Social research methods

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Aims and scope: 

This course introduces students to the basic ingredients of modern social science research, with an emphasis on methods commonly employed in studies of development. In the process we will briefly cover quantitative and qualitative methods of investigation, including basic data collection and analysis, sampling and surveying, ethnographic methods and participant observation. Where appropriate, other aspects of development research such as those relating to gender and ethical issues will be considered.

Indicative reading: 

R Ramanathan, Introductory Econometrics with Applications; A Deaton, The Analysis of Household Surveys: A Microeconomic Approach to Development Policy; B Pratt & P Loizos, Choosing Research Methods: Data Collection for Development Workers; M Bulmer & D P Warwick (Ed), Social Research in Developing Countries: Surveys and Censuses in the Third World; S Devereux & J Hoddinott (Eds), Fieldwork in Developing Countries; R Ellen (Ed), Ethnographic Research: A Guide to General Practice; M Agar, The Professional Stranger: An Informal Introduction to Ethnography; P Bardhan (Ed), Conversations between Economists and Anthropologists: Methodological Issues in Measuring Economic Change in Rural India.

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