Course overview
Which youth crime prevention programs work? Is job market situation for university graduates in Australia improving or worsening? Why do some international students succeed in Australian universities, while others experience great difficulties? What is currently known about factors that lead to a happy and lasting intimate relationship? Why are young Indigenous Australians over-represented in jails? Why is anti-Chinese prejudice rising in a number of countries? Why is homelessness rising in many parts of Australia? This course will introduce you to the ways in which social researchers seek to answer such questions. You will learn how to formulate feasible research questions. You will be introduced to a variety of research methods that can be used to answer such questions. The course will demonstrate that each method has its strengths and weaknesses and that the best research is usually produced by a combination of methods. The course will give you the basic tools to be an informed and critical user of social science research. You will learn how find the most up-to-date and highest quality studies on the topic of your interest. You will also apply the methodological reasoning acquired in the course to review the current research literature on a topic of your own interest. Finally, you will learn how to write well-structured analytical papers.
- Identifying social research topics and developing questions
- Designing social research
- Data collection, analysis and evaluation research
Course learning outcomes
- Understand the purpose of social research and its potential to investigate contemporary issues through both quantitative and qualitative approaches
- Identify the range of methods, techniques, and skills used in contemporary social research and their capacity to solve specific problems
- Critically evaluate the methodological aspects of published social research
- Locate, analyse and synthesise academic literature into a Literature Review, and develop a research question in a timely and effective manner.
Availability
Class details
Adelaide City Campus East
Group 1
Class number 64115
Section WS04
Size 60
Available 60
Class number 64116
Section WS03
Size 60
Available 60
Class number 64117
Section WS02
Size 60
Available 60
Class number 64118
Section WS01
Size 60
Available 60
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If you are studying in a Professional Pathway Psychology, Clinical Psychology or Social Work program, please refer to the Student Contributions amounts published here.
The Student Contribution amount displayed below is for students commencing a new program from 2021 onwards. If you are continuing in a program you commenced prior to 1 January 2021, or are commencing an Honours degree relating to an undergraduate degree you commenced prior to 1 January 2021, you may be charged a different Student Contribution amount from the amount displayed below. Please check the Student Contribution bands for continuing students here. If you are an international student, or a domestic student studying in a full fee paying place, and are continuing study that you commenced in 2025 or earlier, your fees will be available here before enrolments open for 2026.