edX Online
EdinburghX: Introduction to Social Research Methods

Course from The University of Edinburgh (EdinburghX)

EdinburghX: Introduction to Social Research Methods

How does ‘society’ function? What makes ‘culture’? These are questions that can help us to understand the most pressing issues today – but how do we answer them? This course will explore the methods used by researchers in social science.

What you'll learn

  • The kinds of methods researchers tend to adopt
  • The contexts in which certain methods are used
  • The benefits, drawbacks and ethical implications involved in particular methods
  • Critical perspectives on quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques
  • Ways of critically analysing published research on methods

Prerequisites

There are no strict prerequisites.

About this course

This self-paced social sciences course is about trying to understand ‘methods’ and the ways researchers go about trying to find things out about people, societies and cultures.

In this course, you will explore:

  • The kinds of methods researchers tend to adopt
  • The contexts in which certain research methods are used
  • The benefits, drawbacks and ethical implications of research

This course isn’t a practical or technical guide to doing research. Rather, it offers a way for us to think deeply about what methods are, and what they allow us to achieve.

When you complete this course, we want you to be critical users of research – and that means having the ability to always question the application of methods, and to hold ourselves to account as researchers and scholars.

That not only makes our research better, it also foregrounds the things that are most exciting and interesting about methods.

We’ve designed this self-paced course to provide you with a unique opportunity to develop your understanding of methods. This course is linked to the Masters in Digital Education programme at the University of Edinburgh. You will study alongside students who are enrolled at the University and who are working towards a postgraduate qualification. By joining us you’ll get a sense of what it is like to study on our programme.

The Masters in Digital Education has built up a reputation over the years for critical engagement in our field, and it is this way of learning that we want to foreground in this course. Introduction to Social Research Methods will be about developing a rounded understanding of methods, and their underlying assumptions and values.

Curriculum

8 Weeks, 2-5 hours per week

Language

English

Transcripts

English

Part 1: Exploring Methods

  • Surveys
  • Discourse analysis
  • Learning Analytics
  • Interviews
  • Focus groups
  • Ethnography
  • Social Network Analysis (SNA)
  • Experimental intervention
  • Visual and image analysis

Part 2: Analysing Data

  • Critical perspectives on quantitative data analysis
  • Critical perspectives on qualitative data analysis

Ready to advance your career?

Learner Testimonials

"This course helped me to improve my scientific abilities during my PhD - enabling me to defend my dissertation. Though I'm not a native English speaker, it was easier for me than other courses in my own language." - Aliaa, previous learner

Meet the instructors

Frequently asked questions

Share this course

Interested in this course for your business or team?

Train your employees in the most in-demand topics, with edX for business