Duration
60h Th, 30h Pr
Number of credits
| Master in sociology, research focus | 12 crédits | |||
| Master in sociology, teaching focus | 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.
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 in the Applied Research Seminar start with the elucidation of an intervention request presented in the first session of the Seminar.
The subsequent stages consist of :
1. Precise reformulation, with an operational focus, of the request made by the client;
2. listing the individual, collective and/or institutional players concerned by the request for assistance;
3. identify the initial dimensions of the request for assistance. On the basis of a careful and critical reading of the information they have been provided with, the students must also determine whether additional information needs to be gathered to ensure that they have a good understanding of the problem.
Each student writes a summary note setting out the wording of the request for intervention, the data deemed relevant and present in the file, the missing data, the reasons for collecting it and the source from which it can be obtained.
These individual summary notes are then discussed and debated as a class.
As well as gathering additional data, the students are asked to carry out documentary research on the media treatment of the social issue in question (press articles, reports, testimonials, accounts of experiences, etc.) and to conduct 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 the course of several sessions, culminating in an initial collective output: a file presenting the major issue underlying the request for assistance. If several issues were identified, they would then have to be ranked in order of importance and the reasons for this ranking would have to be given.
This file must be completed by 16 December 2024 at the latest. It will be submitted to a panel of judges made up of the person commissioning the research and professionals chosen for their expertise in the field under investigation.
The second part of the Applied Research Seminar, after the January examination session, consists of students working together to develop and implement an investigative approach and writing a report presenting their response to the request made to them at the start of the seminar.
The analysis report - consisting of two parts - is written collectively and submitted to a panel of judges made up of the sponsors and professionals chosen for their expertise in the field under investigation. After the 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 approaches implemented during the Applied 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 teacher in charge of the Applied 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.
Course materials and 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
Written work / report
Further information:
Written work / report
Please note! A mark of serious inadequacy is awarded to students who do not take part in work sessions and/or do not complete any of the individual assignments required. Absences must be limited (no more than two) and duly justified.
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).
Out of 20 pts: Writing a reflective practice note (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.
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 Applied 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
04 366 35 03
Bureau 1.90, Faculté des Sciences Sociales, Bât. B31, Sart Tilman