Methods of Urban Research

This cour­se con­veys an intro­duc­tion into methods of urban rese­arch in social sci­en­ces through lec­tures and accom­pany­ing exer­ci­s­es. It tre­ats the basic prin­ci­ples of sci­en­ti­fic rese­arch, lite­ra­tu­re rese­arch, dif­fe­rent forms of par­ti­ci­pant obser­va­ti­on, qua­li­ta­ti­ve inter­views (expert inter­views and eth­no­gra­phic inter­views), and the ana­ly­sis of urban qualities.

This cour­se aims at enab­ling stu­dents of archi­tec­tu­re to use socio­lo­gi­cal ana­ly­sis as basis for con­cre­te pro­jects in archi­tec­tu­re and urban design. It is based on a spe­ci­fic set of methods that is appli­ed in design stu­di­os (inte­gra­ted disci­pli­nes) as well as in the mas­ter the­sis (sup­ple­men­ta­ry disci­pli­ne sociology).