The Sociological Detectives: Trial: And Error

The latest addition to the burgeoning Sociological Detectives™ Universe is a role-playing simulation of the Research Process – and Popper’s Hypothetico-Deductive Model of Scientific Research in particular – that uses the analogy of a criminal investigation to help students understand and experience how and why the research process is structured. The simulation takes the students […]

Sociological Sims from Cengage

I’ve continually argued that games and simulations have an important part to play in the sociology classroom – I’ve found, created and posted a fair number – partly because they can be counter-intuitive in a way that forces students to confront and reassess their taken-for-granted ideas about social behaviour – from education to inequality – […]

The Sociological Detectives: Hiding in Plain Sight

In this third outing in the Research Methods series, the Sociological Detectives investigate Overt Participant Observation through a simple piece of hands-on research. This PowerPoint Presentation – the 3rd in the Research Methods series (the others being The Research Process and Non-Participant Observation) – combines a hands-on approach to doing Overt Participant Observation with a […]

The Sociological Detectives: BOLO

In this research methods simulation students take on the role of Sociological Detectives to investigate formal and informal norms using non-participant observation. In the second simulation in the Research Methods series – the first, Trial and Error,  introduced the Research Process – students again take-on the role of Sociological Detectives. This time, however, they are […]

Leave Nothing to Chance: An Education Simulation

“Leave Nothing to Chance” is, unless I’m very much mistaken (and I probably am), my first real attempt at a “proper classroom simulation”. I’d like to say I’m excited about it, but when all’s-said-and-done it’s only a simple simulation. On the other hand, I very much hope you like it, use it, develop it and […]

Sociology Sim: An Exercise in Inequality

As you may have gathered, I rather like simulations and this is another one I’ve found that can be added to the expanding list. This particular one was created by Chris Andrews and is interesting, at least to me, because its focus on social inequality means it has applications right across the sociological spectrum; you […]

Beat The Bourgeoisie: A Simulation

Long-time readers of this blog may recall that around 18 months ago I posted a series of sociology simulations, under the general title “7 Sims in 7 Days”, one of which, Cards, Cakes and Class, focused on giving students a physical taste of social inequality. However, while I like the basic ideas underpinning the sim, it […]

Trial: And Error: Online version

While PowerPoint is fine for displaying via desktop devices it’s not quite so clever when it comes to the different devices, from tablets to mobiles, potentially being used inside and outside the a-level classroom. If, therefore, you want a portable (html5) version of the Sociological Detectives Research Process Simulation that has the same functionality as […]

Trial: And Error Frontend

In response to quite literally no-one asking for it, we’ve created a Frontend – what people in The Olde Days laughingly used to call “a Menu” – for the Research Process sim. This brings together three elements of a possible lesson (the Simulation PowerPoint, Hypothetico-Deductive PowerPoint and “Nature of Science” pdf) in one handy, easy […]

The Sociological Detectives: We Have A Situation…

This PowerPoint Presentation brings together a couple of ideas, one of which – the idea of “students playing the role of detectives” I’ve previously explored in a slightly different way. The other – a situation-based application – is one I’ve adapted from a couple of recent sources: Firstly, the AQA Crime and Methods exam question […]