SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS IN MANAGEMENT

The course presents the debate on methodology of social research and it tries to give evidence to potentialities, limits and applicability conditions of different social research approaches.
The focus will be on the relationship between decision process and information for discussing the characteristics of reliability concept. The course will present general rules of qualitative and quantitative research and of con-sensus method.

At the end of the course the students
- know the rules of social research method
- know the most important rules of social research techniques used in management processes
- are able designing and realizing a research based on questionnaire
- are able designing and realizing research based on interview
- are able designing and realizing a research based on con-sensus method
- are able justifying and communicating research choices

The students have to know the base of descriptive statistic

. Method and methodology
- the method as a path
- the relationship between reality, thought and language
- the concepts into the social research
- standard and non standard approaches

2. Social researh and decision making
- rational approach
- uncertainty, ambiguity and knoledge
- conceptual mapping, sense making and reliability

3. The cicle of quantitative research
- the rules of quantitative research
- the questionnaire
- the variables and the social indicators: the measurement scales
- introduction to questionnaire data analisys

4. The qualitative research
- the discursive interview
- the participant observation
- the focus group

5. Consensus method
- the path of the consensus method
- the analysis of the conceptual maps
- tha evaluation of items’s relevance

L. Bernardi (2005), Percorsi di ricerca sociale, Carocci, Roma
G. Bertin (2011) Consensus method, FrancoAngeli, Milano

The test will have six open questions about methodological issues of qualitative and quantiative research techniques
Attending students can present a short paper about the research tools designed

Students can use the course on-line for understanding the issues of methodology of research. The lessons will be dedicated to experiment the construction of research instruments
Attending students may choose to experience a process of social research in support of managerial decisions

Italian

Accessibility, Disability and Inclusion
Accommodation and support services for students with disabilities and students with specific learning impairments

Ca' Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.

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