Duration
60h Th, 30h Pr
Number of credits
| Master in sociology (120 ECTS) | 12 crédits | |||
| Extra courses intended for exchange students (Erasmus, ...) (Faculty of social sciences) | 12 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
All year long, with partial in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The training provided in the Applied Research Seminar course consists of an introduction to the profession of sociology, or at least to one of its facets: support for decision-making - whether by political or institutional leaders, the management of social organizations, agencies active in social or environmental matters, etc. - through the collection and analysis of original data. - through the collection and analysis of original data. Students will be asked to:
1. analyze collectively a request for intervention formulated by the sponsor during the first session of the seminar, then reformulate this request in a sociological perspective;
2. to list the different actors concerned by the object of the request (institutions, collective and individual actors,...) and to collect the legal, regulatory, administrative data,... which frame this object;
3. to collect a corpus of press articles, reports, accounts, testimonies,... in order to identify the media treatment of the social fact which is at the heart of the request for intervention;
4. to translate the request formulated by the client into a sociological problem, to conceive the methodology of information collection intended to meet the request, to process the collected information;
5. write a report presenting their response to the problem submitted to them and mobilizing their expertise.
The problem selected is taken from a real situation, but it is adapted to the needs of the training: its scope remains limited and the elements that are too technical will be removed.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of the course, students must be able to integrate the remarks, comments, suggestions and/or questions formulated by a panel of professionals (graduates in sociology or social sciences) with expertise in the subjects concerned by the problem investigated, into a personal dossier that presents a plan or outline of intervention intended for the sponsor met during the first session of the Applied Research Seminar.
This personal portfolio is an improved version of an initial portfolio that was written collegially, based on reflections from the analysis of original data and scientific research.
Students must also be able to reflectively reflect on the approach taken in order to identify and correct errors ("reflective practices").
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Sociology course: major paradigms (see in particular the Evolution of Sociological Thought course). Courses in methodology (principles of social science research), investigation techniques (qualitative approaches, observation) and data analysis (qualitative material).
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The learning activities of the Applied Research Seminar are supervised by the four coordinating teachers.
The learning activities of the Applied Research Seminar start with the elucidation of a request for intervention presented in the first session of the Seminar.
The next steps involve :
Precise, operational reformulation of the client's request;
list the individual, collective and/or institutional players concerned by the request for intervention;
identify the initial dimensions of the request for intervention. Based on a careful and critical reading of the information they have been provided with, students must also determine whether additional information needs to be gathered before ensuring a good understanding of the problem.
Each student draws up a summary note setting out the wording of the request for intervention, the data deemed relevant and present in the file, any missing data, the reasons justifying their collection and the source from which they can be obtained.
These individual summary notes are then discussed and debated collectively.
In parallel with this additional data-gathering work, students are asked to carry out documentary research on media coverage of the social issue in question (press articles, reports, testimonials, accounts of experiences, etc.) and bibliographical research on the issue in question.
They are also invited to conduct exploratory interviews with experts or professionals dealing with the issue in question.
In parallel with this additional data collection, students are asked to carry out documentary research on media coverage of the social issue in question (press articles, reports, testimonials, accounts of experiences, etc.) and bibliographical research on the issue in question.
They are also invited to conduct exploratory interviews with experts or professionals dealing with the issue.
The data collected is worked on over several sessions, culminating in a first collective production: a file presenting the major issue underlying the request for intervention. If several issues are identified, they must be ranked in order of importance, and the ranking must be justified.
This file must be completed by December 15 at the latest. It is submitted to a panel of judges made up of the research sponsor and professionals chosen for their expertise in the field under investigation.
The second part of the Research Seminar, after the January examination session, consists in the collegial elaboration of an investigative approach, its implementation and the drafting of a report presenting the response to the request addressed to them at the start of the seminar.
The analysis report - consisting of two parts - is written collectively and submitted to a jury made up of the sponsors and professionals chosen for their expertise in the field under investigation. After presentation to the jury, the students receive feedback in the form of comments, questions and criticisms. Each student must then decide which of these comments, questions and criticisms should be incorporated into a final version of the dossier: each student individually writes a corrected, amended or completed intervention plan, as well as a personal reflective analysis report on all the steps taken during the Research Seminar. The aim is to review the various stages of the research, assessing the relevance, effectiveness and validity of the methodological and theoretical choices made.
These two files (corrected intervention plan and reflective practices) are presented and discussed during a final interview with the teachers in charge of the Research Seminar.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Additional information:
The Applied Research Seminar is organized in the form of practical (field) work sessions and sessions of reflection and collegial analysis of data provided by the teachers and data collected by the students.
Attendance at the various sessions and fieldwork is mandatory, given the approach used. Absences must be duly justified. In case of repeated unjustified absences (more than two unjustified absences), the student's performance will be sanctioned by a serious deficiency.
Recommended or required readings
A folder with the presentation of the problem will be provided to students. This folder will be the basis for the individual and collegial work .
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
- Remote
oral exam
Written work / report
Additional information:
Warning. A mark of serious deficiency will be given to students who have not taken part in the work sessions. Absences must be limited (no more than two absences) and duly justified to the teachers responsible for the Applied Research Seminar and/or the student has not completed any of the individual assignments required.
The performance of each student will be evaluated on the basis of a mark of 200 pts distributed as follows
Out of 20 pts: Writing of a personal file aiming at contextualizing the request for intervention.
Out of 20 pts: Writing of a synthetic note on the essential axes of the theoretical framework of reference.
Out of 60 pts: Collegial writing and presentation of a report analyzing the data collected.
Out of 60 pts: Writing of an improved analysis report (individual work).
Based on the file presented to the jury of expert professionals and the comments, questions, suggestions and/or requests for additions raised by this jury, each student writes an improved version of this report.
The corrected file and the reflective practice note are presented and discussed during a final individual interview between the student and the two teachers in charge of the Applied Research Seminar.
Work placement(s)
During the Applied Research Seminar, the students will meet with actors involved in the request for intervention formulated by the sponsor.
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
The smooth running of the Research Seminar requires the involvement of everyone during the sessions and outside of them, given the need to implement teamwork.
Contacts
Prof. Jean-François Guillaume :
Jean-Francois.Guillaume@uliege.be
Prof. Mohamed Nachi :
M.Nachi@uliege.be