Social Research Techniques

1. IDENTIFICATION DETAILS
Title:
Degree in Advertising
Faculty/School:
Communication Sciences
Course subject:
Social Research Techniques
Type:
Optional
Year / Semester:
Third Year – 6 Semester
Subject:
Environment and Market Foundations
Module:
Basis for a General Theory of Advertising
Language:
Spanish
Total
number
of
undertaken by pupil:
th
hours
Credits ECTS:
3
Code:
1953
75
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE
The ongoing social and cultural transformations of our day-to-day have a direct or indirect impact on
advertising activities. For this reason, professionals working in this area of Social and Human Sciences
must acquire and use the necessary tools to analyse, study, design and propose new alternatives,
from their field of action at work, that will give rise to personal, professional and business advantages.
These tools are the Social Research Techniques present in many areas of Social Sciences that feed
into Advertising to create, plan, measure and propose new alternatives for advertising actions.
3. SKILLS TO DEVELOP
3.1. General Skills
To be able to research and deepen into the communication process and its social impact.
To acquire the capacity to creatively ask and answer fundamental questions pertaining to what, why
and the consequences of human, social, political and economic events.
To be able to conduct research and analysis of advertising productions that involve handling sources,
data and documents applicable to this type of productions.
To acquire decision-making and problem-solving skills in the scope of the student’s professional and
research activities.
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3.2. Specific Skills
To define research topics that can contribute to better-knowing special and current events and to
properly apply the search results, in accordance with the standards for persuasive communication and
public relations disciplines.
To adequately identify and use documentation, market research and advertising media sources.
To retrieve, organise, analyse and process valuable information on the advertiser and its brands,
products or services and to use all this in a confidential and positive manner to meet the advertiser’s
goals.
To make project and research presentations in public or through any communication media.
3.3. Complementary Skills
To be acquainted with the different Social Research Techniques, what they are used for, why they are
used, when to use them and in what particular moment.
To know the knowledge areas of Social Sciences that feed into Advertising to create research
methodologies within their fields of action.
To analyse the qualitative and quantitative methodologies used in Advertising and to know when it is
most suitable to use one of the two, or even both, in the same research.
4. WORK TIME DISTRIBUTION
CONTACT HOURS
REMOTE STUDY HOURS
30
45
5. OBJECTIVES
Students seeking to obtain the Degree in Advertising must know the Social Research Techniques
currently used in Advertising. Additionally, students must know how being acquainted with these tools
helps to lay down principles for the creation, planning, research and empirical as well as scientific
knowledge for advertising actions.
6. INDEX OF SUBJECTS
Unit 1. SOCIAL RESEARCH: DEFINITION AND CONCEPTS
Unit 2. SOCIAL RESEARCH DESIGN
Unit 3. SOCIAL RESEARCH TECHNIQUES IN ADVERTISING
Unit 4. RESEARCH AREAS IN ADVERTISING
7. METHODOLOGY/LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Face-to-face activities will be combined with individual work undertaken by students: in-class
theoretical lectures, in-class workshops, individual readings, reading comprehension, resolution and
debate, presentation of assignments.
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8. BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Callejo, Javier. Viedma, Antonio (2005) Proyectos y estrategias de investigación social. McGraw-Hill.
Madrid
- Corbetta, Piergiorgio (2010) Metodología y técnicas de investigación social. MacGrawHill. Madrid
- González Lobo, Mª Ángeles. Carrero López, Enrique (1998) Manual de Planificación de Medios.
ESIC Editorial. Madrid
- Ruíz Olabuénaga, José Ignacio (2008) Metodología de la Investigación Cualitativa. Quinta Edición.
Universidad de Deusto. Bilbao-España
- Perelló Oliver, Salvador (2009) Metodología de la Investigación Social. Dykinson, S.L. Madrid
- Sierra Bravo, R (2001) Técnicas de Investigación Social. Parainfo. Madrid.
9. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Websites of Interest:
Autocontrol de la Publicidad (Self-control in Advertising) http://www.autocontrol.es
Revista El publicista (El Publicista Magazine) http://www.elpublicista.com
Revista Control (Control Magazine) http://www.controlpublicidad.com
Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (Spanish National Institute of Statistics) http://www.ine.es
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