The goal of the first module is to give the students some general understanding of the social structures behind academic work, and to provide support for the start of their own yearly essay/bachelor thesis.

The goal is the development of students' fieldwork skills. Entering the “field” is used for the student's approbation of sociological research methods (interviews, participant observation, etc.), understanding the possibilities of research methods for collecting empirical material at various field “sites”. The work can be carried out individually and collectively or in a professional research team. Plan: preparation for the field, work on the topic and key concepts. Selection of research instruments and obtainment of empirical data (observation, data recording, ethnographic interview). Field research in the context of global digitalization (social networks, mobile applications, visual data). Final discussion on fieldwork and preparation of a research report on fieldwork (text no more than 3 pages or presentation). This part will also include the workshops with practicing sociologists Workshops on field research by leading Russian sociologists (online meetings with foreign researchers are also possible). Discussion of designs and results of empirical studies, specifics of research stages, ethical issues.

During this module the focus will be done on the development of the students’ academic writing and research skills and the discussion of their research papers/project (course papers, research thesis). The main goal of this part is to help students with their research projects. We will discuss how the paper should be organized, the requirements for the research paper, the progress and the difficulties that students have by that moment with their research.

Presentation of the individual research proposal

Presentation of the research design and piloting of instrument

0.3 * Exam + 0.2 * Homework 2 + 0.2 * Homework1 + 0.3 * In-class participation