2025 (Current Year) Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Department of Architecture and Building Engineering Graduate major in Urban Design and Built Environment
Introduction to Methodology of Social Studies
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Urban Design and Built Environment
- Instructor(s)
- Hitomu Kotani
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-6 Fri (W9-327(W936))
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- UDE.D417
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2025
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Sep 5, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Civil and environmental engineering targets not only natural phenomena but also social phenomena and requires collaboration with a variety of fields. Therefore, it is important to understand the methods that target people and society as well as the assumptions and positions that each field of social studies relies on.
In this lecture, the instructor aims to introduce these assumptions and positions, as well as various research designs and methods (with an emphasis on those often found in civil and environmental engineering). To deepen the understanding of the lectures, students will answer short quizzes in each class and submit a final report proposing a research plan from a methodological perspective.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to
- understand that there are multiple positions in ontology and epistemology,
- understand the various research designs and methods under the ontology and epistemology, and
- select appropriate research designs and methods for one's own research, complying with research ethics
Keywords
social studies; methodology; epistemology; research design; methods
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
The class will be taught mainly through lectures.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Introduction, methodology, and epistemology |
Understand the assumptions and methodologies on which each study is based. |
| Class 2 | Inference and hypothesis formation |
Understand different types of reasoning. |
| Class 3 | Research design: case studies and experiments |
Understand the characteristics of case studies and experiments. |
| Class 4 | Research design: cross-sectional and longitudinal studies |
Understand the characteristics of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. |
| Class 5 | Methods: interviews and ethnography/participatory observation |
Understand the theory and procedures of interviews and ethnography. |
| Class 6 | Methods: questionnaires |
Understand the theory and procedures of questionnaires. |
| Class 7 | Research ethics |
Understand the fundamental principles of research ethics and citation methods. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
Nomura, Y. (2017). Methods and methodology in social research. The University of Nagoya Press. (in Japanese)
Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods. Oxford University Press.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Introduced during class as needed.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Final report (50%) and small quizzes in each class (50%)
Related courses
- UDE.P501 ： Empirical Analysis:Theory and Practice
Prerequisites
N/A