Universität Wien

230143 SE Social Science Research Methods in STS (2014W)

8.00 ECTS (3.00 SWS), SPL 23 - Soziologie
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

(21.1.: alternative date)

  • Wednesday 01.10. 11:00 - 13:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien (Kickoff Class)
  • Wednesday 08.10. 09:30 - 11:30 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 15.10. 09:30 - 11:30 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 22.10. 09:30 - 11:30 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 29.10. 09:30 - 11:30 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 05.11. 09:30 - 11:30 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 12.11. 09:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 19.11. 09:30 - 11:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 26.11. 09:30 - 11:30 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 10.12. 09:30 - 11:30 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Friday 12.12. 09:30 - 11:30 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 17.12. 09:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 07.01. 09:30 - 11:30 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 14.01. 09:30 - 11:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 21.01. 09:00 - 12:30 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Tuesday 27.01. 09:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Thursday 29.01. 09:30 - 13:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In common understanding, research methods are the tools social scientists employ to study, represent and understand the social world. Picking the right method to study a research question is crucial for doing successful research, and requires in depth knowledge of the different tools available, and of their possibilities and limits. However, particularly for STS scholars, using and developing methods needs to involve more than just finding the right tool for the job. One of the most central goals of STS is to study how sciences and their methods construct the way we understand and act upon the world, and the political consequences this has. Representing ‘social realities’ thus always also means to perform them and to intervene in them. Also, other than many other approaches in the social sciences, STS does not assume that ‘the social’ is necessarily a separate domain which may be studied apart from other (e.g. material) aspects of reality. Hence, a central challenge for STSers is to reflect on the performativity of method, that is on how our use of methods impinges on how we account for our objects of inquiry and which versions of reality are foregrounded and which are rendered invisible by particular ways of describing the social. As such, learning how to do methods in STS always also entails working on one’s own reflexive capacities and epistemological positions. Focussing on methods of qualitative research, this course will give students the opportunity to gain an overview of some of the main tools available to social scientists, to discuss how STS scholars have applied these tools, to critically evaluate the possibilities and limits of these approaches, and also to gather some very first experiences in applying them.

Assessment and permitted materials

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Examination topics

Reading list

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 27.07.2026 11:09