Bachelor 2026/2027

Methodology and Methods for Sociological Researh - 2

ID 1205961

Type: Compulsory course (Sociology and Social Informatics)

Delivered by: Department of Sociology

Where: Saint-Petersburg School of Social Sciences

When: 2 year, 1, 2 module

Open to: students of all HSE University campuses

Instructors: Мацкевич Мария Георгиевна, Polina Dymova, Dmitrii Ivanov

Language: English

ECTS credits: 4

Contact hours: 42

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The discipline "Methodology and Methods of Sociological Research" aims at systematization of main ideas about the specifics of sociological research design, methods and procedures of collecting information in social research, including the types of empirical sociological research and the research program content. The content of this discipline lays the foundation for more complex and specialized disciplines related to the research process, collection, analysis and interpretation of information.

Learning Objectives

• To expand the basic knowledge of the 1-year methodology course on the methodology of sociological research, sociological research methods. To continue practicing and development of sociological research skills

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Be able to formulate research question and choose appropriate methodology
• Know the ethical requirements and limitations for different research methods
• Know the main stages of a research
• Understand the basic idea and the differences between main research methods: survey, anthropological/ biographical study, online research etc.
• To learn basic reserach methods of data collection
• To develop online survey forms
• to make dinstinctions between probability and non-probability sampling in online methods
• to develop limitations for online sruveys
• To develop research ethics principles with AI agents in doing research
• To apply the HSE rules for declaring AI usage

Course Contents

• Planning and designing case studies
• Quantitative vs. Qualitative methods
• Ethical Issues in a Case Study
• Interview and Questionnaire Design
• Content Analysis
• Survey in a quantitative study
• Secondary Data Analysis
• Online methods of data collection
• Ethical issues in interaction with generative AI

Assessment Elements

• Tests
  10-items tests to choose one correct answer among 2-5 alternatives. Completing offline in class
• Exam
  40-items test to choose one correct answer among 2-5 alternatives
• Activities in class
• Home assignments
• Research program
  Developing research proposal for a given research problem

Interim Assessment

• 2026/2027 2nd module
  0.1 * Home assignments + 0.25 * Research program + 0.25 * Exam + 0.05 * Tests + 0.3 * Activities in class

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Bryman, Alan. Quantity and Quality in Social Research, Routledge, 1988. Routledge, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=168067.
• May, Tim. Social Research, McGraw-Hill Education, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=729519.
• Rangaswamy, N., & Venkatraman, S. (2025). Qualitative methods for digital social research. Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-9843-8
• Rugg, G., & Petre, M. (2007). A Gentle Guide to Research Methods. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=234246
• Saris, W. E. (2014). Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research (Vol. Second Edition). Hoboken: Wiley. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=691292

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Методы социологического исследования : Учеб. пособие, Девятко, И. Ф., 2009
• Основы построения выборки для социологических исследований, Чуриков, А. В., 2020

Authors

• Matskevich Mariia Georgievna
• IVANOV DMITRII VLADIMIROVICH
• DYMOVA POLINA MAKSIMOVNA