POL20050 Research Methods in Political Science

Academic Year 2022/2023

As an introduction to the approaches in the empirical study of politics, this course will give an overview of causal inference methods in political science. This course will reinforce the learning from Foundations of Political Research module and introduce students to commonly used statistical techniques in political science research. It will also cover quantitative methods, including sampling and basic statistical analysis, from describing and visualising patterns in numerical data to multiple regression analysis. Students will also be introduced to statistical programming for research in political science.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students should be able to:
- Understand the principles of good research design in politics;
- Have a basic understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of a large variety of methods;
- Solid understanding of causal inference and the logic of social scientific inquiry;
- Be able to calculate and interpret statistical results;
- Be able to implement and interpret a statistical analysis;
- Appreciate the practicalities of ethics and dissemination in politics research.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Tutorial

8
Autonomous Student Learning

70
Total

102
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Students should rely on readings, lectures, and tutorials for learning. There will be readings assigned for each week and students are expected to complete this before the lecture. Teaching will give equal importance to the theory and practice of statistical/research methods. MCQs will test the breadth of students' knowledge and the term paper will test the ability of students to apply theory on statistical methods on a real-world data set using the statistical program of instruction. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Recommendations:

Students who attempt this module must have completed POL10170 Foundations in Political Research or any Social Sciences Stage 1 research method module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Equivalents:
Analysing Politics (POL27050)


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Continuous Assessment: Tutorial homework Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

10
Examination: 1 hour end-of-trimester in-class MCQ Examination Week 12 No Graded No

30
Examination: 1 hour midterm in-class MCQ examination Unspecified No Graded No

30
Essay: Term paper: Data analysis Unspecified n/a Graded No

30

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn Yes - 2 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Tutors will inform students their feedback strategies.

Name Role
Ms Yuko Conlon Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Arya Pillai Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Sarah King Tutor
Daniel Lovett Tutor
Gina Paula Montano Parrales Tutor
Conor Twomey Tutor
Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
 
Spring
      
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Thurs 11:00 - 11:50
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Tues 12:00 - 12:50
Computer Aided Lab Offering 1 Week(s) - 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 Wed 14:00 - 14:50
Computer Aided Lab Offering 3 Week(s) - 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 Tues 13:00 - 13:50
Computer Aided Lab Offering 4 Week(s) - 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 Tues 10:00 - 10:50
Computer Aided Lab Offering 5 Week(s) - 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 Wed 11:00 - 11:50
Computer Aided Lab Offering 6 Week(s) - 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 Thurs 10:00 - 10:50
Computer Aided Lab Offering 7 Week(s) - 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 Thurs 14:00 - 14:50
Computer Aided Lab Offering 8 Week(s) - 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 Thurs 15:00 - 15:50
Computer Aided Lab Offering 9 Week(s) - 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 Mon 11:00 - 11:50
Computer Aided Lab Offering 10 Week(s) - 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 Thurs 13:00 - 13:50
Computer Aided Lab Offering 11 Week(s) - 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 Tues 14:00 - 14:50
Computer Aided Lab Offering 12 Week(s) - 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 Mon 10:00 - 10:50
Computer Aided Lab Offering 13 Week(s) - 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 Wed 13:00 - 13:50
Spring