Study Programmes 2016-2017
SOCI0089-1  
Research seminar
Duration :
20h Th
Number of credits :
Master in sociology (120 ECTS)9
Lecturer :
Collégialité, Jean-François Guillaume, Mohamed Nachi
Coordinator :
Jean-François Guillaume
Language(s) of instruction :
French language
Organisation and examination :
All year long, with partial in January
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents :
The training provided under the Research Seminar course aims to get students to practice the profession of research in sociology, from a collegial analysis of a "social problem", an "affair" raising polemics and controversies involving individual and collective actors. The challenge is to analyze the experience of these "public issues" by following the process of construction in public arenas.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit :
The main goal is to develop the following skills : 1 ) the ability to identify individual players , groups and / or institutions involved in the "social problem" or involved in the controversy , and the devices (rules, laws, decrees, regulations, codes,...) that frame the forms commitment and dynamic experiences that are at the heart of the construction of public problems ; 2) the ability to identify the origin and the issue of the public problem of "case" or controversy ; 3) the ability to formulate a research question ; 4) the ability to mobilize a suitable theoretical framework that makes intelligible the research question and the formulation of a problem ; 5) the ability to establish an investigative plan ; 6) the ability to collect information about a similar problem, with active stakeholders in the sectors concerned ; 7) the ability to write a short report of analysis and presentation of a response plan to a potential sponsor ; 8) the ability to perform a reflexive return on the approach adopted in order to detect errors and correct them ("reflective practice").
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
Fluency in French ; knowledge of Belgian institutional context is an asset.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
Learning Research Seminar activities will be supervised by a teaching team (two teachers-coordinators). The learning activities of the the "social problem" will be exposed in a folder that will be given to each student . Learning activities based on practical work (individual and collective reports), will be detailed in a paper to be delivered at the beginning of the seminar. The sessions will focus on exploitation of the documents sent to students and critical analysis of research proposals they have previously designed.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
Presence of students required during the sessions of the seminar. Exploitation of the file with the public issue and analysis of scientific articles . By trial and error approach through the design of a problem and the development of a methodological approach .
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 .
Assessment methods and criteria :
The evaluation is based on 4 individual work, 1 collegial work and 1 final individual work. The details of the marking (the distribution of points and the evaluation criteria ) will be specified in the dossier that will be given to each student at the beginning of the seminar.
The student who did not take part in the working sessions and/or did not achieve the individual works that are requested, will get an overall score of 7/20. Absences will be limited ( not more than a fifth of the organized sessions) and duly justified to teachers responsible for the research seminar.
 
Work placement(s) :
Organizational remarks :
Contacts :
Prof. Jean-François Guillaume :
Jean-Francois.Guillaume@ulg.ac.be
Prof. Mohamed Nachi :
M.Nachi@ulg.ac.be
Items online :
Complete file - 2016-2017 research seminar
Different file folders present the data to be used for individual and collective work.