS OF SOCIOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE, WITH RESPECT TO ITS ONTOLOGICAL, EPISTEMOLOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS. AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE VARIOUS APPROACHES WILL FOLLOW, IN ORDER TO HIGHLIGHT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THOUGHT AND REALITY, BETWEEN THEORY AND EMPIRICAL FACT, THE CONCEPT OF "CAUSE", THE CONTROVERSIAL NATURE OF "DATA", THE PROBLEM OF ITS "OBJECTIVITY" AND OF ITS POSSIBLE HERMENEUTICAL INTERPRETATION. THESE PRELIMINARY ARGUMENTS WILL PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR ANALYZING SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SCIENCE AND COMMON SENSE, AS WELL AS BETWEEN SOCIAL SCIENCES AND NATURAL SCIENCES. IN THE SECOND PART, MOVING FROM ÉMILE DURKHEIM AND MAX WEBER’S THEORETICAL TRADITIONS, THE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN METHODOLOGY AND METHOD, UNDERSTANDING AND EXPLANATION, EVALUATION, MEASUREMENT AND OBJECTIFICATION WILL BE DISCUSSED. THE THEME WILL GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ANALYZE THE DISPUTE ON THE METHOD DEVELOPED ON THIS BASIS AND THE WIDER DEBATE ON THE VALIDITY OF THEORIES, WITH A SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO KARL POPPER’S METHODOLOGICAL PROPOSAL. THE THIRD PART OF THE COURSE WILL FOCUS ON THE "TOOLS" TO UNDERTAKE RESEARCH PROGRAM, MOVING FROM THE LEXICON OF THE METHODOLOGY BY THE WIDENING OF THE DISCUSSION TO THE VARIOUS LEVELS OF EMPIRCAL RESEARCH: FROM THE FORMULATION OF THE HYPOTHESES TO THE SELECTION OF THE CONCEPTS, FROM THE CHOICE OF THE INDICATORS TO THE OPERATIONAL DEFINITION. THE FINAL SECTION OF THE COURSE WILL BE DEVOTED TO THE MAIN FEATURES OF QUANTITATIVE, QUALITATIVE AND SECONDARY ANALYSIS.

Contents

THE COURSE WILL BE INTRODUCED BY A GENERAL DISCUSSION ON THE PROBLEMS OF SOCIOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE, WITH RESPECT TO ITS ONTOLOGICAL, EPISTEMOLOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS. AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE VARIOUS APPROACHES WILL FOLLOW, IN ORDER TO HIGHLIGHT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THOUGHT AND REALITY, BETWEEN THEORY AND EMPIRICAL FACT, THE CONCEPT OF "CAUSE", THE CONTROVERSIAL NATURE OF "DATA", THE PROBLEM OF ITS "OBJECTIVITY" AND OF ITS POSSIBLE HERMENEUTICAL INTERPRETATION. THESE PRELIMINARY ARGUMENTS WILL PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR ANALYZING SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SCIENCE AND COMMON SENSE, AS WELL AS BETWEEN SOCIAL SCIENCES AND NATURAL SCIENCES.
IN THE SECOND PART, MOVING FROM ÉMILE DURKHEIM AND MAX WEBER’S THEORETICAL TRADITIONS, THE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN METHODOLOGY AND METHOD, UNDERSTANDING AND EXPLANATION, EVALUATION, MEASUREMENT AND OBJECTIFICATION WILL BE DISCUSSED. THE THEME WILL GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ANALYZE THE DISPUTE ON THE METHOD DEVELOPED ON THIS BASIS AND THE WIDER DEBATE ON THE VALIDITY OF THEORIES, WITH A SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO KARL POPPER’S METHODOLOGICAL PROPOSAL.
THE THIRD PART OF THE COURSE WILL FOCUS ON THE "TOOLS" TO UNDERTAKE RESEARCH PROGRAM, MOVING FROM THE LEXICON OF THE METHODOLOGY BY THE WIDENING OF THE DISCUSSION TO THE VARIOUS LEVELS OF EMPIRCAL RESEARCH: FROM THE FORMULATION OF THE HYPOTHESES TO THE SELECTION OF THE CONCEPTS, FROM THE CHOICE OF THE INDICATORS TO THE OPERATIONAL DEFINITION.
THE FINAL SECTION OF THE COURSE WILL BE DEVOTED TO THE MAIN FEATURES OF QUANTITATIVE, QUALITATIVE AND SECONDARY ANALYSIS.

