SS5302 Research Methods in Social Sciences
Semester A 2025- 26
Yeung LT401 (for Lecture) and other venues for SPSS 19:00 – 21:50, Tuesday
Wing Chung Ho 何榮宗 Associate Professor wingcho@city u.edu.hk; Li 5662, 3442
- 8134
Chau Kiu (Jacky) Cheung 張宙橋 Associate Professor ssjacky@city u.edu.hkl Li 5667, 3442- 8144
Office hours: by appointment
1. Course Aims
This course aims to introduce basic research methods in social sciences, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and their application in social science issues.
The course will cover research strategies and designs, practical issues in quantitative and qualitative methods, and research ethics and values.
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
1) demonstrate a thorough understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods in social sciences and their application in different research settings;
2) identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of different research methods in social research;
3) design a correlational study on a social science topic; and
4) comment critically on selected qualitative and quantitative studies.
2. Teaching and Learning
The course contains lectures and data analysis exercises. You are expected to spend
time digesting the lecture materials and working on research project (qualitative) and
SPSS exercise (quantitative) . You are encouraged to schedule individual or group
consultation with the instructors on the progress of coursework, especially the research project and SPSS exercise. The course will be very useful for you to do rigorous
qualitative and quantitative research in social sciences.
We will post announcements and lecture notes on the course webpage in Canvas (you can login to Canvas via https://canvas.city u.edu.hk/login/ldap using your Electronic ID and Password) . Most readings listed in this syllabus are reserved in our university library.
Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong KongPage 1
Please finish the readings, including reading materials of the handouts, before class.
3. Assessment
1) Fieldwork Notes (qualitative) 20%
2) End- of- term Q uiz (qualitative) 40%
3) SPSS Exercise (quantitative) 40%
100%
Deliverables:
1) Fieldwork Notes (qualitative, for the method of photovoice) (20%)
Fieldwork Notes include three parts: i) 3 photos, ii) 3 audial files for each photo
(each audial file must at least last for 1.5 minutes) , and iii) transcription of each
audial file in word format (at the beginning of the transcription, you must give the following information: student no., gender, year of birth, place of birth, length of residence in Hong Kong, and name of the community (if appropriate) . All these
parts (photos+audial files+transcription word files) must be uploaded to Canvas. Any deviation from the above requirements will be conducive to mark loss.
Two research topics are allowed for taking photos:
1. My (most impressive) experience of studying at City University of Hong Kong?
2. My (most impressive) experience of living in my community (one community for three photos) ?
2) Q uiz (qualitative) (40%)
Location: Lecture room
Materials: Closed book (no internet access, no external tools like Chat GPT, Deep Seek, etc.)
Structure:
Part 1: Multiple Choice Q uestions (60%)
Focus on:
- Contents from PowerPoint presentations
- Matters discussed in lectures
- Q uestions derived from the assigned readings in this outline (qualitative aspects)
Part 2: Short Answer Q uestions (40%)
Aim to assess the student ’s understanding of:
- The nature of qualitative data
- The use of real qualitative data (based on the Fieldwork Note submitted) to understand a social phenomenon
More details will be provided in Week 13.
3) SPSS Exercise Assignments (40%)
Each student needs to apply SPSS to compile a coherent and meaningful report due on Dec 8. The report needs to apply 5 SPSS procedures taught in this course to address a research question based on a common dataset. This report needs to include a literature review section (20%) , a method section (10%) , results section (50%) , and a discussion section (20%) . Good description, justification, referencing, and formatting are necessary. The report will have 1, 500 words in the main text, submitted in a single- line spacing Word file.