Analytical Reading For Researchers In Social Sciences and Humanities.

Feb 26 — May 28, 2025

4 months

Analytical Reading For Researchers In Social Sciences and Humanities

A unique course using an online tool for text analysis and visualization – Viatext

Personal feedback from the lecturer

Unlimited access to methodological materials

The author’s method of analytical reading

What will the course give you?

The aim of the course is to provide practical assistance to students in working with concepts for their own research by developing competence in analytical reading of “difficult” texts and developing organized theoretical imagination.

1 Not be afraid of reading complex texts in social sciences and humanities

2 Reconstruct the theoretical arguments of these texts

3 Apply theoretical arguments in your own research

4 Use Viatext – an online tool for analytical reading

1 Not be afraid of reading complex texts in social sciences and humanities

2 Reconstruct the theoretical arguments of these texts

3 Apply theoretical arguments in your own research

4 Use Viatext – an online tool for analytical reading

Concept

The course is designed as a workshop on the skills of analytical reading and handling theoretical arguments.

The first part of the course is devoted to the development of analytical reading competence, which is necessary for extracting conceptual schemes, problems and statements from complex texts.

The second part of the course is devoted to the skills of transforming the results of analytical reading into a model of one’s own empirical research: setting research questions, methodological and methodological tasks relevant to the chosen approach.

The course will last 14 weeks, during which we will gradually develop new skills. The complex competence of analytical reading will be broken down into techniques from simple to complex. We will master the techniques sequentially. In each subsequent task, a new technique will be added to the already familiar one.

Who is this course for?

The course is designed for anyone who seeks to combine “theory” and “empirics” in their research. It is suitable for those who are just planning their research, as well as for those who already have data and are looking for a productive scheme for interpreting it.

The course is designed for:

Bachelor’s and master’s students in social sciences and humanities;

Postgraduate students and young scientists planning a scientific career;

Later-career researchers who wish to improve their skills in scientific writing.

Program

What to do when you have a difficult and incomprehensible text in front of you? How to stay calm and positive? Why the answer to the question “Can you read?” is not as simple as it seems at first glance. Before you start reading, we will answer these and other questions to form a positive attitude for reading difficult-to-understand texts. We will also learn what analytical reading is, how it differs from superficial reading, and how to understand whether it is worth reading a text analytically.

We will begin practicing analytical reading with segmentation – a group of elementary operations aimed at reconstructing the communicative plot of the text. In this section, we will learn what segmentation is, why it should be done, and what are the limitations of this technique. We will also learn to identify the problem of the text and localize “introductions” – strategic loci of the narrative, the allocation of which into separate segments greatly increases our ability to read the text. In addition, we will learn to articulate the author’s voice.

Author of the course

Andrei Kuznetsov

Andrei has published over 30 articles on science and technology studies, actor-network theory, and urban mobilities. His recent works explore a wide range of topics: driverless cars, urban participatory projects, the sociology of scientific knowledge, technological accidents, and the legacy of Bruno Latour.

Andrei Kuznetsov

Andrey has published over 30 articles on science and technology studies, actor-network theory, and urban mobilities. His recent works explore a wide range of topics: driverless cars, urban participatory projects, the sociology of scientific knowledge, technological accidents, and the legacy of Bruno Latour.