10285 Research Methods in Social Sciences: Guiding Principles and Research Styles
Credits: 4 intermediate credits in Social Sciences - General
Prerequisites: One of the following: Introduction to Statistics for Students of Social Sciences I or Introduction to Statistics and Probability for Science Students, or Probability for Computer Science Students,1 and one of the following: Introduction to Statistics for Students of Social Sciences II or Statistical Inference.
Recommended: Introduction to Psychology or Introduction to Sociology
Authors: Ruth Beyth-Marom, Shmuel Ellis, Michael Ashkenazi, Galit Gordoni, Mina Tsemach, Kelly Saporta
The course acquaints students with basic concepts and tools for understanding scientific research in general and behavioral research in particular so as to enable them to critically assess research and to design research aimed at examining social phenomena. It presents the general principles underlying the scientific research process, particularly the various stages of this process; describes three styles of social science research; addresses problems that arise from the social circumstances in which behavioral research is conducted, and presents tools to help to assess such research and the conclusions that stem from it.
Topics: Research principles – basic concepts in scientific investigation, measurement principles; Research styles – ethnographic research, the survey, the experiment; Research biases and evaluation – the social circumstances of behavioral research, summary and evaluation.
1For students taking the dual-disciplinary program in Computer Science and Cognitive Science.