Students present theses in their areas of research based on the conditions set out in the Academic Policies and Regulations for Graduate Studies. Thesis proposals are presented in the second year.
This course involves fieldwork and presentation of results based on a topic chosen by the students.
Mode of Delivery: The modes of delivery are data collection exercises, individual and group presentation of reports.
This course builds on POH 810 and focuses on: theoretical issues inherent in qualitative research, when to use qualitative techniques and types of qualitative techniques. It will include concepts of validation (e.g. trustworthiness and reflexivity), how to develop research guides and screening forms. It also deals with how to apply theoretical and conceptual frameworks, employ appropriate data collection and analysis techniques (computer-assisted qualitative data analysis) and writing of reports.
Objective: The objectives of the course are to:
Mode of Delivery: The course will be delivered through lectures, assigned data collection, individual and group presentations.
This course builds on POH 810 and focuses on: theoretical issues inherent in quantitative research, when to use quantitative techniques and types of quantitative techniques. It also deals with issues of validity, reliability and representativeness as well as design of research instruments, how to apply theoretical and conceptual frameworks, employ appropriate data collection and analysis techniques and writing of research reports.
Objective: The objective of the course is to:
Mode of Delivery: The content will be delivered on through lectures, assigned data analysis, individual and group presentations.
The nature and objectives of social sciences are discussed in this course. Other discussions focus on the strengths and weaknesses of positivist and hermeneutics traditions, functional dependency and statistical laws, building blocks and theory formulation. Sources of new theories, measurement models and their applications in the social sciences, objectivity and the question of value free social sciences, and feminist epistemology are also addressed. Discussions will also involve systems thinking and analysis, and logical, empirical and epistemological processes in theory formulation or construction in the social sciences.
Objectives: The objectives of this course are to:
Mode of Delivery: The main modes of delivery are assigned readings, individual and group assignments and presentations in class.
The course deals with Western, African and Asian philosophical thoughts which have shaped and have the potential to shape social science research and practice. It traces the development of various philosophical points of view about knowledge, sources of knowledge and schools of thought, knowledge generation and research. Among the issues to be discussed are: nature of science; theory of science; the scientific enterprise; theories of knowledge, ontology (the being of things) and methodology (ways of doing things); worldviews or cosmology and sources of knowledge. Focus will be placed on selected philosophers in Western thought such as St. Augustine, Plato, John S. Mill, John Locke, Hume, Kant, Berkley; and on Wiredu, Gyekye and Confucius. Schools of thought which have influenced social science research: e.g. positivism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, existentialism, feminist epistemology, epicurean thought, Marxist thought (socialism), cosmological and ontological arguments, justice; selected Eastern (Indo-Chinese) thought; and Africa cosmology of life; and ethics in research will be discussed. Emphasis will be on implications of these thoughts for knowledge generation and for research.
Objectives: The objectives of this course are to:
Mode of Delivery: The course will be delivered through assigned readings, individual and group assignments and presentations in class.
Students will present a thesis in their areas of research interest. The conditions as set out in the Academic Policies and Regulations for Graduate Studies apply.
This course involves fieldwork and presentation of results based on a topic chosen by the students. The students are assessed both on their presentations in class and the report/assignment submitted.
The course builds on POH 807S (Social Epidemiology). The course focuses on the philosophical and the application of theoretical issues in epidemiology, application of knowledge in epidemiology as well as critical appraisal of scientific literature from a multidisciplinary perspective. Other areas will include outbreak investigation, making use of epidemiological data to draw appropriate conclusions, and social sciences methodology to understand background and proximal factors.
Objective: The objectives of the course are to:
Mode of Delivery: The course is delivered through lectures, case studies analyses, individual and group presentations.
The course focuses on strategies for health improvement, reduction of health disparities as well as protection against global threats that cut across national boundaries. Issues to discuss will include global health and poverty, economic development, peace and security, communicable and non-communicable diseases, social and spatial dimensions of health and their impact on disparities in the burden of diseases, the impact of climate change on health, and risk factors.
Objective: The aim of the course is to develop the capacity of students to:
Mode of Delivery: The course is delivered through lectures, case studies analyses, individual and group presentations.
