Social Science (BSc)

In the School of Social Sciences you will learn from scholars who are shaping the future of their fields. Our courses reflect both the core ideas of their disciplines and contemporary debates, theories and research.

Teaching methods include a mixture of lectures, seminars, independent study and self-directed learning that draw use of on-line resources, individual work and group tasks. Lectures generally provide an overview of the relevant topic, introducing key concepts or research, and highlighting contemporary issues or debates. An increasing number of lectures are now recorded. In contrast to lectures, seminars give you the opportunity to discuss particular readings, research or topics in detail. This allows you to consolidate your understanding and get feedback on your individual learning. Seminars also enable you to hone your communication, presentation and collaborative skills as you take part in group discussions and other tasks.

As social science develops in response to the social world, so our curriculum also changes.  Our students play an important role in these developments, with the Student-Staff Panel being consulted about major changes and all students completing module evaluations and an annual student survey.

How will I be supported?

A personal tutor will guide you for the duration of your studies. The tutors are available to discuss progress and provide advice and guidance on your academic studies. The Student Hub, located in the Glamorgan Building, is also open every day and can provide advice on how to access university services.

All modules within the course make use of Cardiff University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Blackboard, on which you will find course materials, links to related materials and information relating to assessment tasks including, for example, assessment criteria, links to past papers, and guidelines for submitting assessments.

Additional module-specific support is provided by seminar tutors, lecturers and/or module convenors; support for the dissertation is provided by a supervisor who will meet with you regularly.

How will I be assessed?

All modules are assessed by at least two different assessment tasks. Typical assessment formats include individual and group assignments, coursework, presentations and exams. We take care to ensure that all degree schemes include a range of different assessment types and that deadlines are spread throughout the academic year.

Feedback is provided on assessments and other learning in order to provide students with the opportunity to reflect on their current or recent level of attainment.  It can be provided individually or to groups.  It can take many forms.  It is responsive to the developmental expectations of our programmes and disciplines.

The range of feedback includes one-to-one individual feedback; generic feedback; peer feedback; informal feedback; self-evaluation to submit along with the assessment.

Academic staff and peers can use a variety of methods to deliver these types of feedback: written feedback; annotation of a text; oral feedback; seminar discussion.

Formative Feedback

Formative feedback is feedback that does not contribute to progression or degree classification decisions.  The goal of formative feedback is to improve your understanding and learning before you complete your summative assessment. More specifically, formative feedback helps you to:

• identify your strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work;
• help staff to support you and address the problems identified with targeted strategies for improvement.

Formative feedback is routinely provided in seminars as seminar work often contributes to the module assessment. In addition, all modules include a specific formative assessment that is designed to help you prepare for the subsequent summative assessment.

Summative Feedback

Summative feedback is feedback that contributes to progression or degree classification decisions.  The goal of summative assessment is to indicate how well you have succeeded in meeting the intended learning outcomes of a Module and will enable you to identify action required (feed forward) in order to improve in future assessments.

All feedback on coursework is provided electronically to ensure it is readily accessible and easy to read. Verbal feedback is provided for presentations but written feedback will also be provided where the presentation makes a significant contribution to the module mark.

Feedback on exams is usually provided as written feedback for the whole class but you are also able to discuss your individual exam paper and the mark it was awarded with the module convenor.

All marks and feedback are made with reference to the module specific marking criteria.

What skills will I practise and develop?

Knowledge & Understanding:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

• An understanding of the key ideas, theories and concepts used in social science and their relationship to themes, theories and findings from cognate disciplines.
• An understanding of the main research methods used within the social sciences and the philosophical issues that inform their application and use in research settings.
• A critical and in-depth understanding of research and theory in selected sub-fields of social science and the relevance of this work to contemporary social debates, issues or problems.
• An understanding of the role empirical evidence plays in the creation and constraint of theory, and how theory guides the collection and interpretation of empirical data.

Intellectual Skills:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

• Critically evaluate existing knowledge, scholarship and research in social science and use this knowledge to reach a balanced judgement about the merits and relevance of competing claims and theoretical perspectives.
• Critically evaluate the use of evidence in social science disciplines and policy debates, drawing on both broad methods training and subject specific knowledge
• Utilise knowledge and skills to understand and explain social phenomena of interest to social science and apply this understanding to new or novel questions

Professional Practical Skills:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

• Design and use a range of data collection instruments needed to explore and understand the social world
• Critically evaluate, synthesise and interpret primary and secondary data generated using different methods, using specialist software where necessary
• Work both collaboratively and individually on theoretically informed and empirically-grounded projects that draw on appropriate and relevant research evidence

Transferable/Key Skills:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

• The capacity for problem-solving and originality in thinking by using knowledge and skills to tackle familiar and unfamiliar problems
• Academic and personal skills such as critical thinking, writing, oral presentations, problem solving, group work, time-management, and the use of information technology.
• The ability to communicate complex information in a variety of formats including reports, oral presentations, posters and dissertations