701-0729-01L  Applied Empirical Research

SemesterSpring Semester 2017
LecturersI. Günther, L. Metzger
Periodicityyearly recurring course
Language of instructionEnglish
CommentNumber of participants is limited to 30 for both courses 701-0729-01L and 860-0019-00L.

Priority is given to students of the study programmes Environmental Sciences and Science, Technologies and Policy. Enrollment is possible until February 6th, 2017. The registration will only be effective once confirmed.

Students of the study programme Environmental Sciences can only enroll for 701-0729-01L, but not for 860-0019-00L.


AbstractThe course provides an overview of the various methodological approaches in empirical social research and covers the different stages of the research process. Acquired skills are applied in a research project on the topic of "environmental behavior" or "development policy".
ObjectiveUpon completion of the course, students should be familiar with:
(1) The basic principles behind different empirical social-research methods and the conditions under which their use is appropriate
(2) The steps involved in an empirical study
(3) The application of empirical research methods to a research project
ContentEmpirical social research employs a wide variety of research methods, such as surveys or laboratory and non-reactive field experiments. The course will begin with an overview of the various methodological approaches, including their advantages and disadvantages and the conditions under which their use is appropriate. It will continue with a discussion of the different stages of the research process, including hypothesis generation, formulating a research plan, measurement, sampling, data collection and data analysis. This knowledge will be applied to conducting a research project on a suitable topic.
LiteratureBryman, A. (2008). Social Research Methods (3rd ed.). Oxford: University Press.
Diekmann, A. (2007). Empirische Sozialforschung (18. Aufl.). Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt.
Prerequisites / NoticeBasic knowledge in applied statistics. Students enrolling in this course should be able to conduct descriptive statistics and simple linear regressions with R, STATA or a similar program.