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QI3001: RESEARCHING IN THE 21ST CENTURY (2022-2023)

Last modified: 31 Jul 2023 11:19


Course Overview

Research methods are fundamental to the scientific study of Politics and International Relations. They are also increasingly desired by non-academic employers. This course introduces students to the scientific toolkit and some of the most popular methods of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. It is skills based and provides a hands-on experience. The gained skills will be essential for students at honour’s level and especially crucial for their undergraduate dissertations. The course also constitutes a significant part of their graduate attributes.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 3
Term First Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Offshore Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Kathrin Thomas

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Ma In Business Management-International Relations (Qatar)
  • Programme Level 3

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

Course Aims

Research methods are the toolkit of every researcher. Without methods it is impossible to systematically conduct research about the phenomena research in Politics and International Relations (PIR) are concerned with. This course provides you with an understanding of the research process, research design, and a variety of popular research methods to enable you to conduct sound empirical research in PIR. You will learn about different research philosophies and be provided with the necessary research toolkit to understand, critically evaluate, design and conduct empirical research, including how to set up research questions, hypotheses, and structured literature reviews. Furthermore, you will learn about popular qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis and study which ones are appropriate to answer your specific research question. While you will learn to critically evaluate the quality of prior research based on different methods, you also gain practical skills to apply these methods independently, prospective of your final undergraduate dissertation. You will gain hands-on experience in the application of methods in the tutorial sessions. The course provides you with valuable, transferable research skills such as teamwork in a collaborative project as well as (quantitative) data literacy and analysis skills. The final product is an individual research proposal that you may want to use as a starting point for your undergraduate dissertation.

Main Learning Outcomes 

  1. In-depth understanding of the research process
  2. Critical evaluating of prior research
  3. Designing empirical projects (individually and collaboratively)
  4. Producing original research

Course Content

Each of the methods detailed below will be examined in turn.

Scientific toolkit

  1. Scientific theory
  2. Research question, variables, and hypotheses
  3. Literature reviews and referencing

Qualitative methods

  1. Case study and comparative method
  2. Qualitative interviewing
  3. Focus groups
  4. Content analysis
  5. Discourse analysis

Quantitative methods

  1. Experimental research
  2. Surveys
  3. Secondary data
  4. Big data
  5. Data analysis in SPSS

Mixed methods


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Individual Research Design

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 50
Assessment Weeks 20 Feedback Weeks 23

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Feedback

Short paragraph of written feedback.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualCreateIn preparation for the dissertations, students produce a research proposal in which they apply and critically reflect on research methods in relation to their own research questions.
FactualUnderstandStudents gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the academic toolkit, from theory to practice. They learn to understand why and how we apply different research methods to analyse.
ProceduralApplyStudents learn to apply a variety of research methods, including the collection of (qualitative and quantitative) empirical data and (qualitative and quantitative) data analysis.
ReflectionEvaluateStudents learn to critically read and write about research, starting from critically reading previous research, organising arguments/thoughts and writing structured literature reviews.

Individual Quantitative Project

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 25
Assessment Weeks 17 Feedback Weeks 20

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Feedback

Short paragraph of written feedback.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualCreateIn preparation for the dissertations, students produce a research proposal in which they apply and critically reflect on research methods in relation to their own research questions.
FactualUnderstandStudents gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the academic toolkit, from theory to practice. They learn to understand why and how we apply different research methods to analyse.
ProceduralApplyStudents learn to apply a variety of research methods, including the collection of (qualitative and quantitative) empirical data and (qualitative and quantitative) data analysis.
ReflectionEvaluateStudents learn to critically read and write about research, starting from critically reading previous research, organising arguments/thoughts and writing structured literature reviews.

Lab Report: Group

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 25
Assessment Weeks 12 Feedback Weeks 15

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Feedback

Short paragraph of written feedback.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualCreateIn preparation for the dissertations, students produce a research proposal in which they apply and critically reflect on research methods in relation to their own research questions.
FactualUnderstandStudents gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the academic toolkit, from theory to practice. They learn to understand why and how we apply different research methods to analyse.
ProceduralApplyStudents learn to apply a variety of research methods, including the collection of (qualitative and quantitative) empirical data and (qualitative and quantitative) data analysis.
ReflectionEvaluateStudents learn to critically read and write about research, starting from critically reading previous research, organising arguments/thoughts and writing structured literature reviews.

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Resit Assessments

Resubmission of failed courswork element(s)

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 100
Assessment Weeks 45 Feedback Weeks 49

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Feedback
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
FactualUnderstandStudents gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the academic toolkit, from theory to practice. They learn to understand why and how we apply different research methods to analyse.
ReflectionEvaluateStudents learn to critically read and write about research, starting from critically reading previous research, organising arguments/thoughts and writing structured literature reviews.
ProceduralApplyStudents learn to apply a variety of research methods, including the collection of (qualitative and quantitative) empirical data and (qualitative and quantitative) data analysis.
ConceptualCreateIn preparation for the dissertations, students produce a research proposal in which they apply and critically reflect on research methods in relation to their own research questions.

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