Social Sciences Research Methods Programme course timetable

The aim of this course is to introduce students to comparative historical research methods and encourage them to engage with practical exercises, to distinguish between different approaches in comparative historical research methods in social sciences.

Through the reading and seminars students will learn how to distinguish between different texts, theorists and approaches and learn how to apply these approaches to their own research and writing.

Comparative historical sociology studies major social transformations over periods of time and across different states, societies, and regions.

This module is for students who don’t plan to use quantitative methods in their own research, but who need to be able to read and understand published research using quantitative methods. You will learn how to interpret graphs, frequency tables and multivariate regression results, and to ask intelligent questions about sampling, methods and statistical inference. The module is aimed at complete beginners, with no prior knowledge of statistics or quantitative methods.

Open Source Investigation for Academics is methodology course run by Cambridge’s Digital Verification Corps, in partnership with Cambridge’s Centre of Governance and Human Rights, Social Sciences Research Methods Programme and Cambridge Digital Humanities, as well as with the Citizen Evidence Lab at Amnesty International.

NB. Places on this module are extremely limited, so please only make a booking if you are able to attend all of the sessions.

This course introduces students to discourse analysis with a particular focus on the (re)construction of discourse and meaning in textual data. It takes students through the different stages of conducting a discourse analysis in four practical-oriented sessions. The overall course focus is guided by a Foucauldian and Critical Discourse Analysis approach, conceptualising discourses as not only representing but actively producing the social world and examining its entanglement with power.

The first session gives an overview of theoretical underpinnings, exploring the epistemological positions that inform different strands of discourse analysis. In the second session, we delve into the practical application of discourse analysis of textual data. Topics covered include, among others, what research questions and aims are suitable for discourse analysis as well as data sampling. In the third session, we discuss how to analyse textual data based on discourse analysis using the computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software Atlas.ti. The fourth session will take a workshop format in which students apply the gained knowledge by developing their own research design based on discourse analysis.

This course will introduce students to the general philosophical debates concerning scientific methodology, assessing their ramifications for the conduct of qualitative social research. It will enable students to critically evaluate major programmes in the philosophy of sciences, considering whether there are important analytic differences between the social and natural sciences; and whether qualitative methods themselves comprise a unified approach to the study of social reality.

This is an introductory course for students who have little or no prior training in statistics.

The module is divided between pre-recorded mini-lectures, in which you'll learn the relevant theory, and hands-on live practical sessions in Zoom, in which you will learn how to analyse real data using the statistical package, Stata.

You will learn:

• The key features of quantitative analysis, and how it differs from other types of empirical analysis
• The basics of formal hypothesis testing
• Basic concepts: what is a variable? what is the distribution of a variable? and how can we best represent a distribution graphically?
• Features of statistical distributions: measures of central tendency and dispersion
• The normal distribution
• Why statistical testing works
• Statistical methods used to test simple hypotheses
• How to use Stata

This is an introductory course for students who have little or no prior training in statistics.

The module is divided between pre-recorded mini-lectures, in which you'll learn the relevant theory, and hands-on live practical sessions in Zoom, in which you will learn how to analyse real data using the statistical package, Stata.

You will learn:

• The key features of quantitative analysis, and how it differs from other types of empirical analysis
• The basics of formal hypothesis testing
• Basic concepts: what is a variable? what is the distribution of a variable? and how can we best represent a distribution graphically?
• Features of statistical distributions: measures of central tendency and dispersion
• The normal distribution
• Why statistical testing works
• Statistical methods used to test simple hypotheses
• How to use Stata

Ethics and the associated process of approval / review are an important component of any research project, not only practically enabling research to take place but also enabling researchers to consider the values underpinning their research. The aim of this course is to take both a practical and reflective approach to ethics. On a practical level, the course will focus on identifying the steps involved in seeking ethical approval or undertaking an ethical review. On a reflective level, the course will explore the values informing key ethical principles and concepts and how these may relate to individual’s research.

This is an introductory course for students who have little or no prior training in statistics.

The module is divided between pre-recorded mini-lectures, in which you'll learn the relevant theory, and hands-on live practical sessions in Zoom, in which you will learn how to analyse real data using the statistical package, Stata.

You will learn:

• The key features of quantitative analysis, and how it differs from other types of empirical analysis
• The basics of formal hypothesis testing
• Basic concepts: what is a variable? what is the distribution of a variable? and how can we best represent a distribution graphically?
• Features of statistical distributions: measures of central tendency and dispersion
• The normal distribution
• Why statistical testing works
• Statistical methods used to test simple hypotheses
• How to use Stata

Qualitative research methods are often used in the social sciences to learn more about the world and are often considered to be particularly appropriate for people who might be considered vulnerable. The goal of this course is to encourage students to think critically about the concept of 'vulnerability'; to offer a practical guide to conducting qualitative research that responds to the vulnerabilities of participants and researchers; and to explore ways of challenging and resisting research practices that could be extractive or harmful. It will be highly discursive and will draw throughout on ‘real life’ research examples. The course will be of interest to students who are conducting, or planning to conduct, research with a group considered vulnerable, and will also be of interest to students who want to critically engage with such research in their field.

