Explore UCD

UCD Home >

POL20050

Academic Year 2024/2025

Research Methods in Political Science (POL20050)

Subject:
Politics
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Politics & Int Relations
Level:
2 (Intermediate)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Assoc Professor Samuel Brazys
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
Blended
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

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.

About this Module

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 using statistical software;
- Appreciate the practicalities of ethics and dissemination in politics research.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Autonomous Student Learning

70
Lectures

24
Computer Aided Lab

8
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. Lectures will be pre-recorded and are expected to be viewed prior to the weekly class meeting. 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 Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Exam (In-person): Final MCQ Exam End of trimester
Duration:
2 hr(s)
 Other No
55
 No
Portfolio: Tutorial Assignments (grade-neutral pass/fail) Week 2, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 10 Pass/Fail Grade Scale No
10
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Data analysis project Week 12 Graded No
35
 No

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

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 12:00 - 12:50
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Tues 12:00 - 12:50
Spring Computer Aided Lab Offering 1 Week(s) - 21, 23, 25, 29, 31 Tues 13:00 - 13:50
Spring Computer Aided Lab Offering 3 Week(s) - 22, 24, 26, 30, 32 Tues 13:00 - 13:50
Spring Computer Aided Lab Offering 4 Week(s) - 21, 23, 25, 29, 31 Wed 11:00 - 11:50
Spring Computer Aided Lab Offering 5 Week(s) - 22, 24, 26, 30, 32 Wed 11:00 - 11:50
Spring Computer Aided Lab Offering 6 Week(s) - 21, 23, 25, 29, 31 Thurs 10:00 - 10:50
Spring Computer Aided Lab Offering 7 Week(s) - 21, 23, 25, 29, 31 Thurs 14:00 - 14:50
Spring Computer Aided Lab Offering 8 Week(s) - 22, 24, 26, 30, 32 Thurs 10:00 - 10:50
Spring Computer Aided Lab Offering 9 Week(s) - 21, 23, 25, 29, 31 Thurs 13:00 - 13:50
Spring Computer Aided Lab Offering 10 Week(s) - 22, 24, 26, 30, 32 Thurs 13:00 - 13:50
Spring Computer Aided Lab Offering 11 Week(s) - 21, 23, 25, 29, 31 Tues 14:00 - 14:50
Spring Computer Aided Lab Offering 12 Week(s) - 22, 24, 26, 30, 32 Tues 14:00 - 14:50
Spring Computer Aided Lab Offering 13 Week(s) - 22, 24, 26, 30, 32 Thurs 14:00 - 14:50
Print this page
Fill in the following details:
Enter the body of your query here.

From time to time UCD would like to send you further information that we feel, based on your enquiry, would be of interest to you.