Teaching 

The teaching consists of introductory lectures, a workshop, and seminars (distributed over 5 modules). 

The modules are scheduled over 2 to 4 days. Active student participation is required in seminars for modules 2 and 3. Assessments include written and oral presentations of group projects, as well as written individual assignments related to participants’ research interests. Evaluation methods include an essay.

All students are assigned to groups of 4-5 participants before the course to ensure a diverse mix and discussion across academic disciplines and research fields.

All lectures/seminars take place at meeting room "Hjerneteppet," building 9, level 4 at Campus Dragvoll.

Evaluation

Form of evaluation: Essay.

The deadline for submitting the exam paper is December 4 at 12am

Course content

Module 1. (17.- 19. August: 13.15-16.00 Hjerneteppet). H. Leiulfsrud

Introduction, including brief presentations of each student's Ph.D. projects. Basic concepts and perspectives. 

An overview of ontological and epistemological traditions and their implications for modern social and behavioral science. 

Paradigmatic traditions—programmatic and methodological perspectives. Debates in the philosophy of science.  

Module 2. (26. – 28. August 13.15-16.00. Hjerneteppet). H. Leiulfsrud

Interdisciplinary perspectives. The role of values in research. 

Research ethics in the research process and the organization of research

Seminar I: Ethical dilemmas

Seminar II: Presentations of individual Ph.D. projects.

Module 3 (21.-24. September. 13.15-16.00. Hjerneteppet). P. Sohlberg

Philosophy of science. Methodological implications and strategies. The building blocks of social science - definitions and concept-formation. 

Descriptive strategies, interpretation traditions, forms of aggregation, and inference methods. Various forms of explanation and explanatory strategies. 

The practical application of theory. Social and behavioral science: a cumulative effort? 

Seminar III: Follow-Up on Assignments and Exam

Seminar IV: Group Presentations on Abbott

Module 4 (28.- 29. October). 17.00-20.00 on Teams. H. Leiulfsrud                                         

Workshop related to the exam 

Module 5 (17.-18. December, 09.15-16.00) H. Leiulfsrud

Exam, feedback and tutorials related to exam papers

The deadline for submitting the exam paper is December 4 at 12am
 

Learning outcome

To give students extensive training in philosophy of science and the application of perspectives of philosophy of science on the research process.

Knowledge: The doctoral student

• has a good overview of the field of philosophy of science, including concepts, perspectives, theories, and conflicts, and has knowledge of its implications for own research.
• can identify fundamental paradigmatic traditions within social science and understands their significance for contemporary social science and their impact on interdisciplinary perspectives.
• has a reflective approach based on the philosophy of science to the knowledge fronts within her/his research field.
• has a reflective approach based on the philosophy of science to the relationship between robustness and innovation in research.

SFEL8000 = A course of laboratory character

The course primarily has a "laboratory character," meaning that concepts and topics from the philosophy of science are applied to research within the participant's own research tradition. Therefore, it is preferable that participants have started working on their thesis, allowing them to relate their work to themes of philosophy of science. If a participant has not formally begun working on the thesis, it is necessary to develop a research plan that outlines research questions, methods, and theoretical perspectives.

Course materials

Text marked in bold is higly recommended.

Relevant literature: Selection to be made, dependent on participant’s research interests. 

• Abbot, A. 2004. Methods of Discovery. Heuristics for the Social Sciences, New York, London, W.W. Norton & Company.
• Baert, P. 2013. Philosophy of the Social Sciences. Towards Pragmatism, Cambridge, Polity. 
• Becker, H.S. 1998. Tricks of the Trade. How to Think About Your Research While You Are Doing It. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 
• Benton, T. & Craib, I. 2001. Philosophy of Social Science. The Philosophical Foundations of Social Thought. Basingstoke: Palgrave. 
• Bird, A. & Ladyman, J. 2013. Arguing About Science, Routledge. 
• Blaikie, N. & Priest, J. (2017). Social Research: paradigms in Action. Cambridge: Polity. 
• Bourdieu, P. 2004. Science of Science and Reflexivity. Oxford: Polity.
• Briggle, A. & Mircham, C. 2015. Ethics and Science. An Introduction, Cambridge University Press. 
• Couvalis, G. 1997. The Philosophy of Science. Science and Objectivity, London, Sage. 
• Dancy, J. Sandis, C. 2015. Philosophy of Action. An Anthology, Wiley Blackwell.
• Delanty, G. & Strydom, P. (eds.) .2003. Philosophies of Social Science. The Classic and Contemporary Readings. Maidenhead; Philadelphia: Open University Press. 
• Gergen, K.J. & Gergen, M. (eds.) (2003). Social construction: a reader. London, Sage. 
• Hacking, I. 1999. The Social Construction of What? Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Press.
• Harding, S. (ed.).2004. The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader. Intellectual and Political Controversies. New York: Routledge.
• Hollis, M. 1994. The Philosophy of Social Science. An Introduction, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
• Kim, J. 2011. Philosophy of Mind. Third edition, Westview Press.
• Kuhn, T. 2012. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 50th Anniversary edition. With an Introductory Essay by Ian Hacking, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press.
• Lamont, M. 2009. How Professors Think. Inside the Curious World of Academic Judgment, Cambridge Massachusetts, London, Harvard University Press.
• Leiulfsrud, H. & Sohlberg, P. (eds) 2021, Constructing Social Research Objects. Constructionism in Research Practice, Brill.
• Leiulfsrud, H. & Sohlberg, P.(eds.) 2019. Concepts in Action. Conceptual Constructionism. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books.
• Martin. M. & McIntyre. L. C. (eds.) 1994. Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science, Cambridge, Mass. The MIT-Press.
• Montuschi, E.2003. The Objects of Social Science. London: Continuum.
• Newton-Smith, W.H. (ed).2001. A Companion to the Philosophy of Science, Oxford, Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
• Nowotny, H. Scott, P., Gibbons, M. 2011. Rethinking Science. Knowledge and the Public in an Age of Uncertainty, Cambridge, Polity.
• O’Connor, T. and Sandis, C. 2013. A Companion to the Philosophy of Action, Wiley-Blackwell.
• Radder, H. (ed). 2003. The Philosophy of Scientific Experimentation, Pittsburgh, The University of Pittsburgh Press.
• Sayer, R.A. (2010). Method in social science: a realist approach. (Rev. 2. ed.) London: Routledge.
• Sohlberg, P. 2021, Functionalist Construction Work in Social Science, Brill.
• Sohlberg, P & Leiulfsrud, H. (eds.) 2017. Theory in action theoretical constructionism. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books.
• Steel, D. & Guala, F (eds). 2011. The Philosophy of Social Science Reader, London and New York, Routledge.
• Symons, J. and Calvo, P. 2012. The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Psychology, London and New York, Routledge.
• Tavory, I & Timmermans S.2014. Abductive Analysis. Theorizing Qualitative Research, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London.
• Williams, M. 2001. Problems of knowledge. A critical introduction to Epistemology. Oxford University Press, 2001.
• General guideline for research ethics

+ Literature related to the participant's specific research interests.