Information on individual educational components (ECTS-Course descriptions) per semester

Communicative and social competence, autonomy, basic knowledge in statistics (central and spread measures)

SDG 3 - human well-being and SDG 16 - peaceable societies

The prerequisite for attending this course is the willingness to carry out the project started in the summer semester over two semesters with 6 ECTS credits each and to complete it in the winter semester. If the student is unsuccessful, the Contextual Studies will be continued in the winter semester outside the course.

The continuation of the research project as part of a Master's thesis is strived. The aim is to publish the research results in the form of a publication, a research report, a conference paper, a video or similar.

Due to the required prerequisites, students are not entitled to admission to the course.

Scientific positions, qualitative and quantitative methods of social research, research design, research planning.

General learning outcomes of research projects:

• Students produce a scientific paper by developing, independently working on and answering a research question.
• Students know the cornerstones and milestones of a research project (research question and objectives, theses, falsification, experiments, quality criteria, etc.).
• Depending on the research centre or group, students learn about different research methods - from qualitative/quantitative methods, understanding and operating programmes and production facilities to the use of specific IT tools, etc.
• Students can integrate relevant aspects of research ethics and data protection into research projects.
• Students can present research content in the context of team meetings, events or publications.
• Students know their expertise and passion for research and are aware of their next steps in deepening their research expertise, including PhD options.
• Students know elements of interdisciplinary collaboration.

Specific learning outcomes of research projects:

Students familiarise themselves with aspects of current research projects in the Empirical Social Sciences Research Group.

The detailed, scientific learning outcomes are agreed and documented individually with the students before the start of the course as part of the formulation of their research questions.

During two consecutive semesters students

• participate in a research project which is organised in the form of a research camp abroad in the summer semester,
• acquire and improve their competencies of theoretical and methodological know-how of social science research on the basis of a real example,
• define individual learning and working aims in cooperation with the coach,
• plan the application of social science research methods,
• depending on work status realise first surveys, which they continue during the next semester.

Second semester of a two semester lasting research training inside the Research Group Empirical Social Sciences for one student with previous application and selection. Method: guided self learning, realisation of a social science study.

Level of defined learning and working targets with reference to previous knowledge of the student - documentation of learning outcome and project realisation.

The course "Research Project: Social Sciences" in the winter semester is the continuation of the course of the same name from the summer semester. 

Examples for possible projects are in the miscellany: Fredersdorf, Frederic (Ed.) (2015): Anwendungsorientierte Sozial- und Sozialarbeitsforschung in Vorarlberg. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Wiesbaden.

Further readings:

Atteslander, A. (132010): Methoden der empirischen Sozialforschung. ESV. Berlin

Diekmann, A. (42007): Empirische Sozialforschung - Grundlagen, Methoden, Anwendungen. Rowohlt. Reinbek

Hug, T. & Pospeschill, M. (2010): Empirisch forschen. UTB. München u.a.

Lamnek, S. & Krell, C. (62016): Qualitative Sozialforschung: Mit Online-Materialien. Beltz. Weinheim

Pospeschill, M. (2010): Testtheorie, Testkonstruktion, Testevaluation. UTB. München u.a.

• self-organised learning and independent work according to the standards of the respective research unit
• collaboration and presence in the team and participation in working groups
• coaching and guidance
• experiments, field research, laboratory work, etc.
• moderation and presentation techniques
• project completion in the form of an in-house public presentation, publication, research report, poster, video, etc.