Research Skills and Methods in Political Science (M1045)

15 credits, Level 4

Spring teaching

On this module, you'll be introduced to some of the fundamental issues faced by scholars when analysing the political world. You'll explore why scholars approach social and political issues in different ways, and how those choices shape their conclusions. You'll learn to identify, analyse and measure important relationships between different phenomena.

You'll start with a short introduction to political science, covering:

  • what studying politics actually means and understanding what political scientists do
  • key terms such as epistemology, behaviouralism, quantitative methods
  • How to use these terms in your own work to improve your arguments.

You'll discuss the ways to build knowledge and gather evidence by testing your own ideas using data. You'll then be introduced to the basics of quantitative methods and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using surveys, questionnaires and statistical packages to analyse real world political activity. This will involve analysing data and the research methods used to generate them. You will not need a mathematical background to complete this module.

Lastly, you’ll analyse interpretations of political affairs, including:

  • collecting evidence to support your case or answer a question
  • carrying out interviews, focus groups and simple participation
  • evaluating these methods, why they are chosen and how they link with more quantitative approaches.

By the end of the module, you'll understand what political science is, how political scholars conduct their research and how they reach their conclusions. You'll also critically interpret claims and counter-claims, often based on statistical indicators, that are a feature of contemporary political debate.

You’ll then apply what you learn through practical exercises in seminars and workshops, helping you connect key ideas to real-world political analysis.

 

 

Teaching

50%: Lecture
23%: Practical (Workshop)
27%: Seminar

Assessment

50%: Coursework (Essay)
50%: Written assessment (Report)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We鈥檙e planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We鈥檒l make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses: