The teaching aims to learn epistemological assumptions and some operational techniques of social research, introducing the foundations of scientific and sociological knowledge and analyzing the methodological alternatives of qualitative and quantitative empirical investigation.
teacher profile teaching materials
THE COURSE AIMS AT DEALING WITH FOUR MAIN SUBJECTS: A) THE GNOSEOLOGICAL AN EPISTEMOLOGICAL BASIS OF THE SOCIOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND ITS SOCIAL CONDITIONINGS; B) THE STANDARD RESEARCH APPROACH IN SOCIAL SCIENCES, THAT IS THE “METHOD OF THE ASSOCIATION”. IN THIS PHASE VARIOUS TOPICS WILL BE EXAMINED: E.G., SAMPLE, PROPERTY, OPERATIVE DEFINITION, VARIABLES, INDICATORS, ETC.; C) IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE QUALITATIVE SOCIAL RESEARCH TECHNIQUE, THE COURSE WILL IN PARTICULAR CONSIDER THE QUALITATIVE UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEW, THE ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN TEXTS AND EVERYDAY CONVERSATIONS, THE OBSERVATION, THE STUDY OF THE VISUAL DATA; D) SOME APPLICATIONS AND TECHNIQUES OF VISUAL RESEARCH IN SOCIOLOGY (E.G., THE VIDEO-RECORDING).
EDUCATIONAL GOALS:
The teaching aims to provide student with knowledge and skill to be able to orient himself in the landscape of the epistemological assumptions of social research, of the ways, conditioning and constraints of the knowledge of social reality, of the method and techniques used by different social research approaches, of the criticisms that can be levelled at the most widespread sociological research instruments, and of the possible available alternative options.
EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of the course, students:
- Have become acquainted with basic concepts and terminology of different sociological research approaches.
- Are able to orient themselves critically amongst the different research methodologies proposed by the sociology.
- Have increased their awareness of the constraints and of the forms of the sociological knowledge.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
FOR ANY FURTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING OFFICE CONSULTING HOURS FOR STUDENTS, OFFICE LOCATION, AND NEWS, PLEASE VISIT PROF. SPREAFICO ACADEMIC WEB PAGE ON THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://scienzeformazione.uniroma3.it/persone/QVRoTnk2K3NuL1Y3aDNjVWp0N3dweksvUm9uTXkrdHErQ1hnbDZTWUZFaz0=/ .
2) DAVID SILVERMAN, “MANUALE DI RICERCA SOCIALE E QUALITATIVA”, CAROCCI, ROME, 2008. ITALIAN EDITION BY GIAMPIETRO GOBO (CHAPTERS: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).
3) FRANCO CRESPI, “CONOSCENZA E SOCIETÀ”, CAROCCI, ROME, 2007 (all the text).
4) as an alternative:
or °ANDREA SPREAFICO, "TRACCE DI ' SE' ' E PRATICHE SOCIALI. UN CAMPO D'APPLICAZIONE PER UNA SOCIOLOGIA SITUATA E VISUALE DELLE INTERAZIONI INCARNATE", ARMANDO EDITORE, ROME, 2016 (all the text);
or °ANDREA SPREAFICO, MARINA CIAMPI, BARBARA PENTIMALLI and FRANCESCO SACCHETTI (EDS.) (2016), “SOCIOLOGIA, IMMAGINI E RICERCA VISUALE”, in “SOCIETÀMUTAMENTOPOLITICA. RIVISTA ITALIANA DI SOCIOLOGIA”, 7, 14 (from p. 1 to p. 314, except chapters by Sormani and Harper), available for free download at: https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/smp/issue/view/457 ;
or °FRANCESCO SACCHETTI and ANDREA SPREAFICO (EDS.), "DIMENSIONI VISUALI DELLA PRATICA SOCIOLOGICA", EDIZIONI ALTRAVISTA, BRONI-PAVIA, 2017 (all the text).
Programme
TEACHING PROGRAM:THE COURSE AIMS AT DEALING WITH FOUR MAIN SUBJECTS: A) THE GNOSEOLOGICAL AN EPISTEMOLOGICAL BASIS OF THE SOCIOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND ITS SOCIAL CONDITIONINGS; B) THE STANDARD RESEARCH APPROACH IN SOCIAL SCIENCES, THAT IS THE “METHOD OF THE ASSOCIATION”. IN THIS PHASE VARIOUS TOPICS WILL BE EXAMINED: E.G., SAMPLE, PROPERTY, OPERATIVE DEFINITION, VARIABLES, INDICATORS, ETC.; C) IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE QUALITATIVE SOCIAL RESEARCH TECHNIQUE, THE COURSE WILL IN PARTICULAR CONSIDER THE QUALITATIVE UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEW, THE ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN TEXTS AND EVERYDAY CONVERSATIONS, THE OBSERVATION, THE STUDY OF THE VISUAL DATA; D) SOME APPLICATIONS AND TECHNIQUES OF VISUAL RESEARCH IN SOCIOLOGY (E.G., THE VIDEO-RECORDING).
EDUCATIONAL GOALS:
The teaching aims to provide student with knowledge and skill to be able to orient himself in the landscape of the epistemological assumptions of social research, of the ways, conditioning and constraints of the knowledge of social reality, of the method and techniques used by different social research approaches, of the criticisms that can be levelled at the most widespread sociological research instruments, and of the possible available alternative options.
EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of the course, students:
- Have become acquainted with basic concepts and terminology of different sociological research approaches.
- Are able to orient themselves critically amongst the different research methodologies proposed by the sociology.
- Have increased their awareness of the constraints and of the forms of the sociological knowledge.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
FOR ANY FURTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING OFFICE CONSULTING HOURS FOR STUDENTS, OFFICE LOCATION, AND NEWS, PLEASE VISIT PROF. SPREAFICO ACADEMIC WEB PAGE ON THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://scienzeformazione.uniroma3.it/persone/QVRoTnk2K3NuL1Y3aDNjVWp0N3dweksvUm9uTXkrdHErQ1hnbDZTWUZFaz0=/ .
Core Documentation
1) ALBERTO MARRADI, “METODOLOGIA DELLE SCIENZE SOCIALI”, IL MULINO, BOLOGNA, 2007. EDITED BY RITA PAVSIC AND MARIA CONCETTA PITRONE (CHAPTERS: I, II, IV[PARAGRAPHS 3, 4 AND 5], V, VI, VII, VIII, X).2) DAVID SILVERMAN, “MANUALE DI RICERCA SOCIALE E QUALITATIVA”, CAROCCI, ROME, 2008. ITALIAN EDITION BY GIAMPIETRO GOBO (CHAPTERS: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).
3) FRANCO CRESPI, “CONOSCENZA E SOCIETÀ”, CAROCCI, ROME, 2007 (all the text).
4) as an alternative:
or °ANDREA SPREAFICO, "TRACCE DI ' SE' ' E PRATICHE SOCIALI. UN CAMPO D'APPLICAZIONE PER UNA SOCIOLOGIA SITUATA E VISUALE DELLE INTERAZIONI INCARNATE", ARMANDO EDITORE, ROME, 2016 (all the text);
or °ANDREA SPREAFICO, MARINA CIAMPI, BARBARA PENTIMALLI and FRANCESCO SACCHETTI (EDS.) (2016), “SOCIOLOGIA, IMMAGINI E RICERCA VISUALE”, in “SOCIETÀMUTAMENTOPOLITICA. RIVISTA ITALIANA DI SOCIOLOGIA”, 7, 14 (from p. 1 to p. 314, except chapters by Sormani and Harper), available for free download at: https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/smp/issue/view/457 ;
or °FRANCESCO SACCHETTI and ANDREA SPREAFICO (EDS.), "DIMENSIONI VISUALI DELLA PRATICA SOCIOLOGICA", EDIZIONI ALTRAVISTA, BRONI-PAVIA, 2017 (all the text).
Reference Bibliography
-Supplementary optional reading materials: - Harvey Sacks (Eds. Enrico Caniglia, Andrea Spreafico, Federico Zanettin) (2017), "Fare sociologia", Altravista, Broni (PV), series Teoria e ricerca sociale e politica. - Andrea Spreafico and Tommaso Visone, “Categorie, significati e contesti. Una questione rilevante per gli studi sull’uomo”, Mimesis, Milan, 2014. - Alberto Marradi (Ed.), "Oltre il complesso d'inferiorità. Un’epistemologia per le scienze sociali", Franco Angeli, Milan, 2016. - Alberto Marradi, "Tutti redigono questionari. Ma è davvero così facile?", Franco Angeli, Milan, 2019. - Piergiorgio Corbetta, “La ricerca sociale: metodologia e tecniche. Vol. I: I paradigmi di riferimento”, il Mulino, Bologna, 2015 (new edition). - Silvia Doria, “La sicurezza in costruzione. Etnografia di un cantiere: uno sguardo pratico sulla sicurezza sul lavoro”, Carocci, Rome, 2014. - Martyn Hammersley, “Il mito dell’evidence-based. Per un uso critico della ricerca sociale applicata”, Raffaello Cortina, Milan, 2016. - Max Weber, "La scienza come professione", Armando Editore, Rome, 2010. - Georges Perec, "Tentativo di esaurimento di un luogo parigino", Voland, Rome, 2011.Type of delivery of the course
-Teaching methods: THE COURSE CONSISTS OF CLASSROOM LECTURES. IN SOME OCCASIONS, EXPERTS IN A PARTICULAR TOPIC WILL BE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN LESSONS DEALING WITH A SPECIFIC SUBJECT, IN ORDER TO OFFER STUDENTS USEFUL IN-DEPTH TEACHING. The forms of some intermediate practice exercises and a test will be decided during the course.Attendance
-Teaching methods: THE COURSE CONSISTS OF CLASSROOM LECTURES. IN SOME OCCASIONS, EXPERTS IN A PARTICULAR TOPIC WILL BE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN LESSONS DEALING WITH A SPECIFIC SUBJECT, IN ORDER TO OFFER STUDENTS USEFUL IN-DEPTH TEACHING. The forms of some intermediate practice exercises and a test will be decided during the course.Type of evaluation
Final oral examination in scheduled summer, autumn and winter exam sessions. -Assessments: IN THE PRESENCE DURING THE LECTURES. FINAL ORAL EXAMINATIONS AT THE END OF THE COURSE WILL TAKE PLACE DURING PLANNED REGULAR SESSIONS IN JUNE-JULY, SEPTEMBER, JANUARY-FEBRUARY AND SO ON, IN THE DATES, HOURS AND LOCATIONS PUBLISHED ON GOMP. The forms of some intermediate practice exercises and a test will be decided during the course.