Contents:

Students acquire an initial orientation, practical experience and knowledge related to:

• A basic understanding of what social science and sociology are,
• the diversity of sociological theories and research and their applications,
• the basic skills of studying,
• the techniques of working in the social sciences.

Core objective: Students are able to apply different perspectives in order to understand and explain complex social and interpersonal issues.

Final module examinations, academic achievements and proof of participation:

The preparatory course is a self-contained module and should be taken in the first semester.

Students are required to attend the lecture and the tutorial.  

Students receive a total of 10 credit points for the preparatory course.

Contents:

Lecture "Introduction to the methods of empirical social research":

• Importance of methods in sociology
• Overview of research designs and the research cycle
• Central concepts of methodology
• Important data collection methods (including various forms of survey and text analysis)
• Different yields of qualitative and quantitative methods
• Research ethics
• Exemplary application of empirical research methods in sociology

Lecture "Introduction to statistics in the social sciences"

• Comprehensive overview of common statistical methods and their application in the social sciences
• Measures for univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses
• Graphical representation of distributions
• Application and interpretation of correlation measures for variables with different scale levels
• Fundamentals of probability theory
•  Inferential statistical methods (confidence intervals, hypothesis testing)

Final module examinations, coursework and proof of participation:

Cumulative final module examination: One written examination (60 minutes) following each of the courses "Introduction to Methods of Empirical Social Research" and "Introduction to Statistics in the Social Sciences". 

The overall grade is made up of the average of both written examinations, each of which must be passed individually. The examinations can also be taken together in accordance with the above regulations.

The module is completed with a total of 13 credit points

Contents:

"Introduction to interpretative methods":

• Introduction to the basics, analytical goals and techniques of interpretative social research
• Differentiation between methodological individualism, situationism and holism in empirical research approaches

"Application of methods":

• Fitting empirical social research methods to the object of research
• Appropriateness of different research techniques (e.g. interview, questionnaire survey, field observation, etc.)
• Detailed presentation of a methodological technique, its basic conceptual foundation and its practical application

Final module examinations, coursework and proof of participation:

In one of the two seminars, students only provide proof of participation and receive 3 CP for this.

In the other seminar, students provide proof of attendance (3 CP) and a final module examination in the form of a written examination (120 minutes) or term paper (120 hours) (4 CP).

The module is completed with a total of 10 credit points.

• the different types and schools of sociological theorising and sub-disciplines of sociology,
• the structure and systematics of the distinctions macro/micro, action/system, individual/society.

Contents:

The students acquire knowledge related to 

• the different types and schools of sociological theory formation as well as sub-disciplines of sociology, 
• the structure and systematics of the distinctions macro/micro, action/system, individual/society.

Final module examinations, coursework and proof of participation:

In two of the three seminars, students only provide proof of participation and receive 3 CP for each.

In the other seminar, students provide proof of participation (3 CP) and a final module examination (4 CP).

The module is completed with a total of 13 credit points.

Contents:

Students acquire knowledge relating to

• the constitutional-theoretical justification of the opposition between society and the individual, 
  
• the historicity, social conditionality and formation of subjectivity, identity and biography, 
• the function and effect of socialising interactions and institutions as well as the subjective appropriation of social conditions, 
• the social conditionality of the socialisation phases of childhood and adolescence,
• the significance of interaction in the performative production and consolidation of social order as well as the connection between language, action and knowledge in its social functions and forms, 
• the dynamics of the production of social unconsciousness and its functions in stabilising social relations, 
• professionally related aspects of the topics, concepts and methods dealt with in the module. 

Final module examinations, coursework and proof of participation:

In two of the three seminars, students only provide proof of participation and receive 3 CP for each.
In the other seminar, students provide proof of participation (3 CP) and a final module examination (4 CP).
The module is completed with a total of 13 credit points.

The students acquire knowledge related to

• the social foundations of markets and their coordination, 
  
• theories of capitalism,
• the relationship between class and social inequality, 
• the forms, changes and regulations of social labour,
• the structure and dynamics of organisations, 
• the social embeddedness of the capitalist economy and the functioning of economic entities in a global context, 
• the analysis of socio-technical systems, 
• the interconnections of organisational, group and personal structures, 
• the relationship between production and reproduction, 
• methods of labour and technology research and organisational analysis, 
• methods of innovation and entrepreneurship research as well as comparative institutional analysis of markets, economic systems and cultures,
• occupation-related aspects of the topics, concepts and methods dealt with in the module. 