For a more detailed outline of each session please see the 'Learning Outcomes' section below.

Content warning: Throughout, the course will cover the experience and effects of different forms of trauma. The first session will touch on the lecturer's research with people affected by criminal exploitation.

Content warnings for other sessions will be raised at the end of the preceding session and emailed, where necessary. If you have any concerns you would like to raise with me regarding these matters, please do email the lecturer.

The module provides a practical guide to designing and developing a research project based on quantitative dates. It focuses on key aspects of research design, how to work with theory, identify key concepts and operationalise them with quantitative data. It will explore the use of applied statistical methods for data analysis, their applications in academic research, and how to interpret statistical outputs. Although the illustrative examples are mainly drawn from education and policy research, the statistical and design knowledge and skills acquired via this module are also applicable to other social sciences research topics and areas.

Outline

The module consists of four lectures (two-hours per session) including:

• Lecture 1: Introduction to quantitative research design
• Lecture 2: Key statistical concepts and methods
• Lecture 3: Applied social statistics in education research
• Lecture 4: Education and social policy evaluation

Contents

Lecture 1 will focus on how to design quantitative studies, including formulating research questions, engaging with theoretical and empirical evidence, developing hypothesises, as well as preparing relevant data. Lecture 2 will cover some of the widely used statistical toolkits for data description and hypothesis testing, such as graphs, z-score, conference intervals, parametric and non-parametric tests, correlation and regression analyses. Lecture 3 applies the principles of research design and key statistical methods to examples drawn from education research. It will highlight regression analyses and the interpretation of statistical outputs. Lecture 4 will introduce a few causal inference methods, such as matching, instrumental variables, difference-in-differences, and regression discontinuity design, which are commonly used in social policy evaluations.

The module provides a practical guide to designing and developing a research project based on quantitative dates. It focuses on key aspects of research design, how to work with theory, identify key concepts and operationalise them with quantitative data. It will explore the use of applied statistical methods for data analysis, their applications in academic research, and how to interpret statistical outputs. Although the illustrative examples are mainly drawn from education and policy research, the statistical and design knowledge and skills acquired via this module are also applicable to other social sciences research topics and areas.

Outline

The module consists of four lectures (two-hours per session) including:

• Lecture 1: Introduction to quantitative research design
• Lecture 2: Key statistical concepts and methods
• Lecture 3: Applied social statistics in education research
• Lecture 4: Education and social policy evaluation

Contents

Lecture 1 will focus on how to design quantitative studies, including formulating research questions, engaging with theoretical and empirical evidence, developing hypothesises, as well as preparing relevant data. Lecture 2 will cover some of the widely used statistical toolkits for data description and hypothesis testing, such as graphs, z-score, conference intervals, parametric and non-parametric tests, correlation and regression analyses. Lecture 3 applies the principles of research design and key statistical methods to examples drawn from education research. It will highlight regression analyses and the interpretation of statistical outputs. Lecture 4 will introduce a few causal inference methods, such as matching, instrumental variables, difference-in-differences, and regression discontinuity design, which are commonly used in social policy evaluations.

This is an introductory course for students who have little or no prior training in statistics.

The module is divided between pre-recorded mini-lectures, in which you'll learn the relevant theory, and hands-on live practical sessions in Zoom, in which you will learn how to analyse real data using the statistical package, Stata.

You will learn:

• The key features of quantitative analysis, and how it differs from other types of empirical analysis
• The basics of formal hypothesis testing
• Basic concepts: what is a variable? what is the distribution of a variable? and how can we best represent a distribution graphically?
• Features of statistical distributions: measures of central tendency and dispersion
• The normal distribution
• Why statistical testing works
• Statistical methods used to test simple hypotheses
• How to use Stata

The aim of this course is to introduce students to comparative historical research methods and encourage them to engage with practical exercises, to distinguish between different approaches in comparative historical research methods in social sciences.

Through the reading and seminars students will learn how to distinguish between different texts, theorists and approaches and learn how to apply these approaches to their own research and writing.

Comparative historical sociology studies major social transformations over periods of time and across different states, societies, and regions.

This module is for students who don’t plan to use quantitative methods in their own research, but who need to be able to read and understand published research using quantitative methods. You will learn how to interpret graphs, frequency tables and multivariate regression results, and to ask intelligent questions about sampling, methods and statistical inference. The module is aimed at complete beginners, with no prior knowledge of statistics or quantitative methods.

Open Source Investigation for Academics is methodology course run by Cambridge’s Digital Verification Corps, in partnership with Cambridge’s Centre of Governance and Human Rights, Social Sciences Research Methods Programme and Cambridge Digital Humanities, as well as with the Citizen Evidence Lab at Amnesty International.

NB. Places on this module are extremely limited, so please only make a booking if you are able to attend all of the sessions.