Certificate in Applied Social Science Research

A) Students must complete *12 of course work that includes the following:
 
*3 One introductory overview course in social science methodology course
*6 Two advanced methods or statistics courses
*3 Completion of SOC 415: Applied Research Internship OR other approved Capstone course involving either a research based project or internship

B) Presentation

All students completing the Certificate, whether via SOC 415 or other Capstone course, must publicly present their project at a venue (e.g. a conference) approved by the Certificate Advisor. Students who take SOC 415 will meet this requirement through completion of the presentation component in the course.

Full program details are available in the Calendar. 

Note: Students who declare this certificate in Fall 2025 onwards are permitted a maximum of 3 units of overlap between courses used to fulfill other program requirements and those used for the certificate. For example, a major in Sociology requires SOC 220. If SOC 220 is being used to meet the introductory overview course in social science methodology, this would be considered the 3 units overlap permitted because this course is specifically required for the major.

However, courses that are not explicitly required for the major—but are taken to satisfy broader major requirements—may also be applied to the certificate and are not considered to overlap. For instance, SOC 418 may count toward the 6 units of 400-level SOC courses for the major and simultaneously use it to meet the advanced methods/statistics requirement for the certificate. This is allowed because SOC 418 is not a specifically mandated course for the major, but rather an elective option within the requirement.

Basic and applied research are much more similar than they are different. We can actually think of these types of research as falling on a continuum. Both incorporate social science research methods. Both are important. On one end of the continuum, basic research focuses on creating new knowledge, building theory, and learning about how fundamental processes work. This type of research is most often driven by researcher interests in academia. On the other end, applied research focuses more on practical issues. It uses scientific methods to help address societal problems, and it tends to be driven by community and organizational interests.

Yes, we can approve additional courses for credit toward the Certificate. If you would like to have a course considered, please send the CASSR director (cassr@ualberta.ca) an email with details about the course, an explanation as to why you think it should count toward the Certificate, and a copy of the syllabus.

In SOC 415, students team up with a local non-profit, social service organization, or government agency to complete a semester-long guided research project. We've partnered with local organizations like Civida, the City of Edmonton, the Ribbon Rouge Foundation, and Action for Healthy Communities. Projects involve a wide-range of methods. Sometimes they include quantitative data like surveys or administrative data. Other times we conducting qualitative research using interviews or focus groups.

Over the course of the semester, we go through research project steps as a group where students get to conduct background research; collect, clean, organize, and analyze different types of data; and summarize findings in a report and final presentation to the organization. During each step, we work with our partners to obtain feedback and discuss the research as we go.

SOC 404 is a great way to complete the Capstone requirement for the Certificate. Here are some key steps to follow:

1. Narrow down your areas of research and your interests

• Think about specific topics that you might be interested in and how you could go about researching them
•  It’s often useful to build on work from previous courses to turn your interests into a project.

2. Find a faculty advisor

•  You will need a faculty advisor for the project. This person should have research interests that align with your topic.
•  Stumped? Ask the CASSR advisor for some suggestions.

3. Develop a project plan with your advisor

• Once you have an advisor, you’ll need to develop a plan for your project.
• Submit form for the course

4. Conduct the research

• This is the exciting part! Once you have a plan together, you’ll complete the research as part of an independent research course with graded assignments.

5. Write-up and present the research

• To count toward the Certificate, projects must be presented to an audience. Presentations may be part of an on-campus conference (e.g., FURCA or SCURC), a larger conference (e.g., CSA), or to a specific organization or group. It’s often a good idea to check with the CASSR director once you have a presentation plan together.

The Community Service-Learning (CSL) program started as a pilot program in Sociology in 2003 and has since supported courses in fifteen departments. Faculty and instructors in the Sociology Department have continued to play an active role in actively adapting a variety of courses to include a CSL component.

Community service-learning is a pedagogy that integrates volunteer and social action work into academic courses. Typically, students in CSL-designated courses dedicate about twenty hours each into community-based projects or activities that have been intentionally designed to match the goals of the course. When effectively adopted as a key element of a course, CSL not only enlivens course material but also develops critical thinking and engages students in questions of social change.