Guide in PDF format

Social Research Methods and Techniques

Code: 43660
Credits: 6

2026/2027

Degree programme	Type	Course
Social Policy and Community Action	OB	1

Contact lecturer

Name :: Özgür Günes Öztürk Okumus
Email :: ozgurgunes.ozturk@uab.cat

Teaching staff

: Carolina Alejandra Muñoz Mendoza
: Joel Marti Olive
: Carlos Delclos Gomez-Moran

Teaching staff (external to UAB)

: Miriam Acebillo
: Gunes Ozturk

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Objectives

The objective of this module is to provide students with the necessary tools so that they can develop an investigation that allows them to complete the Master's Final Project. Specific contents will be worked on: planning and designing an investigation, approach to case study, qualitative and quantitative techniques, and action research. The biographical and ethnographic perspective will be addressed. The use and techniques of collecting and systematizing information and data will be discussed, as well as network analysis tools in community action.

Learning outcomes

(CA07) Critically review one's own epistemological positions, identifying personal strengths and weaknesses for social research, applied to the field of Social Policies and Community Actions.
(CA08) Design a preliminary research project that serves as an input for the design of the TFM.
(KA07) Distinguish the epistemological bases of social research and various methodological alternatives for its application.
(KA08) Define the main methods and techniques of social research, distinguishing their relevance for addressing specific research problems.
(SA07) Apply quantitative, qualitative or mixed social research tools that are relevant to specific research problems.
(SA08) Structure a social research project that addresses a specific applied research problem, which serves as an input for the design of the TFM.

• Social research paradigms and methodologies

• Planning and designing a social research project.

• Social research methods: case studies, biographical and ethnographic perspectives, and action research.

• Qualitative and quantitative techniques for data collection, systematization, and analysis.

• Network analysis tools in community action

Learning activities and methodology

Title	Hours	ECTS
Type: Autonomous
Readings, information research, observations, review and/or creation of written, didactic and audiovisual materials, reflections and personal notes, redactions, among others.	80	3.2
Type: Guided
Master classes, discussions, readings.	30	1.2
Type: Supervised
Theoretical-conceptual and practical application exercises	20	0.8

The methodology will focus on student learning, promoting active participation. There will be lectures and classroom exercises that may involve content integration and analysis, as well as recreational and/or educational activities.

Students may be given instructions for activities to be completed prior to class, such as readings, reviewing audiovisual material, observing social reality, interviews, or conversations with relevant actors, among others.

Completing these preliminary exercises, combined with the content of each session, will allow for questions, open debate, and shared reflection during the classes.

Individual or group activities will be encouraged, depending on the profile of the students and the dynamics of the group they form.

Students have access to spaces in the center where classes are held to promote exchange and shared reflection when carrying out their work.

Note: 15 minutes of each class, within the calendar established by the center/degree program, will be reserved for students to complete the evaluation surveys on the performance of the teaching staff and the evaluation of the subject/module.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title	Weight	Hours	ECTS	Learning outcomes
Exercises during the course	40%	5	0.2	CA08, KA08, SA07
Final Exercis TFM Design	60%	15	0.6	CA07, CA08, KA07, KA08, SA07, SA08

The assessment system will consist of a minimum of two assessment activities. During the course, students may complete assessment assignments in class or between classes. At the end of the course, students will be required to submit a final project that addresses all the content and learning topics covered. These projects may be individual or group, written, verbal presentations, or other assignments, depending on the decision of the professor in charge.

The grade for the projects will be determined by the level of coherence in the reasoning of the answers based on: the content presented in class, supplementary materials (readings/audiovisuals), and the discussions generated in class. Prior to each assessment, students will be informed of the criteria under which their work will be assessed and the corresponding grade will be assigned.

The commission of any irregularity in an assessment (academic fraud, plagiarism or improper use of AI, unless such use is expressly authorised in the course guide), which may lead to a significant change in the grade, will result in that attempt being marked with a 0. If the course guide stipulates that obtaining a minimum mark in this assessment is a prerequisite for passing the module, or if multiple irregularities occur in the assessments for the same module, the final mark for that module will be 0. In addition, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against any student who commits any of these irregularities.

Bibliography

Berrocal, S. A. (1994). Análisis comparativo de tres paradigmas de las ciencias sociales. Estudios, (11), 50-59. Coller, X. (2000). Estudio de casos (Vol. 30, p. 29). Madrid: Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas. •

Della Porta, D., & Keating, M. (Eds.). (2013). Enfoques y metodologías en las Ciencias Sociales: Una perspectiva pluralista (Vol. 343). Ediciones Akal.

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2012). Manual de investigación cualitativa (Vol. 1, pp. 43-102). Barcelona: Gedisa.

Flick, U. (2015). El diseño de Investigación Cualitativa. Madrid: Morata.

Flyvbjerg, B. (2004). Cinco malentendidos acerca de la investigación mediante los estudios de caso. Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas (REIS), 106(1), 33-62.

Hernández Carrera, R. M. (2014). La investigación cualitativa a través de entrevistas: su análisis mediante la teoría fundamentada. Cuestiones Pedagógicas. Revista De Ciencias De La Educación, (23), 187–210.

Martínez Martínez, L. M., Biglia, B., Luxán, M., Fernández, C., Azpiazu Carballo, J., & Bonet Martí, J. (2014). Experiencias de investigación feminista: propuestas y reflexiones metodológicas. Athenea Digital: Revista de pensamiento e investigación social.

Maya Jariego, I. (2016). 7 usos del análisis de redes en la intervención comunitaria. Redes. Revista hispana para el análisis de redes sociales, 27(2)

Olabuénaga Ruiz, J. (2012). Metodología de la investigación cualitativa. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto.

Penagos, R. Á., Becerra, A. J., & Carrillo, A. T. (2004). La práctica investigativa en ciencias sociales. U. Pedagógica Nacional

Ragin, C. C. (2007). La construcción de la investigación social: Introducción a los Métodos y a su Diversidad.

Sánchez Gómez, M. C. (2015). La dicotomía cualitativo-cuantitativo: posibilidades de integración y diseños mixtos.

Sartori, G. (2002). La política lógica y método en las Ciencias Sociales.

López-Roldán, P. y Fachelli, S. (2015). Metodología de la investigación cuantitativa. Barcelona: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Torres-Rodríguez, A. A., & Monroy-Muñoz, J. I. (2020). El problema de la definición del Problema de Investigación. Boletín Científico De La Escuela Superior Atotonilco De Tula, 7(13), 10-15

Zamora, L. R. V. (2019). Enfoques y diseños de investigación social: cuantitativos, cualitativos y mixtos. Educación Superior, 18(27), 96-99.

Software

No software is required.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching	Group	Language	Semester	Shift
(TEm) Theory (master)	1	Spanish	first semester	afternoon