- An undergraduate course
in
Social Sciences.
The uses of social science
- On this page
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | DD206 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 8 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| 1 Interactive computer-marked assignment (iCMA) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
Making use of a blend of learning technologies, this interdisciplinary course investigates how social science is used to make sense of everyday dilemmas such as sustaining relationships, making a living, finding a place to live, being part of a community, or making one’s voice heard. The course explores how social scientists use evidence and data, theories and explanations, and norms and values to make sense of social life. By studying this course you will develop the practical skills and intellectual resources required to analyse the ways in which social science can be used both to understand and to shape our social lives.
Modules at Level 2 assume that you are suitably prepared for study at this level. If you want to take a single module to satisfy your career development needs or pursue particular interests, you don’t need to start at Level 1 but you do need to have adequately prepared yourself for OU study in some other way. Check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service to make sure that you are sufficiently prepared.
Register for the course
What you will study
What can social science tell us about the social world? How can it help us solve the troubles and dilemmas of private and public life? The uses of social science explores the role of social science in understanding and shaping our social world. It offers vital knowledge and a set of practical, transferable skills that will help you to investigate and address key social issues and dilemmas. The course is designed to be accessible and engaging – and being interdisciplinary in scope is suitable for anyone who wishes to develop their knowledge and practical understanding of the difference that social science can make to the world around us.
The course explores how social science is used to:
- describe the social world through the gathering of data and the generation of evidence
- understand the social world through the use of skills of interpretation, analysis and explanation
- enact the social world through processes of evaluating, intervening and challenging.
These themes are explored through the following topics:
Block 1 introduces the course by considering the uses of social science in relation to everyday problems and dilemmas – which includes revealing the social basis of some of our apparently personal ‘bad habits’.
Block 2 examines personal relationships, looking at the ways in which we make and maintain associations with others. It reveals how techniques of social science have been vital in helping us to define and understand different kinds of intimate relationship – in friendship, caring and sexual relations.
Block 3 explores how we make ends meet, and shows how social science helps to define and understand different kinds of work, employment and leisure – whether in the factory or office, in the home or on the margins of society.
Block 4 examines the movement of people and things – revealing how the mobility of commodities, peoples and cultures helps create the social world, as well as the role played by social science in understanding and shaping these processes.
Block 5 investigates how we participate in public life. Through forms of voting, volunteering or protesting, it explores how participation is unevenly distributed amongst different citizens, subjects and communities; and the role of social science in understanding and enacting this diversity.
Block 6 concludes the course by showing how to synthesise and apply knowledge of the uses of social science to private and public problems and issues. The knowledge and skills learnt on the course are applied to real-world scenarios and cases.
The course is delivered through a combination of an online learning guide, which includes all study support and audio-visual materials, and a single textbook.
You will learn
As well as building your interdisciplinary social science knowledge, and learning a range of social science topics, you will develop a set of practical and transferable skills. These include critical thinking; collaborative working; report and essay writing; making presentations; ICT and numerical skills; and synthesising and applying knowledge. You will also learn how to manage your time effectively and organise and complete a programme of work to a specified standard; how to learn from feedback from others; and to critically reflect on your own learning.
Vocational relevance
This course offers a comprehensive grounding in interdisciplinary social science, suitable for a variety of qualification pathways and provides opportunities to develop skills that will be of vital importance in current or future careers.
Further study in the social sciences could open up employment opportunities in a wide range of occupations in business; banking; insurance; education; health professions; administration; law; social services; voluntary and campaigning organisations; the media; public relations; public service organisations and government (national and local); planning and environmental management; criminal justice system; and social welfare organisations. The course provides a set of transferable skills and aptitudes that are relevant to many other career pathways.
Entry
This is a Level 2 course and you need to have a good knowledge of the subject area, obtained either through Level 1 study with the OU, or by doing equivalent work at another university.
We recommend that you start with our key introductory course Introducing the social sciences (DD101) or the two 30-credit courses Introducing the social sciences - part one (DD131) and Introducing the social sciences – part two (DD132). These interdisciplinary Level 1 courses, with their integrated teaching of key study skills, provide a firm foundation for Level 2 study.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Module Regulations and the Student Regulations which are available on our Essential documents website.
If you have a disability
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Other alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you have particular study requirements please tell us as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Visit our Services for disabled students website for more information, including:
- help to determine your study requirements and how to request the support that you need
- Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs)
- using a computer for OU study
- equipment and other support services that we offer
- examination arrangements
- how to contact us for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Study materials
What's included
A course book and website.
Computing requirements
You will need a computer with internet access to study this course as it includes online activities, which you can access using a web browser.
- If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer since 2007 you should have no problems completing the online activities.
- If you’ve got a netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device check our Technical requirements section.
- If you use an Apple Mac you will need OS X 10.6 or later.
You can also visit the Technical requirements section for further computing information including the details of the support we provide.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You must use the online eTMA system to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs).
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in October 2013. In 2014 and 2015 we expect it to be available in February and October. We then expect it to be available once a year, in October.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button.
Distance learning
The Open University is the world’s leading provider of flexible, high quality distance learning. Unlike other universities we are not campus based. You will study in a flexible way that works for you whether you’re at home, at work or on the move. As an OU student you’ll be supported throughout your studies – your tutor or study adviser will guide and advise you, offer detailed feedback on your assignments, and help with any study issues. Tuition might be in face-to-face groups, via online tutorials, or by phone.
For more information read Distance learning explained.
Undergraduate
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | DD206 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 8 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| 1 Interactive computer-marked assignment (iCMA) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
Your questions
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