Selected Topics on Academic & Empirical Methods

level of course unit

Introduction and consolidation

Learning outcomes of course unit

A generally valid description of the acquired competences for the semester abroad cannot and should not be defined due to the large number of partner universities and the choices they offer, in order to guarantee freedom for students. The learning outcomes are based on the fundamentals and in-depth knowledge of the individual disciplines in the field of academic and empirical methods. The national credits are converted individually into ECTS points corresponding to performance where appro-priate.

As an example, the students have acquired the following competences:

The students are able to:
• Describe and apply relevant quantitative and qualitative academic methods in the subject area
• Select and independently apply tools and methods to support data collection and analysis.
• Illustrate and critically reflect on results in a comprehensible way

prerequisites and co-requisites

Academic and Empirical Methods (WIS.1)

course contents

Due to the large number of partner universities and the choice of academic and em-pirical methods they offer, a generally valid description of the course content for the semester abroad cannot and should not be defined in order to guarantee students freedom of choice. The content of the courses is oriented towards the fundamentals and in-depth knowledge of the individual disciplines in the field of academic and empirical methods.

As an example, this module has the following teaching contents:

• Qualitative and Quantitative Scientific Methods
o Questionnaire
o Interview
o Qualitative & quantitative content analysis
o Field & laboratory study (focus on experiment, A/B test & simulation)
• Tools and Examples
o Data collection
o Data analysis
o Visualization of the results
• Description and critical reflection of results

recommended or required reading

A generally valid description of the teaching content for the semester abroad cannot and should not be defined due to the large number of partner universities and the choices they offer, in order to guarantee freedom for students. Depending on the teaching content of the semester abroad at the partner universities, correspondingly adapted specialist literature is required.

As an example, this module is based on the following technical literature:

• Bortz, J. and N. Döring, 2006. Forschungsmethoden und Evaluation. Berlin: Springer
• Flick, U., E. Kardorff and I. Steinke, 2007. Qualitative Forschung. Rowohlts Enzyklo-pädie
• Lamnek, S., 2010. Qualitative Sozialforschung. Berlin: Beltz
• Przyborski, A. and M. Wohlrab-Sahr, 2010: Qualitative Sozialforschung. Munich: Oldenbourg