Double degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and Philosophy la salle campus barcelona

Double Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and Philosophy

Methods of Research and Analysis of Data

Description
This course, fundamental for training in this interdisciplinary degree, aims to provide students with the formative elements that will enable them to work with numerical information from the different areas of the degree, resulting from research conducted by other authors or by themselves. After completing the course, students will be able to conduct basic research of a descriptive, correlational, and inferential nature, as well as analyze and critique the statistical results of academic articles from the areas of the degree.
Type Subject
Primer - Obligatoria
Semester
Second
Course
1
Credits
6.00
Previous Knowledge
Objectives

The analysis of social and political reality is one of the objectives of this degree. In this course, students will be introduced to the most relevant methods for obtaining valid and reliable data to build a robust interpretation of the reality we are approaching. They will learn basic concepts of both quantitative and qualitative methods. They will also learn to use standardized software to analyze survey data, discourse, and political texts.

Contents

Topic 1: The Analysis of Social and Political Reality
1.1. Research questions and hypothesis formulation
1.2. Selecting the most appropriate research method
1.3. Basic concepts of research methodology: variables, correlations, causality
Topic 2: The Survey as a Tool to Understand Public Opinion
2.1. Sample design and types of samples
2.2. The margin of error in surveys
2.3. Data collection
Topic 3: Analyzing Survey Data
3.1 Introduction to SPSS for analyzing survey data
3.2 Descriptive statistics: Frequencies and contingency tables
3.3 The mean, the median
3.4 Basic descriptive statistics of dispersion
3.5 Correlation between variables and causality
3.6 Electoral surveys: "Election cooking" and voting intentions
Topic 4: Qualitative Analysis of Social and Political Reality
4.1 Focus groups
4.2 Interviews
4.3 Deliberative surveys and citizen panels
4.4 Examples of qualitative research
Topic 5: Quantitative Analysis of Social and Political Reality
5.1 Transforming variables: From text to number
5.2 Data processing: Quantitative analysis of data
Topic 6: Introduction to Big Data
6.1. What is Big Data?
6.2. How can it help when analyzing social and political reality?
6.3. Examples of applied research based on Big Data
Topic 7: Experimental Methods to Approach Social Reality
7.1 Why conduct experiments in Political Science?
7.2 Types of experiments
7.3 Experimental concepts
7.4 Examples of research using experiments
Topic 8: Research Projects and Report Presentations
8.1. The report, its parts, and useful tools
8.2. Presenting tables
8.3. General structure
8.4. Sections and their content
8.5. Length

Methodology

During the face-to-face classes, the professor?s lectures will alternate with practical exercises carried out by the students. Additionally, students will have to complete individual assignments at home and create a course notebook. This notebook must include, for each thematic unit, a summary, the practical exercises and assignments completed, as well as a concept map and a basic bibliography.

Evaluation

To be evaluated in the regular exam session, all activities subject to evaluation must have been completed. The evaluable activities must be submitted by the dates indicated by the professor. If, for any duly justified and communicated reason to the professor, the activities could not be submitted within the established period, they may be submitted before the date of the subject?s exam, so that the professor can grade them, although in this case the professor is not obliged to provide feedback to the student on those activities.

On the other hand, the student has the right to take the final written exam even if they have not submitted all other activities subject to evaluation, but the final grade for the subject will only be calculated if all activities have been submitted and according to the evaluation criteria and weightings established in this teaching guide. If any activity subject to evaluation has not been submitted or completed, it will be recorded in the official record as ?Not presented? in the exam session.

EXTRAORDINARY EXAM SESSION (ON-SITE/REMOTE):

The evaluation criteria are the same as in the regular session, so all evaluable activities considered during the course must be submitted. Grades for completed activities (including the final written exam) will be retained while pending activities are completed. The same weighting criteria as in the regular evaluation will apply. This measure will only be applied during the current academic year, so if the extraordinary exam is not passed, re-enrollment will require repeating the entire subject.

Limitation and/or prohibition of AI tools: The use of artificial intelligence tools is prohibited in this subject/activity. Therefore, the use of such tools by students will be considered academic fraud and will result in the application of the existing regulations for such violations.

Evaluation Criteria

Exam: 40%
Written exercices: 10%
Course notebook: 35%
Attendance and participation: 15%

Basic Bibliography

Alonso,S. et Al ( 2012) Análisis de contenido cuantitativo de textos políticos. Madrid, Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas
Anduiza, Eva et al (2015) Metodología para la ciencia política. Garcia Ferrando,M, Alvira,F, Escobar,M (2015). Análisis de la realidad social. Métodos y técnicas de investigación. Madrid: Alianza editorial.
Font, J y Pasadas, S (2016). Las encuestas de opinión. Madrid, CSIC
Peña, D. (2008). Fundamentos de Estadística. Alianza Editorial.

Additional Material

Aldrich, J.P., Cunningham, J.B. (2015). Using IBM SPSS Statistics: An interactive hands-on approach. SAGE Publications. Morales, JM, et al (2020).. Big data para científicos sociales. Una introducción. Madrid,
Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas
Dezin NK (2013). Manual de investigación cualitativa. Gedisa España.
Vallés,M (2009) Entrevistas cualitativas, Madrid, Centro de investigaciones Sociológicas.