Research Methods
Contents
Lecture 1 – 3-9 – research methods in international studies..................................................................2
Lecture 2 – 24-9 – research design: basic steps and philosophical considerations.................................5
Lecture 3 – 1-10 – Research Design: Conceptualisation and Operationalisation Issues.......................13
1
,Lecture 1 – 3-9 – research methods in international
studies
Why do we have this course?
- Understanding and conducting research are key components of the BA International Studies
programme.
o Research is the foundation (understand, conduct it, practical experience)
- This course is designed with key questions that students often have about research.
- It is a crash course in methods and methodology.
o Newman: methods = the collection of specific techniques we use in a study to select
cases, measure, and observe social life, gather and refine data, analyze data and
report on results.
o Newman: methodology = understanding the entire research process including its
social organizational context, philosophical assumptions, ethical principles, and the
political impact of new knowledge from the research enterprise.
- This course is about raising the level of your understanding of research and your ability to
conduct research better, more independently, and earlier in the programme.
- Specifically, the aim is threefold:
o To provide an understanding of the philosophical assumptions behind doing
academic research.
o To equip students with key practical strategies and techniques for different types and
processes of data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
o To merge theory and practice by having students design, conduct, and write-up a
small research project.
How does this course fit into the BA International Studies programme?
- Year 1
o Academic Reading and Writing (1,500-word essay)
Composing an academic essay (close reading secondary sources,
summarizing, citing, referencing, identifying rhetorical aspects in texts, flaws
in reasoning, developing a thesis, finding and using textual evidence,
organizing ideas for clarity, signposting an argumentative essay, compiling
and referencing bibliographic material, strategies for revision)
Introduction to university level writing
- Year 2
o Semester 1: Research Methods (2-3,000-word research report)
Building up research skills (understanding how to do/read/conduct research)
o Semester 2: Philosophy of Science (exam)
Philosophical study of the presuppositions, concepts, methods, and output
of the sciences)
o Semester 2: Thematic Seminar (5,000-word research essay)
Building up writing capacity and ability to independently do research
- Year 3
o Internship (7,000-word essay)
Optional
o Thesis Seminar (10,000-word thesis)
2
, Finishing paper (result of your efforts)
How does the course work with lectures and seminars?
- 3 Lectures: weeks 36, 39, and 40.
- 6 seminar sessions: typically weeks 37, 38, 41, 44, 45, and 49 (but check your seminar
syllabus).
- The general lectures are for all students and are meant to provide an overview of academic
research, the logic and limitations of qualitative and quantitative methods, and the basics of
research design (broad, general foundation).
o Lecture 1—Research Methods in International Studies
o Lecture 2—Research Design: Basic Steps and Philosophical Considerations
o Lecture 3-–Research Design: Conceptualisation and Operationalisation Issues
- While the lectures offer a general foundation, the seminars build on this foundation by
introducing students to research methods within a specific theme. There are a wide variety
of themes and all of them are based upon the research expertise of the lecturer.
o Attitudes to Language: From Cognition to Action
o Critical Theories and Practices
o Cultural Transfer, Power, and Identity Politics
o Democracy and Political Transitions
o Global Visual Politics
o Historians and the Study of Terrorism
o Human Rights and International Relations
o Liberalism, Populism, and the Search for Social Justice
o Living Together, Apart? Religious Tolerance and Coexistence
o Researching Insecure Authoritarianism
o Research the Global Economy: Trends, Problems, and Policy
o Researching War
o Slavery and Public Memory
o Talk of the Town: Linguistic Diversity and Multilingualism in The Hague
o Transnationalism and Global Diasporas
o Transnational Organized Crime: A Global Challenge
o War and Strategic Studies
- While each seminar is unique, all students will be introduced to:
o Field specific research design issues
o Multiple data collection and analysis methods
o Research ethics
o Operationalising research questions
o Issues of verification and reliability
o How to structure and write a research report
Designing, conducting, analyzing, and reporting research
- After completing this course, students will
o Understand the importance of academic research in acquiring knowledge and how
this relates to philosophical issues of ontology, epistemology, and the position of the
researcher. (Lectures (#2))
o Be able to explain the logic and limitations of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed
methods research. (Lectures (#3))
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