SOC409H1

Sexuality and Research Design

Research designs are much like jigsaw puzzles, but harder: they require scholars to carefully connect a variety of distinct yet intricately linked piecesinto a thematically consistent, practical and defensible whole. Few tasks in the research process are as commonplace and as riddled with difficulty. This semester length course will provide a forum for students to compose a research design on the topic of sexuality using qualitative approaches that include in-depth interview and ethnography. Throughout the course, students will read a variety of works that describe the goals, procedures, and underlying logic of research design. These works will draw from articles and chapters on methodological problems and issues, and also from actual studies that use in-depth interview and ethnography in sexuality studies. Restricted to 4th-year sociology majors and specialists.