Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2025 - SA 255 OL01

Introduction to Social Research (SA) (4)

Class Number: 4891

Delivery Method: Online

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Online

  • Prerequisites:

    SA 101 or 150.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Explores how sociologists and anthropologists investigate social relations and contexts. Students learn to develop research questions and turn them into research projects. Introduces data collection techniques and related ethical issues, the relationship between theory and research, and other fundamental concepts and issues involved in conducting qualitative and quantitative research. Quantitative.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course introduces students to designing and practicing social research in virtual and material worlds. Students deploy and refine a number of methods central to the three main paradigms of social research: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. These include visual methods, ethnography, video-conference interviews, survey research, statistics, mobile methods, and more. The course entails hands-on experience in adopting diverse methods while performing the fundamental activities of social research: creating good research questions; choosing good case studies and variables; measuring abstract concepts; reflecting on power relations while advancing decolonization in research; designing ethical research; collecting, analyzing and presenting data; triangulating qualitative data (e.g. interview data) with statistics (e.g. distributions of income and education for Vancouver); and evaluating research produced by others. By crossing the qualitative/ quantitative divide while conducting independent research projects, students gain essential skills for understanding and explaining the very nature and complexity of contemporary society. Some learning activities may require physical travel by vehicle, public transit, and feet (as public and personal safety allow). All course materials, including communications, will be delivered via CANVAS.


 

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Cognitive Affective Psychomotor
1. Differentiate the objectives and philosophies of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research  4. Compare and contrast fears, motivations and interest related to QUAL, QUANT and MM 7. Perform data collection in the F2F field and analysis for QUAL, QUANT, and MM research questions
2. Design research projects around questions appropriate for QUAL, QUANT, and MM 5. Participate in developing a community of practice for ethical social research  8. Perform data collection in the digital field and analysis for QUAL, QUANT, and MM research questions 
3. Use research methods to test, refine and generate theoretical understandings of social phenomena  6. Publicly justify mixed methods research  9. Triangulate QUAL and QUANT data and findings through a pragmatic approach to MM

Grading

  • Participation 15%
  • Methods Application Assignment I: Qual 15%
  • Methods Application Assignment II: Quant 15%
  • Methods Application Assignment III: Mixed Methods 20%
  • Final Mixed Methods Portfolio 35%

NOTES:

Grading: Where a final exam is scheduled and the student does not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, an N grade will be assigned. Unless otherwise specified on the course syllabus, all graded assignments for this course must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned. An N is considered as an F for the purposes of scholastic standing.

Grading System: The Undergraduate Course Grading System is as follows:

A+ (95-100) | A (90-94) | A- (85-89) | B+ (80-84) | B (75-79) | B- (70-74) | C+ (65-69) | C (60-64) | C- (55-59) | D (50-54) | F (0-49) | N*
*N standing to indicate the student did not complete course requirements

Academic Honesty and Student Conduct Policies: The Department of Sociology & Anthropology follows SFU policy in relation to grading practices, grade appeals (Policy T20.01), and academic honesty and student conduct procedures (S10‐S10.05). Unless otherwise informed by your instructor in writing, in graded written assignments you must cite the sources you rely on and include a bibliography/list of references, following an instructor-approved citation style. It is the responsibility of students to inform themselves of the content of SFU policies available on the SFU website.

Centre for Accessible Learning: Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need classroom or exam accommodations are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (1250 Maggie Benston Centre) as soon as possible to ensure that they are eligible and that approved accommodations and services are implemented in a timely fashion.

The Sociology and Anthropology Student Union, SASU, is a governing body of students who are engaged with the department and want to build the SA community. Get involved!  Follow Facebook and Instagram pages or visit our website.

REQUIREMENTS:

On CANVAS.

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

On CANVAS.

REQUIRED READING:

On CANVAS.

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.