- Specific skills: Knowledge and skills to plan and develop applied research in different areas of society. Knowledge of social science methodology and its basic techniques, fundamental for further advanced courses on the techniques and methodology. - General skills: Capacity for analysis and synthesis. Ability to relate knowledge of Sociology and related disciplines such as Political Science. Ability of organization and planning Ability to manage information

Lesson 1. Introduction to Social Research. Lesson 2. The design of social research (I). Lesson 3. The design of social research (II). Lesson 4. The survey: Data collection and questionnaire design. Lesson 5. Measurement in Social Sciences. Lesson 6. Information sources and secondary data. Lesson 7. The survey: analysis and interpretation of data.

The training activities will combine lectures, classroom practice, independent work individually and work in groups, and the readings. The theoretical content presented through lectures will actively work through readings and class discussions. Part of the theoretical issues are discussed through examples, case studies and practical exercises of various kinds by which students become familiar with the actual use in sociology of social research techniques. The practice sessions are conducted using data from surveys compiled by the National Statistics Institute (INE) and the Center for Sociological Research (CIS), among others. Also during the course conducts a survey from start to finish, from questionnaire design to data analysis. Students can learn to use the software SPSS survey data as the main tool of analysis.