Politics
Research Skills and Methods in Political Science
Module code: M1045
Level 4
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Seminar, Workshop, Lecture
Assessment modes: Report, Coursework
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.
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.