University of Essex

SC101-4-SP-CO:
Researching Social Life

The details

Year: 2024/25

Department: Sociology and Criminology

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Spring

Level: Undergraduate: Level 4

Status: Current

Start date: Monday 13 January 2025

End date: Friday 25 July 2025

Credits: 15

Last updated: 27 September 2024

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: (none)

Key module (requisite for): SC203, SC208

Key module for

BA M900 Criminology,
BA M901 Criminology (Including Year Abroad),
BA M903 Criminology (Including Foundation Year),
BA M904 Criminology (Including Placement Year),
BA L3C8 Criminology with Social Psychology,
BA L3H8 Criminology with Social Psychology (Including Placement Year),
BA LHC8 Criminology with Social Psychology (Including Year Abroad),
BA MV91 History and Criminology,
BA MV92 History and Criminology (Including Placement Year),
BA MV98 History and Criminology (Including Foundation Year),
BA MV9C History and Criminology (Including Year Abroad),
BA LV31 History and Sociology,
BA LV32 History and Sociology (Including Placement Year),
BA LV38 History and Sociology (Including Foundation Year),
BA LV3C History and Sociology (Including Year Abroad),
BA LP33 Media and Digital Culture,
BA LP34 Media and Digital Culture (including Placement Year),
BA P300 Media and Digital Culture (Including Foundation Year),
BA PL33 Media and Digital Culture (including Year Abroad),
BA CL83 Sociology with Social Psychology,
BA CL93 Sociology with Social Psychology (Including Placement Year),
BA CLV3 Sociology with Social Psychology (Including Year Abroad),
BA L2CH Social Sciences,
BA L2CS Social Sciences,
BA L2ES Social Sciences,
BA LFCH Social Sciences,
BA L300 Sociology,
BA L301 Sociology (Including Year Abroad),
BA L304 Sociology (Including Foundation Year),
BA L306 Sociology (Including Placement Year),
BA LM38 Sociology and Criminology (Including Placement Year),
BA LM39 Sociology and Criminology,
BA LMH9 Sociology and Criminology (Including Year Abroad),
BA LMHX Sociology and Criminology (Including Foundation Year),
BA LL23 Sociology and Politics (Including Year Abroad),
BA LL24 Sociology and Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA LL32 Sociology and Politics,
BA L3J9 Sociology with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA L3M9 Sociology with Human Rights,
BA LMJ9 Sociology with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BA LL36 Social Anthropology,
BA LL3P Social Anthropology (Including Year Abroad),
BA LL6P Social Anthropology (Including Placement Year),
BSC L315 Sociology (Applied Quantitative Research),
BSC L316 Sociology (Applied Quantitative Research) (Including Year Abroad),
BSC L317 Sociology (Applied Quantitative Research) (Including Placement Year),
BA L333 Criminology with Counselling Skills,
BA L334 Criminology with Counselling Skills (Including Year Abroad),
BA L335 Criminology with Counselling Skills (Including Placement Year),
BA LM11 Criminology with Criminal Law,
BA LM12 Criminology with Criminal Law (Including Year Abroad),
BA LM13 Criminology with Criminal Law (Including Placement Year),
BSC L310 Sociology with Data Science,
BSC L311 Sociology with Data Science (including Year Abroad),
BSC L312 Sociology with Data Science (including Placement Year),
BSC L313 Sociology with Data Science (Including foundation Year),
BA L350 Sociology and Health,
BA L351 Sociology and Health (including Foundation Year),
BA L352 Sociology and Health (including Placement Year),
BA L353 Sociology and Health (including Year Abroad)

Module description

How do sociologists investigate the social world? What tools and methods do they employ to ensure their research claims are relevant? How can you interpret their findings? This module will help you to answer these key questions. The module provides an introduction to research design and the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data.

Upon completion of the module students will be able to approach their studies and the materials they use with a more developed ‘critical eye’ and some practical skills. Students will be introduced to the nuts and bolts of social investigation, and through practical labs will gain experience in assessing ethics, developing research questions, and deciding on the appropriate methods to use to answer them.

