In relation to the cognitive objectives to be achieved as illustrated above, the course will address the basic themes of social research methodology.
Once this introductory part is exhausted we shall examine some of the main research techniques used within social sciences, such as:

1. the sample survey.
This method is characterized by the invariance of the enquiry to a selected sample of the population. The program will focus on how to design the research, to define the empirical variables that represent theoretical concepts (operationalization of variables), the construction of the questionnaire and the formulation of the questions, the sampling techniques, the organization of survey and data collection, and finally the different types of possible errors;
2. scaling techniques.
In particular we shall investigate the structure and usability of the following scales: Likert's scale, Guttman's scale, Osgood’s scale, sociometric test;
3. official statistics sources.
Often in sociology, second-level data is being produced by official sources such as Istat or Eurostat for statistical elaborations that are functional to the knowledge and deepening of social phenomena. The main operating instructions will then be provided for the use of such second level data;
4. participatory observation.
Among the "qualitative" techniques, the participatory observation is certainly one of the most popular ways of gathering information not only in anthropology, but also in sociology. During the lessons we will provide the main concepts and procedures to successfully conduct a participatory observation and how the collected quality data should be analyzed;
5. qualitative interviews.
The different types of interviews will be presented, from the structured interview to the biographical interview, the focus group. And how to conduct them.
Once we have illustrated the techniques described above, we will focus on qualitative data analysis in the phenomenological, in the symbolic interaction and in the grounded theory approaches.
6. nethnography.
This method is applied to understand social interaction in contemporary digital contexts.