ASOK15631U Å - CANCELLED - Spatial Demography and Inequality

Volume 2018/2019
Education

MA Research Methodology and Practice (MSc Curriculum 2015)

Course package (MSc 2015):

Welfare, inequality and mobility
Knowledge, organisation and politics
Culture, lifestyle and everyday life

Content

Across several sub-disciplines of the social sciences, scholars develop an increased interest in spatial pattern formation of various social phenomena. Examples include the spatial distribution and diffusion of socio-demographic groups (e.g., poor or elderly people), social conflicts (e.g., between ethno-religious groups), fertility, social mobility and inequality, or health.

Recent developments in the analysis of geo-coded data allow for investigations of spatial diffusion or segregation patterns that go way beyond classical neighborhood or context research. This seminar introduces students to classical and novel research on spatial pattern formation and its relevance for contemporary societies.

Learning Outcome

Knowledge:

  • Description of spatial patterns: Types of segregation (classic versus spatial), boundaries, islands, halos and their measurement.
  • Context effects: How do spatial patterns drive social phenomena such as ethnic conflicts, trust, educational achievement and so on?
  • What is special about spatial data and how can it be analyzed?
     

Skills:

  • Students will be able to read and comprehend advanced spatial analyses.
  • Students will be able to assess research designs and their pitfalls and strengths.
     

 Competences:

  • Students should be able to formulate own ideas about how spatial patterns may explain various phenomena they are interested in.
  • Students should be able to propose research designs to test their ideas and hypotheses about context effects.
  • Students should be able to write a research proposal.
  • Students should be able to give brief presentations of advanced research results.
Literature

Readings are comprised primality of peer-reviewed journal articles. Students are responsible for roughly 700 pages of reading.

Strong English skills and good comprehension of quantitative research methods, especially multiple regression. All lacks of skills can be compensated by hard work and interest.
Lectures, class discussions, student presentations, a final paper that consists of a research proposal. Students are expected to contribute actively to discussion of core theoretical-analytical tools as well as the more specific analytical examples and studies.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 28
  • Course Preparation
  • 75
  • Exam Preparation
  • 71
  • Exercises
  • 16
  • Preparation
  • 16
  • Total
  • 206
Oral
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Individual/group.
A written take-home essay is defined as an assignment that addresses one or more questions. The exam is based on the course syllabus, i.e. the literature set by the teacher.

The written take-home essay must be no longer than 10 pages. For group assignments, an extra 5 pages is added per additional student. Further details for this exam form can be found in the Curriculum and in the General Guide to Examinations at KUnet.
Exam registration requirements

Sociology students must be enrolled under MSc Curriculum 2015 to take this exam.

Credit students must be at master level.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Exam period

Find more information on your study page at KUnet. Exchange students and Danish full degree guest students please see the homepage of Sociology; http://www.soc.ku.dk/english/education/exams/ and http://www.soc.ku.dk/uddannelser/meritstuderende/eksamen/

Re-exam

At re-exam, the form of examination is the same as ordinary exam.
If the form of examination is ”active participation” the re-examination form is always “free written take-home essay”.

Criteria for exam assesment

See learning outcome.