POL10170 Foundations in Political Research

Academic Year 2022/2023

By your undergraduate studies you will develop a wide-ranging understanding of social science. Most courses you will take in your studies will relate to politics itself—about politics in different regions, or about particular aspects of political systems. This course, however, is about political science, about doing research on politics and in the social sciences more generally.
Theoretically and practically, we will consider questions such as: How do we design our research? How do we collect data? How do we draw valid conclusions from these data? While the focus in many other modules will be on knowledge of theories and knowledge of political systems, as well as basic analytical and critical skills, this module will provide you with very relevant practical skills and increased analytical skills that will benefit you throughout your career, both academically and professionally.

The module spans several topics, including: general types and core elements of research design; brief overview of the main methods in use in political science today; as well as practical and ethical considerations of political research. While we will explore empirical research methods and the visual inspection of results, this merely functions as an example to the core components of the course. Special attention will be paid to writing and reading political science research.