Research Skills & Meth (Pol Sci) (M1045)
Research Skills and Methods in Political Science
Module M1045
Module details for 2022/23.
15 credits
FHEQ Level 4
Module Outline
This module is designed to introduce students to some of the fundamental issues faced by scholars as they try to analyse the political world around them. The module illustrates the importance of knowing why scholars approach problems and issues of social and political interest in particular ways, and how this can (and does) have a fundamental effect on the conclusions that they come to. The module challenges students to identify important relationships between different phenomena, and asks how one may go about measuring and analysing them.
Before discussing such issues in detail, the module begins with a short section on the discipline of political science. Many students have been asked what 'studying politics' actually means the first lecture will help them answer this question in a clear and convincing way. The module then moves on to introduce some of the key terms that are used within the discipline of political science. Some of them may well sound horribly scary (epistemology, behaviouralism, quantitative methods etc. etc.) they aren't. This module will illustrate that. You may surprise yourself at how accessible some of these ideas are and how helpful they are in understanding what it is that political scientists do. You will in time realise that by using, or at the very least understanding, these ideas in your own essays and dissertations you make much more coherent and intellectually rigorous arguments.
The next group of lectures and seminars discuss some of the ways that we can build knowledge and accrue evidence by testing our ideas using data. You will be introduced to the basics of quantitative methods. Such methods have both their (strong) proponents and their (equally strong) critics, and we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using surveys, questionnaires and statistical packages to analyse real world political activity. This DOES NOT mean that you have to be any good at maths to do this module. I am not particularly, and I don't expect you to be. What you will be required to do is assess and analyse various types of data as well as the logic and method that a researcher has used in generating them. An inquisitive mind will therefore suffice.
The next set of lectures analyse a completely different mode of enquiry; those based on interpretist understandings of political affairs. There are, obviously, all sorts of ways of collecting evidence to support your case/answer a question, and some of the most popular involve doing interviews, focus groups, simple participation etc. We discuss some of the strengths and weaknesses of using these methods, analysing why they are chosen in the first place and how they link with more quantitative approaches.
By the end of the module, students should have an enhanced understanding of what the political science discipline is, how political scholars conduct their research and how they reach the conclusions that they do. Students should also be able to critically interpret many of the claims and counter-claims, often based on statistical indicators, that are a feature of contemporary political debate.
Most of the lectures will necessarily focus on presenting various, often rather abstract, concepts and procedures. However, the relevance of these in modern political analysis will be demonstrated by incorporating practical exercises in which the concepts and methods learnt will be applied in seminars and computer workshops.
Module learning outcomes
To provide an effective introduction to the concepts and principles that underpin the discipline of political science.
To enable students to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of particular forms of research design in the study of political affairs.
To understand basic theories of qualitative research and to interpret their value in understanding political behaviour.
To provide an effective introduction to some of the basic techniques of quantitative analysis.
| Type | Timing | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Essay (1500 words) | Spring Semester Week 7 Fri 16:00 | 50.00% |
| Coursework | 50.00% | |
| Coursework components. Weighted as shown below. | ||
| Report | A2 Week 1 | 100.00% |
Timing
Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.
Weighting
Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.
| Term | Method | Duration | Week pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Semester | Seminar | 1 hour | 11111100000 |
| Spring Semester | Workshop | 1 hour | 00000011111 |
| Spring Semester | Lecture | 1 hour | 11111111111 |
How to read the week pattern
The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.
Dr Rekha Diwakar
Convenor, Assess convenor
/profiles/317231
Dr Hannah Richter
Assess convenor
/profiles/341320
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