Research Methods for the Social Sciences, Certificate

Certificate in Research Methods for the Social Sciences (385000C)

Program Contact
Dr. Lia Wiley
Associate Professor of Instruction, Sociology
330-972-7951
lmc73@uakron.edu

The following information has official approval of the Department of Sociology and the Buchtel College of Arts & Sciences, but is intended only as a guide. Completion of this certificate is contingent upon many factors, including but not limited to: class availability, total number of required credits, work schedule, finances, family, course drops/withdrawals, successfully passing courses, prerequisites, among others.

The following courses constitute a “Certificate in Research Methods for the Social Sciences” and must be completed with a minimum grade point average of 2.0 overall for the certificate to be noted on the student’s record. To satisfy the requirements for the certificate, a student must complete a minimum of 15 semester credits, including two core courses, two complementary courses and the RMSS Pro-seminar.

Summary

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Complete the following areas for a minimum of 15 credits:		15
Core Requirements
Complementary Interdisciplinary Courses
Total Hours		15

Core Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Core Requirement I
Select one of the following: ¹		2-4
EMHS:340	Disaster Research Methods
ANTH:400	Introduction to Anthropological Data
GEOG:481	Research Methods in Geography & Planning
HIST:310	Historical Methods
POLIT:301	Introduction to Political Research
PSYC:220	Introduction to Experimental Psychology
SOCIO:301	Social Research Design
MKTG:335	Marketing Research
COMM:384	Communication Research
NURS:435	Evidence Based Practice in Nursing
Core Requirement II
SOCIO:365	Special Topics in Sociology ²	1-4
or ANTH:460	Field Methods in Cultural Anthropology
Core Requirement III
SOCIO:470	Research Methods for the Social Sciences Pro-seminar ³	3
Total Hours		6-11

Complementary Interdisciplinary Courses

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Select 6 credits from at least two different groups:		6
Group 1: Philosophy
PHIL:426	Phenomenology
PHIL:464	Philosophy of Science
Group 2: English
ENGL:479	Management Reports
ENGL:489	Seminar in English
Group 3: Statistics and Sociology
STAT:462	Applied Regression and ANOVA
STAT:465	Design of Sample Surveys
SOCIO:302	Data Analysis
Total Hours		6

Students can apply the methods course taken in their major discipline to the certificate or choose to take a course in another discipline. Students choosing a course in another discipline should be advised that there may be prerequisites for the class in that department.

Students must select a research based topic.

SOCIO:470 Research Methods for the Social Sciences Pro-seminar will be the final course for students completing the Certificate program in Research Methods. Students will demonstrate their ability to apply the research methods they have learned from conceptualization, design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation. The seminar will be offered in Sociology and Anthropology on a rotating basis.