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

To introduce students to the social research process

To give students the tools to evaluate the strengths and limitations of different approaches to sociological research

To highlight the importance of research ethics in social research

To teach students how they can understand, discuss and assess existing qualitative and quantitative research

To develop students’ communication and critical appraisal skills

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

Recognise the key stages of a social research project

Apply ethical principles to social research

Identify the key features of qualitative and quantitative data

Evaluate the strengths and limitations of different methodological tools for sociological research recognise how different types of research data can be collected, analysed and presented critically assess the connections between theory and research

Module information

The module will cover research questions, ethics, choosing the appropriate method for your question, and evaluating sociological research.

Learning and teaching methods

Lectures, classes, labs, and seminars will be taught face-to-face. Please note that you should be spending up to eight hours per week undertaking your own private study (reading, preparing for classes or assignments, etc.) on each of your modules. Please do spend some time familiarising yourself with the Moodle page as there are lots of activities and resources available here to support your learning on this module.

Bibliography

Clark, T., Foster, L., Sloan, L., Bryman, A., et al. (2021d) Bryman’s social research methods. Sixth edition. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/974675.
Flick, U. (2020) Introducing Research Methodology. 3rd Edition. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
de Vries, R. (2018) ‘What does it mean to be average?’, in Critical Statistics. Macmillan Education UK, pp. 91–110. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6234773.
Clark, T., Foster, L., Sloan, L. and Bryman, A. (2021b) Bryman’s Social Research Methods. 6th Revised edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/974675.
Field, A. and Miles, J. (2022c) Discovering Statistics Using R. Sage Texts.
Salganik, M., Maffeo, L. and Rudin, C. (2020) ‘Prediction, Machine Learning, and Individual Lives: an Interview with Matthew Salganik’, Harvard Data Science Review [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1162/99608f92.eecdfa4e.
Fink, A. (2003) ‘What is a Survey? When do you use one?’, in The survey handbook. 2nd ed. London: SAGE, pp. 1–29. Available at: https://methods.sagepub.com/book/the-survey-handbook/n1.xml.
Salkind, N.J. (2010) Encyclopedia of research design. Los Angeles, [Calif.]: SAGE. Available at: https://methods-sagepub-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/reference/encyc-of-research-design/n42.xml.
Green, D.P. (2022) Social science experiments: a hands-on introduction. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Matt, M. (no date) ‘Introduction to the Causal Inference Bootcamp: What is causality?’ Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNpcwiOme1g.
Fink, A.G. (2002) ‘Responses: Choices and Measurement’, in How to Ask Survey Questions. 2nd Revised edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Inc Ebooks. Available at: https://methods-sagepub-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/book/how-to-ask-survey-questions/n3.xml.
Heath, A.F. and Di Stasio, V. (2019) ‘Racial discrimination in Britain, 1969–2017: a meta-analysis of field experiments on racial discrimination in the British labour market’, The British Journal of Sociology, 70(5), pp. 1774–1798. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12676.
Spencer, S.J., Steele, C.M. and Quinn, D.M. (1999) ‘Stereotype Threat and Women’s Math Performance’, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35(1), pp. 4–28. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.1998.1373.
‘Hypothesis Testing and The Null Hypothesis, Clearly Explained!!!’ (no date).

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam	Description	Deadline	Coursework weighting
Coursework	Moodle test		50%
Coursework	Essay	22/04/2025	50%

Exam format definitions

Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Reassessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Mr Robin Brooker, email: rdbroo@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Xintong Jia, email: xintong.jia@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff: Dr Magda Borkowska, Mr Yintan Fan,

Contact details:

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: Yes

Available to Outside Option: Yes

Available to Audit: Yes

External examiner

No external examiner information available for this module.

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: No lecture recording information available for this module.

Further information

Department website: Sociology and Criminology

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Module Directory

SC101-4-SP-CO:Researching Social Life