Logic of Social Inquiry

Aim

After completion of the course, the student should at an advanced level be able to:

• describe and critically examine common modes of social inquiry used within the social sciences;
• appraise the role of micro-level social processes in explanations of macro-level outcomes, and critique explanations of macro outcomes on this basis;
• critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of computational social science as compared to other approaches to social research, relating computational approaches to micro- and macro-levels of analysis;
• identify and formulate research questions that can be answered with the tools of computational social science;
• critically analyse and integrate knowledge gained through readings and discussions, and express this knowledge in class and in writing,
• describe the ethical principles regarding the production and presentation of original social research;
• account for and apply the rules for the treatment of academic references and the principles of source criticism.

Content

This course provides an advanced introduction to the logic of inquiry and research design in the social sciences. The readings cover issues ranging from the nature of scientific explanations and causal inquiry to the variety of research methodologies available to social scientists. After introducing and critically examining the most important modes of social inquiry currently in practice, the course focuses on computational social science, its defining characteristics, and how computational approaches can improve our understanding of the complex social processes through which macro-level social outcomes are brought about, and by which they can be explained.