Postgraduate Sociology 2014-2015

Qualitative Sociology: Philosophy and Methods: This course introduces students to a range of methods used in qualitative sociological research (such as participant observation, qualitative interviewing, focus groups, diaries, photography and film, and archived data sources). The emphasis will be on the research process, from project design to analysis and presentation, with methodological issues raised in the context of researchable questions. Issues of reliability, representativeness and validity, and the potential for combining methods will be addressed. Students use the course work to develop their research interests and reflect on their research practices.

Karl Popper argued, wisely, at least this time, that ‘all languages are theory-impregnated’.  In this course we learn to reflect explicitly about that which may otherwise simply remain implicit in empirical sociological examination. In this project, we are assisted by important thinkers who have developed distinctive and influential ways of considering the social. We begin with classical sociological theory (Marx, Weber, Nietzsche) before moving on to the work of more recent social thought (including, Actor Network Theory and Dorothy Smith), giving students an advanced working knowledge of the most important theoretical tools available to jobbing social scientists.

This interdisciplinary course focuses on substantive dimensions of globalization by considering recent changes occurring in the economic, political, social, and cultural realms of society. These themes are analyzed by considering recent empirical studies, which seek to clarify our theoretical understanding of globalization through advanced social scientific research. The substantive themes covered include global capitalism, the global division of labour, global governance, the changing role of the nation‐state, transnational social change, and cultural homogenization and heterogenization. Interconnections between these aspects of globalization are highlighted.

Aberdeen University has long been known for its focus on the sociology of religion and is currently the only University in Britain where one can study sociology of religion at the postgraduate level in a sociology department.  This course is required for students on the MSc in Religion and Society, and essential for any other students who wish to develop a sophisticated sociological understanding of religion, including postgraduates with other primary research interests (religion having implications for many other topics), and would also benefit postgraduate students of religion coming from other disciplines.

All researchers need to understand quantitative research, not only those who carry it out themselves. Everyone comes across quantitative research in literature reviews and even in the press. In this course students will acquire an understanding of the most common quantitative methods they are likely to use or come across in published sociological research. The module will encompass different types of quantitative study and address issues such as when quantitative methods are appropriate, how quantitative questions are formulated, research design, sampling (both online and offline), scale construction, reliability and validity and ethical practices in quantitative research and design.

The course utilises secondary sources to demonstrate approaches to data analysis of social surveys.  It provides a review of techniques suited to different data types, including categorical data in the form of tables and 'yes' and 'no' outcomes in multivariate analysis.  The course makes comparisons among social groups and between societies in cross-sectional and longtitudinal designs that include control, moderating and mediating factors in explanatory models.  Students identify a topic and undertake their own analysis of a secondary data source to produce two research reports.  Those two report comprise the total assessment for the course.

This course is divided into three sections. The first half of the course introduces students to the central mechanisms and processes by which the international community attempts to provide justice and peace in post-conflict contexts, before presenting in a series of lectures the complications and current challenges to post-conflict and justice as both an academic field and an area of practice. The course is particularly designed to inspire students to consider the complicated nature of post-conflict issues through a number of different case studies and perspectives.

The course familiarises the student with the field of the sociology of peace processes, which is one of the growth areas within sociology and related areas internationally. It establishes the nature of sociology’s distinctive contribution to the study of peace processes and the conceptual and empirical focus of this approach. The course places particular emphasis on three areas, religion, gender and civil society. It addresses three international peace processes in particular, Northern Ireland, South Africa and Sri Lanka, and critically assesses the contribution in each of religion, civil society and gender.

The MSc in Refugee and Displacement Studies will introduce students to the multiple forms of displacement, including, but not limited to, conflict-induced, development-induced and disaster-induced displacement. In addition, the course will explore the categories of migrants, including refugees, internally displaced peoples (IDPs), disaster displacees and human trafficking. Encouraging an analytical and critical approach to refugee and displacement studies, the degree functions both as a stand-alone programme for students wishing to enhance their knowledge of this area to an advanced level, as well as providing the necessary bases for students wishing to pursue PhD and related studies in sociology.

Students who meet the necessary requirements proceed to the dissertation. Students identify an appropriate dissertation topic in consultation with the programme co-ordinator. The dissertation is especially designed to extend an interest which students develop throughout the programme, particularly whilst undertaking the specialist and elective courses in the second semester, and to have experience in formulating, designing and conducting their own social science research investigation. The dissertation can also be library-based around conceptual and theoretical issues.

This is a compulsory element on the MSc Religion and Society programme.

This is a compulsory element on the MSc Sociology programme.

Students wishing to complete the MRes in Social Research must submit a research dissertation.  The MRes training courses are designed to assist students in identifying an area of study and in writing a proposal to carry out work on s supervised piece of independent research of their own.  The dissertation is 14,000 words in length with a 500 word summary.

Students in this course conduct independent research supervised by the coordinator into the topic of Post-Conflict Justice and Peacebuilding. The end goal of the course is to complete the dissertation in a timely fashion and to develop skills in research design, methodology, analysis, critical thinking and writing at a professional level. While the exact research question or methodologies utilized for the project are decided in consultation with the supervisor and must be within the field of post-conflict justice and peacebuilding, they will reflect the interests of the individual student.

This is a compulsory element on the MSc Global Conflict and Peace Processes programme.