Ricerca sociale: disegni, metodi e tecniche

A.Y. 2025/2026
9
Max ECTS
60
Overall hours
SSD
SPS/07
Language
Italian
Learning objectives
Undefined
Expected learning outcomes
Undefined
Single course

This course can be attended as a single course.

Course syllabus and organization

Single session

Responsible
Lesson period
Third trimester
Course syllabus
The program covers the following topics:

1. Social research and public administration
2. Research questions and research designs
3. Quantitative research and qualitative research: two different approaches
4. Quantitative research: sampling surveys, experiments and quasi-experiments, secondary analysis
5. Qualitative research: participant observation, discursive interview, focus groups
6. Mixed methods
7. Big data, open data, and digital methods
8. Lab session: group presentations, guided classroom discussions, secondary analysis of survey data (ESS, EVS, ISSP,...)
Prerequisites for admission
There are no specific prerequisites other than those required for admission to the degree program.
Teaching methods
The course includes:
· Frontal lectures
· In-depth activities in small groups and classroom presentations
· Guided discussions in the classroom
Attendance at lectures is not mandatory, but due to the theoretical and practical nature of the course, it is strongly recommended.
Teaching Resources
NOT ATTENDEES
For the first and second parts of the course, the reference texts are:
P. Corbetta,2014, La ricerca sociale: metodologia e tecniche. Vol. II. Le tecniche quantitative, il Mulino (chapters.1,2,3,4,6).
M. Cardano, F. Ortalda, 2021, Studiare l'interazione. Metodi quantitativi, qualitativi e misti, UTET (chapters. 1,7,8,9, 10,12,13,14 and section. 3.4 )

Students could also refer to this English text
Corbetta, Piergiorgio. Social Research : Theory, Methods and Techniques. London Sage, 2003.

For the third part of the course, students are required to read two articles of their choice from the following pairs (or from other articles in English suggested during the lessons):


1. Piro, V., & Sanò, G. (2019). Etnografia del lavoro a giornata nelle serre siciliane/Work bodies. Ethnography of day labor in Sicilian greenhouses. Cartografie sociali. Rivista semestrale di sociologia e scienze umane, 1(7).
2. Cannito, M., Falzea, L., & Torrioni, P. M. (2022). La socializzazione al genere nelle famiglie italiane: figurazioni e pratiche. Quaderni di Sociologia, (89-XLVI), 109-131.

1. Romito, Marco. "Provenienze sociali e orientamento scolastico. L'«accompagnamento alla scelta» della scuola superiore." Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa 7, no. 3 (2014): 481-504.
2. Abbiati, G., Argentin, G., Assirelli, G., Barone, C., & Schizzerotto, A. (2017). Orientamento educativo e disuguaglianze di fronte all'istruzione universitaria in Italia: Risultati da un esperimento randomizzato. Quaderni di Sociologia, (74), 7-31.

1. Vitullo, A., Gerosa, T., Losi, L., & Gui, M. (2021). Connessione permanente e disuguaglianza digitale: un'analisi sui divari tra studenti nativi e con status migratorio. Polis, 36(2), 209-240.
2. Frisina, A. (2014). Negoziare l'Alterita'. Focus group e processi di significazione delle immagini tra giovani autoctoni/ee figli/e delle migrazioni in Veneto. Rassegna italiana di sociologia, 55(3), 575-598.

1. Tipaldo, G., Carriero, R., Bruno, F., Pasquettaz, G., & Rocutto, S. (2020). Parlare della pandemia su Facebook: un'analisi comparata del contenuto su dati generati dagli utenti a Bergamo, Milano e Padova. Sociologia Italiana—AIS Journal of Sociology, 16, 141-164.
2. Dotti Sani, G. M. (2021). L'emergenza sanitaria da COVID-19 e la divisione del lavoro domestico e di cura. In Le donne in Italia durante la pandemia: politiche sociali e prospettive future (pp. 21-28). Osservatorio Internazionale per la Coesione e l'Inclusione Sociale.

ATTENDEES
P. Corbetta,2014, La ricerca sociale: metodologia e tecniche. Vol. II. Le tecniche quantitative, il Mulino (chapters.1,2,3,4,6).
M. Cardano, F. Ortalda, 2021, Studiare l'interazione. Metodi quantitativi, qualitativi e misti, UTET (chapters. 1,7,8,9, 10,12,13,14 and section. 3.4 )
Further materials will be done by the teacher for group discussion and lab practical session (classroom activities)
Assessment methods and Criteria
The examination methods consist of a final written exam, which will be scored on a scale of thirty. The written test aims to:

· Assess the achievement of the objectives in terms of knowledge and understanding of the topics covered in the course.
· Evaluate the ability to apply methodological knowledge properly.

The exam consists of a 50-minute written test structured as follows:
· A section with 20 closed-ended multiple-choice questions (worth 23 points/30).
· 1 open-ended question (worth 10 points/30).

Attending students will have the opportunity to participate in two intermediate assessments:
· Around 2/3 of the course duration: a written test with 20 closed-ended multiple-choice questions (worth 23 points).
· At the end of the course: an oral exam, where the student can present an individual project (designing a research plan based on the case studies discussed and presented in groups during the course).

To obtain the final grade, attending students who choose to participate in the intermediate assessments must pass both tests.

Upon successful completion of the exam, 9 credits will be awarded.
SPS/07 - GENERAL SOCIOLOGY - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor: Guglielmi Simona
Professor(s)