Final module examinations, academic achievements and proof of participation:

In two of the three seminars, students only provide proof of participation and receive 3 CP each.

In the other seminar, students provide proof of participation (3 CP) and a final module examination (4 CP).

The module is completed with a total of 13 credit points.

The students acquire an initial orientation and knowledge related to

• the different theories of the above-mentioned specialised fields as well as their history,
  
• the analysis of the social construction of gender and sexuality,
• the analysis of the social production of migration,
• the analysis of manifest and latent forms of social categorisation and their implications for the processes of social privilege and disadvantage,
• the identification of forms of the social production of difference(s) and their social negotiation,
• the identification of the interactions of different dimensions of difference (e.g. between "gender" and "ethnicity"),
• the analysis of the production, circulation and appropriation of (scientific) knowledge
• professionally related aspects of the topics, concepts and methods dealt with in the module.

Final module examinations, academic achievements and proof of participation:

In two of the three seminars, students only provide proof of participation and receive 3 CP each.

In the other seminar, students provide proof of participation (3 CP) and a final module examination (4 CP).

The module is completed with a total of 13 credit points.

Contents:

By completing the module, students acquire in-depth knowledge in the field of methods of empirical social research, especially with regard to:

• detailed conceptual and practical application knowledge with regard to important data collection procedures of empirical social research, in particular interviewing, discourse and text analysis as well as field observations,
• important data analysis and evaluation procedures, such as field research, discourse analysis, hermeneutic reconstruction, analysis of multimodal and audiovisual data, content analysis, classification and regression analysis procedures of social science statistics,
• common computer-based techniques and application software of interpretative-reconstructive as well as quantitative-statistical social research,
• important data types, data sources and institutions of empirical social research,
• practical application knowledge of specific data collection and data analysis methods in the context of a seminar with a teaching research character,
• job-related aspects of the topics, concepts and methods covered in the module.

Final module examinations, academic achievements and proof of participation:

In two of the three seminars, students only provide proof of participation and receive 3 CP each.

In the other seminar, students provide proof of participation (3 CP) and a final module examination (4 CP).

The module is completed with a total of 13 credit points.

Contents:

The students get to know professional fields and try out the knowledge and skills they have acquired in this regard during their studies. They acquire skills and competences relevant for professional practice as well as knowledge about the practical requirements in the selected field.

Final module examinations, academic achievements and proof of participation:

At least 300 hours must be completed in the internship. Longer internships are always possible. Students receive 10 credit points for completing the hours. Students receive 1 credit point for successful participation in the study day.

The internship does not have to be registered with the department in advance. There is no electronic examination registration for the internship. It is booked via the module slip for the internship.

The module is completed with a total of 11 credit points. There is no grade for the internship module.

Contents:

Students should demonstrate their ability to develop, appropriately present orally and in writing, and respond argumentatively to a comprehensive scientific question in the form of a Bachelor's thesis. The students acquire the competences

• to independently develop a sociological question, 
• to develop their own complex research project methodically, guided by theory and informed by the state of research,
• to plan and carry out the project within a fixed time frame,
• to independently develop sources of information,
• to carry out and reflect on a complex research process in all its stages 
• and to present and discuss their own research orally and in writing.

Final thesis and proof of participation:

In the colloquium, students provide proof of participation and receive 3 CP for this. If possible, we recommend taking the colloquium in the semester before writing the final thesis or alongside it. If possible, students should attend the colloquium with the person who is also supervising their final thesis.

Students receive 12 credit points for the final thesis. The thesis is not registered via the electronic examination registration. Students use the Bachelor's thesis registration form. Students must find their own supervisor at least one semester in advance. The second supervisor can also be assigned by the Examination Office on request.

Students have 9 weeks from the time of registration to write their thesis. Registration may take place when 7 modules in the main subject have been completed.

Students take the oral examination (defence of the Bachelor's thesis) after the thesis has been corrected. Students coordinate the date with their supervisor. Students receive 3 credit points for the oral examination.

The entire module is completed with 18 credit points.