Department of Government & International Studies
EURO 7050
Methodology for Political Research
Prerequisites:
Postgraduate standing
Duration/Frequency:
3 hours/week
Credits/Units:
0
Language of Tuition:
English
Number of Contact Hours:
42 (3 X 14 weeks)
Individual Study Time Required:
42 hours (3 X 14 weeks)
Total Assumed Work Load:
6 hours/week
Course Description/Aims and Objectives:
The course introduces to a series of techniques and issues in methodology for political
research. It particularly focuses on options available for research design and theory
building. Qualitative fieldwork, Comparative methodology, and Statistical Inference are
particularly emphasized. Students are invited to use the course material to elaborate
and present the methodology of their Independent Study.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) / Competencies:
Knowledge
By the end of this course, students will be able to
1.
2.
3.
Formulate an independent study project;
Use a series of techniques and methods for political research; and
Describe different techniques available for field-work in political science, to the
different approaches in comparative politics and international relations.
Skills
By the end of this course, students will be able to
4.
5.
Use the course material to elaborate and present the methodology of their
Independent Study; and
Analyze critically about the relation between fact-finding and theory building,
and between data collection and interpretation.
1
Attitudes
By the end of this course, students will be able to
6.
7.
Evaluate the acquired knowledge and skills when conducting research in the
daily reality settings; and
Appraise the different research methods during literature reviewing.
Course Content:
1.
2.
Political Theory and Political Research: Unity and Diversity
Designing Research for Political Science
3.
4.
5.
6.
Data Collection: Methods and Sources
Ordering Data: Variables, Scales and Indicators
Theory building: Concepts, Hypothesis, Relations between Variables
Comparative Methodology: Quantitative Approach
7.
8.
9.
Comparative Methodology: Qualitative Approach
Advanced Methods: Formal Modeling.
Advanced Methods: Interpretive Methodology.
Teaching & Learning Activities (TLAs):
TLAs
ILOs
addressed
1. Seminars
1 to 7
The seminars will introduce a series of techniques and issues
in methodology for political research.
2. Discussions
4 to 7
Discussion will be held to use the course material to elaborate
and present the methodology of their Independent Study.
2
Assessment Methods (AMs):
AMs
Coursework
Weighting
60%
ILOs
Description of
addressed
Assessment Tasks
1 to 6
Students are required to
make a preliminary
presentation based on
the knowledge acquired
for the seminars.
Participation in
40%
1 to 7
class
Students must attend all
seminars and try to be
punctual. All students are
expected to read the
relevant readings before
the seminars. They
should ask questions,
give comments to the
presenters, and
participate in the
discussion.
References:
Becker (Howard), Ragin (Charles), eds., What is a case? : exploring the foundations of
social inquiry. New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Becker, Howard Saul, Tricks of the trade : how to think about your research while you're
doing it. Chicago, Ill. : University of Chicago Press, 1998.
Bellamy (Richard), Mason (Andrew), eds., Political concepts. Manchester ; New York :
Manchester University Press : 2003.
Brewer John, Hunter Albert, Multimethod Research. London, Sage Publications, 1989.
3
Burnham Peter, [et al.], Research methods in politics. Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
Carver (Terrell), Hyvarinen (Matti), (Eds.). Interpreting the political: new methodologies.
New York : Routledge, 1997.
Denzin (Norman K.), Lincoln (Yvonna S.), The landscape of qualitative research :
theories and issues. Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage, 2003.
Denzin (Norman K.), Lincoln (Yvonna S.),eds., Handbook
research, Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications, 2000.
of
qualitative
Frank (Robert), ed., The explanatory power of models : bridging the gap between
empirical and theoretical research in the social sciences. Boston : Kluwer
Academic Publishers, 2002.
Goodin (Robert E.), Klingemann (Hans D.), A New handbook of Political Science.
Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1996.
Harrison, Lisa, Political research : an introduction. London ; New York : Routledge,
2001.
King, Gary, Robert O. Keohane, Sidney Verba, Designing social inquiry : scientific
inference in qualitative research. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press,
1994.
Landman, Todd, Issues and methods in comparative politics : an introduction. London ;
New York : Routledge, 2003.
Mahoney (James), Rueschemeyer (Dietrich), Comparative historical analysis in the
social sciences. Cambridge, U.K. ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Mandaville (Peter), Williams (Andrew), Meaning and International Relations. London ;
New York : Routledge, 2003.
Marsh (David), Stoker (Gerry), eds., Theory and methods in political science. New York :
Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
Morrow, James D., Game theory for political scientists. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton
University Press, 1994.
4
Pennings (Paul), Keman (Hans), Kleinnijenhuis (Jan), Doing Research in Political
Science. London, Sage, 1999.
Peters (Guy B), Comparative Politics, Theory and Methods. Basingstoke, MacMillan,
1998.
Peters, B. Guy., Institutional theory in political science : the new
institutionalism. London ; New York : Pinter, 1999.
Ragin, Charles C. The comparative method : moving beyond qualitative and quantitative
strategies. Berkeley : University of California Press, 1987.
Ragin, Charles C., Constructing social research : the unity and diversity of method.
Thousand Oaks : Pine Forge Press, 1994.
Sprinz (Detlef F.), Wolinsky-Nahmias (Yael), Models, numbers, and cases : methods for
studying international relations. Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 2004.
White, Louise G., Political Analysis : technique and practice. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth
Pub. Co., 1994.
Political Resources on the Net, http://www.politicalresources.net
Political Science on the WorldWideWeb, Institute of Political Science, University of
Tubingen, http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/uni/spi/urleng.htm
Political Science, A Net Station, University of British Columbia Library,
http://www.library.ubc.ca/poli
Syllabus prepared by: Ching-Yin CHOW / September 2010
5