The main objective is to equip students with a tool from the social researcher's toolbox - the questionnaire - and to enable them to write a research report. The implications of the empirical translation of sociological theory will be clarified, thus referring to standard research, clarifying its basic structure and approach. In particular, the logic behind the data matrix, the technical transformation of concepts into variables, the analysis of variables and their graphical representation will be explored.

The workshop will focus on the implementation of a survey questionnaire that students will construct according to a theme assigned to each group. To do this, the students will have to consult a reference literature, operationalise the concepts by transforming them into variables and construct the data matrix. After the administration of the questionnaire - according to the instructions received in the classroom - the data will be entered into the matrix and analysed using statistical analysis software. Finally, students will have to produce a report and a presentation (presentation in the classroom at the end of the course) that will be subject to evaluation.

Having attended or currently attending the course Methodology and Techniques of Social Research

At the end of the course, the student will be able to carry out, in all its phases (research design, construction of the survey instrument, sampling, fieldwork, analysis and interpretation of the collected data), a sociological research based on the use of the questionnaire as the main survey instrument. They will also be able to communicate the main findings through both a written report and a public presentation.

Students should achieve:

1. Knowledge and understanding

Students should have
- basic technical knowledge for understanding data construction processes within the case matrix for variables.
- basic technical tools for data analysis and interpretation.  

Students acquire this knowledge through attendance of lectures, participation in classroom discussion of topics covered in lectures, activities involving the use of data analysis software guided by the lecturer and through practical activities in groups.

2. Applied knowledge and understanding 

The knowledge acquired during the course will be applied to the analysis of concrete research situations. They should be able to construct - using the pspp software - and recognise different categories of variables, to know the main characteristic values, to be able to read and construct mono and bivariate analyses, to be able to represent data graphically.

Students acquire this knowledge through attending lectures, participating in classroom discussions on the topics addressed in the lectures, activities involving the use of data analysis software guided by the lecturer and through practical activities in groups.

3. Judgment

Students must be able to make informed and autonomous assessments of various concrete situations involving the reading and construction of data on the basis of the knowledge acquired during the course.

Students acquire these skills through discussion in the classroom with the lecturer and colleagues, during exercises and lectures, and through individual and group study and practice.

4. Communication skills

Students are expected to possess the ability to express themselves, communication skills in written and oral Italian, and basic competences in the specialised language of the discipline and the ability to represent data.

Students acquire these skills by interacting in the classroom through questions to the lecturer, responding to the lecturer's requests on the topics dealt with in the lessons, exchanging ideas with fellow students, making short presentations in public while reporting to colleagues and the lecturer on the results of the classroom exercises, writing short texts (research reports) during the classroom exercises.

5. Learning skills

Students are expected to acquire learning skills for further study and research.

Students acquire these skills through classroom discussion, argumentation of answers to the lecturer's questions, discussion with fellow students during lectures and classroom exercises, individual and group study and practice.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

PSPP software (free). Each student should bring his/her own laptop.

Teaching

Classroom lessons, guided practical group work.

Small group work

Attendance

Participation in at least three quarters of the lecture and practice hours.

Course books

- Corbetta P., Metodologia e tecniche della ricerca sociale, il Mulino, Bologna, 1999 (qualsiasi edizione può andare bene previo accordo col docente)

- Di Franco, G. (2001). EDS: esplorare, descrivere e sintetizzare i dati. Guida Pratica All’analisi Dei Dati Nella Ricerca Sociale, FrancoAngeli, Milano (testo consigliato non obbligatorio).

For foreign students

Bhattacherjee, Anol, "Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices" (2012). USF Tampa Bay Open Access Textbooks Collection. Book 3.

Assessment

The evaluation will be based on the grade for the research report, carried out as a group, which accounts for 80% of the final grade, and on the group presentation of the research results (20% of the final grade). The mark thus obtained may be raised by a maximum of two points during an individual interview, to be held during the official calls, focusing on the research carried out during the workshop, followed by the recording of the mark itself.

The research report will be assessed on the basis of the formal correctness and conceptual relevance of the questionnaire prepared and the indices constructed; the formal correctness and conceptual relevance of the analyses carried out; the correctness and clarity of the presentation; the quality of the graphic layout of the report itself. The classroom presentation will be assessed on the basis of its communicative effectiveness.

The individual interview will be assessed on the basis of the relevance and correctness of the answers given with respect to the questions, on the appropriate use of the specific terminology of reference and on the ability to argue and defend the choices made in the construction and conduct of the investigation and in the drafting of the research report.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Preparation of reference materials.

Attendance

Production of an empirical study using a questionnaire, construction of a data matrix, data analysis using PSPP and a research report (this must be agreed in advance with the lecturer at least 2 months before the examination).

Course books

- Corbetta P., Metodologia e tecniche della ricerca sociale, il Mulino, Bologna, 1999 (qualsiasi edizione può andare bene previo accordo col docente)

- Di Franco, G. (2001). EDS: esplorare, descrivere e sintetizzare i dati. Guida Pratica All’analisi Dei Dati Nella Ricerca Sociale, FrancoAngeli, Milano.

For foreign students

Bhattacherjee, Anol, "Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices" (2012). USF Tampa Bay Open Access Textbooks Collection. Book 3.

Assessment

Oral, presentation of material produced during the research, ppt slides (This must be agreed in advance with the lecturer at least 2 months before the exam).

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.