Master's Degree in Methods and Techniques of Social Research

Summary: Construction and analysis of qualitative information applied to social research: ethnographic techniques, discourse analysis, focus groups, and forms of participant observation.

Teachers: Leticia Muñiz Terra and Eugenia Rausky

Class schedule: Wednesday 19 to 21pm Arg.

Summary: Throughout the course, topics that provide a foundation for the study of research designs will be explored. To this end, the different stages of the research process and their variations will be examined, according to the implemented theoretical and methodological strategy and within the framework of integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches. While this workshop will specifically address issues related to social research methodology, the work will be framed within the general principles that guide the production of scientific knowledge. Therefore, the interrelation between theory, method, and techniques in constructing empirical approaches to the studied reality is considered the fundamental core of this production.

Teachers: Gabriela Gómez Rojas and Ariadna Gorostegui

Class schedule: Friday from 19 to 21pm Arg. 

Summary: This course brings together researchers with extensive experience in the social sciences to review the main current epistemological and methodological debates, with an emphasis on those most relevant to the socioeconomic, sociocultural, and socioenvironmental problems of Latin America. It will explore epistemic shifts in situated research practices, contemporary methodological debates in the field of qualitative research, and methodological proposals for working together with quantitative and qualitative techniques. The course will also address the process of operationalization in the social sciences as the core of any methodological strategy, the controversies and opportunities related to the advent of big data, and the ethical discussions and criteria linked to social research practices.

Teachers: Juan Piovani and Rodolfo Iuliano

Class schedule: Tuesdays from 19 to 21 p.m. Arg. 

Summary: This course aims to help students synthesize and apply the knowledge and methodological tools acquired in previous modules by developing their own research project. Throughout the course, students will understand the internal logic of a social science research project. The course will analyze its various stages: constructing a research object, defining a problem, and formulating questions, hypotheses, and objectives. Subsequently, students will be guided in developing their methodological strategy to empirically test their hypotheses or answer the questions guiding their research. Attention will be paid to establishing an appropriate relationship between theory and empirical evidence to evaluate the advantages and limitations of different research techniques. Finally, the course will discuss the procedures for analyzing the data produced, the expected results, and the alignment between available resources and project objectives.

Teachers: Alberto Riella and Paola Mascheroni

Class schedule: Tuesdays from 19 to 21 p.m. Arg.

Summary: Case studies as an empirical research strategy. Main perspectives on case studies. Single and multiple case studies. Why compare, how to compare, and what to compare.

Teachers: Germán Quaranta and Joan Miquel Verd

Class schedule: Wednesday from 19 to 21pm Arg.

Summary: This course will focus on presenting the challenges and procedures involved in conducting quantitative measurements of social reality using survey research techniques. It will cover the theoretical and methodological considerations of survey research, its different modalities, and how to develop and administer measurement instruments. The course will then address the concept of statistical sampling, presenting the most commonly used sample types for surveys and introducing methods for calculating sample size and sample selection.

Teachers: Mauricio Tubío and Alberto Riella 

Class schedule: Thursdays from 19 to 21pm Arg.

Summary: To understand and transform reality, critical theories and robust, diverse research methods are essential. The various research methods used by researchers in the social sciences are a fundamental tool for understanding Latin American social problems. This course brings together Latin American researchers to explore diverse quantitative and qualitative strategies, methods, and techniques (and proposals for overcoming this division, such as mixed methods) for producing social scientific knowledge, emphasizing their properties, strengths, limitations, and ongoing debates.

Teachers: Sofia Vanoli and Victoria Tabarez

Class schedule: Mondays from 19 to 21pm Arg. 

Students must choose a curricular unit corresponding to the Master's Degree in Care and Gender with a Latin American Perspective CLACSO-UTE.

The offer available for selection will be announced in due course. 

The seminar is designed to provide theoretical and methodological support to Master's students through the various stages of their own research projects. Based on the research findings, the seminar will support the development of a scientific article that maximizes the application of the content covered during the academic program. This article will serve as the Master's final assessment and will be reviewed by a team of specialists in the field before being submitted to an indexed academic journal for peer review. Projects must be developed according to the five lines of research:

1. Social classes, education and work
2. Culture and identities
3. Gender inequalities and diversity
4. Public policies and political action
5. Rural areas and social conflicts

The graduation seminar will last 16 weeks during the third and fourth semesters. Passing all courses from the first and second semesters is a prerequisite for enrollment.

Summary: Statistical analysis applied to social research. Databases, descriptive statistics, bivariate and association analysis. Control variables, regression analysis, principal components, and factor analysis.

Teachers: Jesica Plá, Pablo Dalle, Fernando Tavares and Santiago Poy

Class schedule: Tuesdays from 19 to 21 p.m. Arg. 

The graduation seminar course that began in the third term continues.

The CLACSO-UTE master's programs are from virtual and synchronous modalityEach two-month period includes 2 to 3 seminars; each seminar is expected to have a Mandatory synchronous meeting per week between 19pm and 21pm ARGThe course will be held in the classrooms of the CLACSO virtual platform and on the Zoom platform.

The program is organized into 2 academic periods of 16 weeks each, totaling 1.500h. 

The Master's degree program is intensiveIt begins in March and ends in December 2024.

Application requirements:

• Possess a degree/undergraduate degree corresponding to a career of 4 (four) years duration at least, preferably in the field of knowledge of Social Sciences and Humanities.

• Complete the application form and wait for acceptance of the application.

You will need to upload the following documents to the form.:

1. Color copy of national identity card or passport.

2. Copy of undergraduate/graduate degree certificate.

   If the degree is obtained abroad (outside of Ecuador), before completing the program the student must present their degree duly apostilled or legalized through Consular channels - this procedure is personal.

3. Academic performance in undergraduate/graduate training.

   Academic record of undergraduate studies / Academic certificate that includes the grade point average obtained in undergraduate studies

4. Applicant's resume.

   Curriculum Vitae, a document containing your professional and academic background.   

5. Personal letter from the applicant expressingYour motivations for entering the program, your availability and commitment to the scheduled days and times of the course, whether or not you have prior experience in social research and how you believe this program can contribute to your professional and/or academic development, including a possible topic of focus in your research work and final article.

Students who receive acceptance of their application must begin the registration process and pay the corresponding program fees, in accordance with the procedures, deadlines and locations established by CLACSO and UTE.

The awarding of postgraduate degrees will comply with the provisions of the Regulation for Harmonization of the Nomenclature of Professional Titles and Academic Degrees conferred by higher education institutions in Ecuador, issued by the Council of Higher Education.