Методология исследования в социальных науках с акцентом на качественную составляющую

2025/2026

Статус: Маго-лего

Кто читает: Департамент государственного администрирования

Где читается: Санкт-Петербургская школа социальных наук

Когда читается: 3, 4 модуль

Охват аудитории: для всех кампусов НИУ ВШЭ

Преподаватели: Заиченко Людмила Игоревна

Язык: английский

Кредиты: 6

Контактные часы: 28

Full Syllabus Ask Question

Abstract

The current course will be valuable for Master's students in their second year of studies and is aimed at developing their own understanding of how and why their research should be conducted. The course represents an introductory overview of research paradigms that inform social research: positivism and interpretivism, making emphasis on interpretive methodologies in the social sciences and their value for social inquiry. The main aim of the course is to teach students to comprehend the architecture of their own research project, which presupposes understanding the coherence between the problem statement and the choice of research design selected for the chosen research questions and purposes. This introductory course is fully grounded in international literature and is constructed in line with how similar courses are taught in international research universities. Alongside more general topics, such as 'Identifying a research gap and reviewing the literature' and 'General overview of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research designs', students will be introduced to more specific topics addressing interpretive (QUAL) paradigms. These include 'Introduction to Phenomenology', 'Introduction to Hermeneutics', 'History of Symbolic Interactionism', and others, which will facilitate a nuanced understanding of qualitative approaches in social sciences inquiry. The course aims to develop competencies and skills including critical thinking, academic writing, the ability to interpret and assess from various angles and perspectives, and the capacity to dichotomize and synthesize information in the process of creating one's own educational path. During the course, students will learn how to navigate international citation databases such as Scopus and Web of Science (WoS), and will be introduced to the fundamentals of academic writing for publication in international journals in the social sciences.

Learning Objectives

Main aims of the discipline mastery are: Understanding of the main sociological concepts and ideas, referring to different paradigms, which inform various types of research design in education;Acquisition of skills and experience of research designs construction according to the own research task: quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods; Understanding of coherence between the problem statement and the choice of research design, and ability to present an argument about the chosen research design for own scientific inquiry.
Understanding of the main differences in paradigms, their philosophical foundations and the terminology which results from these differences, and forms quantitative, qualitative, and multi/mixed methods research designs in sociological analysis

Expected Learning Outcomes

Critically reading a selected scientific paper with the following discussion about the paradigm selected by the author and one’s researcher positionality. Presentation of the chosen paper.
Understands the logic of the problem statement formula-tion. Able to explain how to find a research gap and to demonstrate how to practi-cally find it. Identifies the differences and similarities between the Qual and Quant methods.
Understands the logic of the problem statement formulation. Able to explain how to find a research gap and to demonstrate how to practically find it. Identifies the differences and similarities between the Qual and Quant methods.
Understands philosophical foundations of the Qual methodology, as well as main traditions that inform qualitative research programs: Social Constructionism, Phenomenology, and Hermeneutics.
Understands philosophical foundations of the Qual methodology, as well as main traditions that inform qualitative research programs: Social Constructionism
Able to identify five main approaches to Qual designs according to Creswell. Able to make a draft of own qualitative research step by step.

Course Contents

Topic 1.1. The nature of inquiry. Two paradigms of social reality. Key terms
Topic 2.1. Posing a research problem. What are research gap and research questions? What is a hypothesis statement? Literature review as a tool for defining a research topic.
Topic 2.2. Quantitative and qualitative methods. Differences and similarities. Mixed methods designs.
Topic 3.1. The main philosophical roots and interpretive programmes of qualitative methodology: Phenomenology and Hermeneutics and the methods they inform.
Topic 3.3. The main philosophical roots and interpretive programmes of qualitative methodology: social constructionism and the theories derived from it
Topic 4.1. The five main types of qualitative research design according to Creswell.

