Applied Social Research Option

The Applied Social Research Option provides students with an opportunity to develop advanced research methods and data analysis skills. The option is designed for non-Sociology majors interested in acquiring applied training at a level beyond that currently required in Faculty of Arts social science disciplines.

The Applied Social Research Option consists of 4.0 credits: 2.0 credits of required courses, and 2.0 credits of elective courses. At least 1.5 credits must be in a discipline other than the major.

Students with a minimum GPA of 7.00 (B-) in their major and 5.00 (C) overall (or permission of the department) are eligible to apply for the option at any point in the senior years of their program. A cumulative GPA of 7.00 in the courses specific to the Applied Social Research Option is required to graduate. At least 3.0 of the required 4.0 credits in the option must be completed at Wilfrid Laurier University. Completion of the option requirements will result in an "Applied Social Research Option" designation on the student transcript. The option is open to all Laurier students. Note that some of these courses may have prerequisites that must be fulfilled before the course can be taken.

Note: PS394 is an exclusion for SY490.

Required Courses (2.0 total credits [0.5-credit from each of the following 4 groups]):

  1. One 0.5-credit course from the following:
    CS235 - Communication Research Methods,
    HE201 - Research Methods for the Health Sciences,
    KP290 - Research Methods,
    PO217 - Asking Questions in Political Science: An Introduction to Research,
    PS295 - Introduction to Research Methods,
    SY280 - Quantitative Methods;

  2. One 0.5-credit course from the following:
    GS202 - Methods in Global Studies
    PS398 - Qualitative Methods in Psychology,
    SY281 - Qualitative Methods;

  3.  One 0.5-credit course from the following:
    EC205 - Introduction to Applied Statistics,
    EC255 - Managerial Statistics,
    EC285 - Introductory Statistics,
    KP390 - Inferential Statistics,
    PS296 - Introduction to Statistics,
    PO218 - Answering Questions in Political Science: Research in Practice,
    SY382 - Social Statistics

  4. Either SY489 - Advanced Qualitative Analysis, or SY490 - Advanced Quantitative Analysis

Electives (2.0 credits from the following list):

Anthropology
AN300 - Ethnographic Methods
AN400 - Doing Fieldwork
AN456 - Applied Anthropology
Business
BU422 - Marketing Research
BU495q: Business Analytics
Economics
EC295 - Introductory Econometrics
EC303 - Economic Evaluation in the Public Sector
EC455 - Advanced Econometrics: Time Series Analysis
EC481 - Economics Paper and Seminar
Geography and Environmental Studies
GESC290
ES392 - Environmental Impact Assessment
GG350 - Canadian Issues
Global Studies
GS388 - Field Course in Global Studies
Health Sciences
HE300 - Epidemiology
HE400 - Multidisciplinary Seminar on Critical Health Issues
HE411 - Critical perspectives in Public Health
Political Science
PO245 - The Art and Science of Policy Design
PO345 - Public Policy Analysis
PO360 - Citizen Politics
PO466 - Interpreting and Understanding Elections
PO467 - Public Opinion
Psychology
PS370 - Research in Social Psychology
PS382 - Research in Community Psychology
PS394 - Linear Models
Religion and Culture
RE308 - Conducting Fieldwork
Sociology
SY309 - Special Topics in Sociology
SY312 - Conversation Analysis
SY314 - Time Diaries and Content Analysis
SY452 - Advanced Special Topics
SY489 - Advanced Qualitative Analysis
SY490 - Advanced Quantitative Analysis

Additional Information
 
Notes

  1. Students wishing to have the Applied Social Research Option added to their Honours major must complete and submit the appropriate Program Selection Form. After eligibility has been confirmed, the option will be added to your program.
  2. Not all sections of SY309 or SY452 (special topics) can be used to fulfill this requirement; consult the department.

 

Senate/Editorial Changes

Senate Academic Planning Committee Revisions February 26, 2019: EC381, EC451 deleted; effective September 1, 2019.