Sociological research methods refer not to a substantive area of sociological research, but to a more general concern for observing and knowing that cuts across all areas. Sociology is a social science and therefore owes much to the formal scientific method. However, because social behavior cannot be reduced to entirely "objective" phenomena of the kind studied in the natural sciences, sociology is also an important site to explore and debate other ways of producing knowledge about the social world. This class introduces the major sociological methodologies as both a practical concern (so you can recognize and evaluate them in other researchers' work and use them in your own) and intellectual issues in their own right.
To learn about and evaluate the different sociological research designs.To learn about the scientific method and how sociology borrows and departs from it.
To devise original research questions and select appropriate research methods and designs.
To examine the ethical dilemmas posed by studying humans and constructing knowledge.
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