Course code Soci4008

Credit points 4.50

Data Obtaining and Processing

Total Hours in Course120

Number of hours for lectures24

Number of hours for seminars and practical classes24

Independent study hours72

Date of course confirmation01.02.2017

Responsible UnitInstitute of Social Sciences and Humanities

Course developers

author Sociālo un humanitāro zinātņu institūts

Ginta Kronberga

Dr. sc. soc.

author lect.

Jānis Pāvulēns

Mg. ed.

Prior knowledge

Psih2037, Social Psychology

Replaced course

SociB001 [GSOCB001] Data Obtaining and Processing

Course abstract

Students acquire knowledge on the basic principles of research. the research ethics and measurements, develop necessary skills to obtain, process, and interpret data. During the course students acquire social knowledge that is considered to be as an important element of contemporary professional culture of specialists of different sectors as it allows being competent in problem situations and making justified decisions considering socio economic processes and necessity of multidisciplinary knowledge within a context of the particular field of professional activity.

Learning outcomes and their assessment

1. Understands the structure and the tendencies of functioning and development of society – test;
2. Able to identify and evaluate the potential research problems, to understand research designs, to characterize data collection and processing methods – presentation of the 2nd independent work.
3. Able to use different sources of information, to discuss tendencies of societal development and evaluate critically socio economic processes, to use knowledge on social processes for being involved in social activities of the society - group work presentation;
4. Able to formulate and evaluate critically research problem, to choose an appropriate research design and data collection and data processing methods, to explain the data results and draw conclusions – presentation of the 2nd independent work.
5. Able to solve problem situations and to make decisions, to make decisions considering social knowledge - presentation of the 1st independent work;
6. Able to carry out and to make available to public his/her research, to evaluate critically and use the results of other studies – presentation of the 2nd independent work.

Course Content(Calendar)

Full time intramural studies:
1. Society development and social change. Sustainable development - 4 h
Group work presentation.
2. Socialization. Social behavior, deviance and social control - 2 h
3. Social interactions, social status and social roles in society - 2 h
4. Social groups and organizations. Social institutes, their types and their role in the social system - 4 h
Presentation of the 1st independent task.
5. Social stratification and mobility processes in society - 2 h
6. Culture and identity in sociological terms - 2 h
Test for topics 1 to 6.
7. Socio-economic research in designer work: approaches, types and trends - 3 h
8. Stages of research: problem identification, research planning, data acquisition and processing, report on results - 3 h
9. Research questions in various marketing research studies. Transformation of research problem in purpose statement - 3 h
10. Selection and formulation of research questions and hypotheses - 3 h
11. Data collection. Types of data. Scales - 3 h
12. Methods of sample selection - 4 h
Presentation of Parts 1-5 of the 2nd independent work.
13. Data collection, validation, and processing (descriptive statistics). Diagrams and tables - 4 h
14. Data processing (inductive statistics). Testing of statistical hypotheses - 2 h
15. Usage of Microsoft Excel, SPSS, R and online software for data processing - 4 h
Presentation of Parts 6 and 7 of the 2nd independent work.
16 Data interpretation and presentation. Scientific papers - 4 h
Presentation of Part 8 of the 2nd independent work.

Part time extramural studies:

All topics specified for full time studies are accomplished, but the number of contact hours is one half of the number specified in the calendar

Requirements for awarding credit points

Formal test by mark. Accumulated assessment by summing up the results of the semester without an additional examination or test at the end of a study course.
All tests, group work and independent work have to be fulfilled.

Description of the organization and tasks of students’ independent work

During the course students - individually and in groups - autonomously prepare for seminars, working with various sources of information, prepare for discussions in a seminar about the development trends of a society, and carry out seminars' tasks using knowledge of social processes.
1st independent work
Students prepare a presentation (Microsoft PowerPoint) on the lecturer’s given topics related to social processes, sustainable development and other issues in the context of the student’s specialty.
2nd independent work. Students carry out research individually and reflect the progress in the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. The 2nd independent work consists of 8 parts; the presentation is supplemented during the course and presented in accordance with the course plan.

Criteria for Evaluating Learning Outcomes

The assessment rating depends on the cumulative assessment of the study course test, group work and independent work/ homework.
Final assessment is made up of:
1) the test - 10 points;
2) the sum of the points received in the seminars (including group work) and during the defense of the parts of the independent work (max 10 points for each part).
The sum obtained (max 150 points), divided by 15, forms the final grade of a study course.

Compulsory reading

1. Dillon M. Introduction to sociological theory: theorists, concepts, and their applicability to the twenty-first century. 2nd ed. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell, 2016. 565 p.
2. Pētniecība: teorija un prakse. K. Mārtinsones, A. Piperes, D. Kamerādes zin. red. Rīga: RaKa, 2016. 546 lpp.
3. Paula L., Korpa V. Socioloģija: mācību līdzeklis. Jelgava: LLU SZF Socioloģijas katedra, 2010. 143 lpp.
4.Robson C., McCartan. Real World Research. 4th ed. London: John Wiley&Sons, 2016. 533 p.
5.Wolf C., Joye D., Smith T.W., Fu Yang-Chih. The Sage Handbook of Survey Methodology. Croydon: Sage Publications, 2016. 716 p.
6. Ievads pētniecībā: stratēģijas, dizaini, metodes. Sast. Kr. Mārtinsone. Rīga: RaKa, 2011. 284 lpp.
7. Adams J., Khan H.T. A., Raeside R. Research Methods for Business and Social Science Students. Los Angeles [u.c. : Sage, 2014. 290 p. E-grāmata pieejama LLU tīklā ar LLU IS parolēm EBSCO E-book Academic Collection
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=784882&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Further reading

1. Giddens E. Politics, sociology and social theory: encounters with classical and contemporary social thought. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995. 304 p. 2. Bruce S., Yearley S. The Sage Dictionary of sociology. London: Sage Publications, 2006. 328 p.
3. Contemporary sociological theory. Ed. by C. Calhoun. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2007. 489 p. Sociological Theory Reader; vol. 2.
4.Tisenkopfs T. Socioloģija Latvijā. Rīga: LU Akadēmiskais apgāds, 2010. 536 lpp.
5.Zinātniskā rakstīšana un pētījuma rezultātu izplatīšana. K. Mārtinsone, A. Pipere zin. red. Rīga: RSU, 2018. 301 lpp.

Periodicals and other sources

1. Educational portal "Research Methodology" [tiešsaiste] [skatīts 30.09.2020.]. Pieejams: http://research-methodology.net/
2. Pārresoru koordinācijas centra pētījumu un publikāciju datu bāze [tiešsaiste] [skatīts 30.09.2020.]. Pieejams: http://petijumi.mk.gov.lv/
3.Humanities and Social Sciences. Latvia [tiešsaiste] [skatīts 30.09.2020.]. Pieejams: https://www.apgads.lu.lv/izdevumi/brivpieejas-izdevumi/zurnali-un-periodiskie-izdevumi/humanities-and-social-sciences-latvia/

Notes

Compulsory study course in Professional Higher Education Bachelor Study Program “Design and Crafts”.