POL41640 Qualitative Research Methods for Political Science

Academic Year 2021/2022

This course introduces graduate students to the logic of research design and comparative case study methods. It provides an introduction to the variety of small N case study methods used in political and social scientific research. The aim of the course is to provide you with the necessary tools to identify the appropriate strategy for your research question; assess the options for empirical data collection; and make use of the relevant analytical techniques. It also aims to expand your knowledge of the ideas and assumptions underpinning the philosophy of the social science(s). Students will emerge better equipped to undertake comparative case study research that will produce valid descriptive and casual inferences about the political and social world.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this module graduate researchers will be quipped to:

Develop a research question and puzzle
Identify the problem specification of their dissertation
Learn the criterial process of case selection
Improve their capacity for sourcing data
Carry out causal process tracing analysis
Pursue comparative and counter-factual thinking
Implement elite interviews
Design focus groups
Assess the strengths and weaknesses of discourse analysis.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

22

Total

22

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This course introduces graduate students to the logic of research design and comparative case study methods. It provides an introduction to the variety of small N case study methods used in political and social scientific research. The aim of the course is to provide you with the necessary tools to identify the appropriate strategy for your research question; assess the options for empirical data collection; and make use of the relevant analytical techniques. It also aims to expand your knowledge of the ideas and assumptions underpinning the philosophy of the social science(s). Students will emerge better equipped to undertake comparative case study research that will produce valid descriptive and casual inferences about the political and social world. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Continuous Assessment: Short essay Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

30

Assignment: End of term paper Week 12 n/a Graded No

70


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

• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.