Assessment Elements

Planning own research: constructing a research design
Making presentation on a chosen research design for one's own research project.
Presenting own research design
Presenting final research design with PPT or a Word file format

Interim Assessment

2025/2026 4th module
1 * Presenting own research design

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

An applied reference guide to research designs : quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, Edmonds, W. A., 2013
Boso, À. (2006). KING, Gary; KEOHANE, Robert; VERBA, Sidney. Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrac&AN=edsrac.52780
Bynner, J. M., & Stribley, K. M. (2017). Research Design : The Logic of Social Inquiry. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1608766
Creswell, J. W. . (DE-588)133331512, (DE-576)164944168. (1994). Research design : qualitative and quantitative approaches / John W. Creswell. Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.]: Sage. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.040749258
Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design : Choosing Among Five Traditions. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications Inc. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=63251
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Educational Research: Pearson New International Edition : Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research (Vol. Fourth edition, Pearson new international edition). Harlow, Essex: Pearson. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1418055
Educational research : planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research, Creswell, J. W., 2005
Empathy and history : historical understanding in re-enactment, hermeneutics and education, Retz, T., 2018
Geoffrey R. Marczyk, David DeMatteo, & David Festinger. (2005). Essentials of Research Design and Methodology. Wiley.
Hamed Alavi, & Patrycja Hąbek. (2016). Addressing Research Design Problem in Mixed Methods Research. Management Systems in Production Engineering, 1(21), 62–66. https://doi.org/10.12914/MSPE-10-01-2016
Hancké, B. (2009). Intelligent Research Design : A Guide for Beginning Researchers in the Social Sciences. Oxford: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=299002
Hermeneutics and social science : approaches to understanding, Bauman, Z., 2010
HU, C.-P., & CHANG, Y.-Y. (2017). John W. Creswell, Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.BCEBF1CE
King, G. (DE-588)135604311, (DE-576)166299405. (1994). Designing social inquiry : scientific inference in qualitative research / Gary King; Robert O. Keohane; Sidney Verba. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.039730549
King, G. (DE-588)135604311, (DE-627)568593324, (DE-576)166299405, aut. (1994). Designing social inquiry scientific inference in qualitative research Gary King; Robert O. Keohane; Sidney Verba.
King, G., Verba, S., & Keohane, R. O. (1994). Designing Social Inquiry : Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=329740
Leonard A. Jason, & David S. Glenwick. (2016). Handbook of Methodological Approaches to Community-Based Research : Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods. Oxford University Press.
Methodological thinking : basic principles of social research design, Loseke, D. R., 2013
Mixed methods in social inquiry, Greene, J. C., 2007
Moran, D. (2000). Introduction to Phenomenology. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=70809
Qualitative inquiry & research design : choosing among five approaches, Creswell, J. W., 2013
Qualitative research in political science. Vol.4: Interpretive and constructivist approaches, , 2016
Research Design. Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, Creswell J.W., 2009
Schoonenboom, J. (Department of E. F. of P. and E. U. of V., Johnson, R. B. (Department of P. S. U. of S. A., & R. Burke Johnson. (2017). How to Construct a Mixed Methods Research Design. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11577-017-0454-1
Sykes, B., Verma, A., & Hancock, B. (2018). Aligning sampling and case selection in quantitative-qualitative research designs: Establishing generalizability limits in mixed-method studies. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edssch&AN=edssch.oai%3aescholarship.org%2fark%3a%2f13030%2fqt74j5p4dz
Welch, C., & Marschan-Piekkari, R. (2004). Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods for International Business. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=473073

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Charmaz, K. (DE-588)105020994X, (DE-576)404421253. (2014). Constructing grounded theory / Kathy Charmaz. Los Angeles, Calif. [u.a.]: SAGE. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.391165852
Creswell, J. W. . V. (DE-588)133331512, (DE-627)543371581, (DE-576)164944168, aut. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research John W. Creswell (Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan), Vicki L. Plano Clark (School of Education, University of Cincinnati).
Designing and conducting mixed methods research, Creswell, J. W., 2011
Designing social inquiry : scientific inference in qualitative research, King, G., 2021
Encyclopedia of research design. Vol.1: A-G, , 2010
Encyclopedia of research design. Vol.2: H-P, , 2010
Encyclopedia of research design. Vol.3: Q-Z, Index, , 2010
Fàbregues Feijóo, S., & Paré, M.-H. (2007). CHARMAZ, Kathy C. Constructing Grounded Theory : a Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrac&AN=edsrac.81402
Gadamer and Ricoeur : critical horizons for contemporary hermeneutics, , 2011
Interpretive research design : Concepts and processes, Schwartz-Shea, P., 2012
Kathy Charmaz. (n.d.). Advances in Qualitative Methods Conference Premises, Principles, and Practices in Qualitative Research: Revisiting the Foundations. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.5A292B7C
Principles of methodology : research design in social science, Perri 6, 2012
Principles of research design in the social sciences, Bechhofer, F., 2000

Authors

BEBBUKINA NADEZHDA VIKTOROVNA
ZAICHENKO NATALYA ALEKSEEVNA
Zaichenko Liudmila Igorevna

Course Syllabus