	Teaching Methods
	LECTURES: THE TEACHER EXPLAINS IN THE CLASSROOM THE CONTENTS OF THE COURSE. PRACTICAL ACTIVITY: THE TEACHER AND STUDENTS APPLY STUDIED THEORETICAL MODEL, METHODS AN TECHNIQUES TO TO SOME RESEARCH TOPICS EXTRACTED FROM THE CURRENT REALITY

	Verification of learning
	THE EXAM WILL START FROM A CENTRAL TOPIC OF THE COURSE AND THEN IT WILL BE CONNECTED TO THE THEORETICAL AND APPLICATIVE PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH. THE VOTE WILL BE COMMISURED AT THE LEVEL OF DEEPENING REALIZED BY THE STUDENT, ITS APPLICATION SKILLS AND THE PERTINENT USE OF THE SOCIOLOGICAL LEXICON.

	Texts
	1. CORBETTA A., 1999, METODOLOGIA E TECNICHE DELLA RICERCA SOCIALE, IL MULINO, BOLOGNA (NEW ED.: 2014), CHAPTER 1 2. C. MERAVIGLIA, METODOLOGIA DELLE SCIENZE SOCIALI. UN’INTRODUZIONE, CAROCCI, ROMA, 2011 (4TH REPRINTING: 2017) TESTI CONSIGLIATI PER L’APPROFONDIMENTO E LA LETTURA CAMPELLI E., 1999, DA UN LUOGO COMUNE. INTRODUZIONE ALLA METODOLOGIA DELLE SCIENZE SOCIALI, CAROCCI. ROMA. CATALDI S., 2017, SOCIOMACHIE, NATHAN. ROMA. MARRADI A., 2007, METODOLOGIA DELLE SCIENZE SOCIALI, IL MULINO, BOLOGNA. MONTESPERELLI P., 2002 (2), L’INTERVISTA ERMENEUTICA, FRANCO ANGELI, MILANO. STEFANIZZI S., 2003, LA CONOSCENZA SOCIOLOGICA, CAROCCI, ROMA (5TH REPRINTING: 2009). STEFANIZZI S., 2012, IL RAGIONAMENTO SOCIOLOGICO, MCGRAW-HILL, MILANO: ONLY CHAPTERS 6 AND 7.

Texts

1. CORBETTA A., 1999, METODOLOGIA E TECNICHE DELLA RICERCA SOCIALE, IL MULINO, BOLOGNA (NEW ED.: 2014), CHAPTER 1
2. C. MERAVIGLIA, METODOLOGIA DELLE SCIENZE SOCIALI. UN’INTRODUZIONE, CAROCCI, ROMA, 2011 (4TH REPRINTING: 2017)

TESTI CONSIGLIATI PER L’APPROFONDIMENTO E LA LETTURA
CAMPELLI E., 1999, DA UN LUOGO COMUNE. INTRODUZIONE ALLA METODOLOGIA DELLE SCIENZE SOCIALI, CAROCCI. ROMA.
CATALDI S., 2017, SOCIOMACHIE, NATHAN. ROMA.
MARRADI A., 2007, METODOLOGIA DELLE SCIENZE SOCIALI, IL MULINO, BOLOGNA.
MONTESPERELLI P., 2002 (2), L’INTERVISTA ERMENEUTICA, FRANCO ANGELI, MILANO.
STEFANIZZI S., 2003, LA CONOSCENZA SOCIOLOGICA, CAROCCI, ROMA (5TH REPRINTING: 2009).
STEFANIZZI S., 2012, IL RAGIONAMENTO SOCIOLOGICO, MCGRAW-HILL, MILANO: ONLY CHAPTERS 6 AND 7.