Syllabus, valid from 2024-01-15
Syllabus, valid from 2024-01-15
Title
Political Science: Social Science Methods for Global Politics
Swedish title
Statsvetenskap: Samhällsvetenskapliga metoder för global politik
Course code
GP629L
Credits
15 credits
Grading scale
UA / Excellent (A), Very Good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Pass (E) or Fail (U)
Language of instruction
English
Decision-making body
Faculty of Culture and Society
Establishment date
2022-04-19
Syllabus approval date
2023-10-11
Syllabus valid from
2024-01-15
Level
Advanced level
Entry requirements
Bachelor's degree in Social Science, and the equivalent of English 6 from Swedish upper secondary school
Main field
Political Science
Progression level
A1N
Progression level in relation to degree requirements
The course is part of the main field of Political Science on advanced level and can be included in a Master's degree.
Course contents
The course presents important aspects of theory of science and research methods relevant to Global Politics. Covering both qualitatively and quantitatively oriented methods of research, the course provides knowledge for the student in formulating research questions and relevant problems/hypotheses for conducting an independent research assignment. The student’s ability to choose, apply and present methods of research will be assessed through seminar presentations and written assignments.
Learning outcomes
After finishing the course, the student shall:
- display knowledge of and insight into the methodology within the field of research of Global Politics as well as the various theoretical perspectives that inform such research;
- display an ability to independently identify and formulate a problem for detailed consideration both orally and in writing, and apply methodology correctly in order to convey the results of their own work, and the results of others;
- display an ability to evaluate and elaborate on issues of empirical research from the relevant social and ethical perspectives.
Learning activities
The course is based on active participation of the students. A variety of methods, including interactive lectures/discussions, assigned readings, and group projects will be utilised for the purpose of achieving the course objectives.
Assessment
The assessment of the students’ knowledge will be based on individually performed written assignments and/or on oral or written presentations of group projects. In group presentations the individual student’s contribution must be distinguishable.
Students who do not pass the regular course exams have the minimum of two re-sit opportunities. Re-sits follow the same form as the original exams, apart from re-sits for group work, which take the form of individual written and oral assignments.
Course literature
General literature (whole course):
- 6, P. & Bellamy, C. (2012) Principles of Methodology: Research Design in Social Science. London: Sage. [336 pp.]
- Oliver, P. (2010) The student’s guide to research ethics. 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill/Open University Press (Open UP study skills). [170 pp.]
- Rosenberg, A. (2015) Philosophy of Social Science (5th ed.). Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. [360 pp.]
Quantitative methods
- Chambliss, D. and Schutt, R. (2018) Making Sense of the Social World: Methods of Investigation. London: Sage. [400 pp.]
Interview and observation methods
- Brinkmann, S., and Kvale, S. (2018) Doing interviews, Qualitative research Kit (2nd ed.). London: Sage. [120 pp.]
- Hammersley Martin (2007) Ethnography. Principles in Practice. London and NY: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group (E-book). [280 pp.]
- Karlsson, J. C. and Bergman, A. (2016) Methods for Social Theory. Analytical Tools for Theorizing and Writing. Abingdon-on-Thames, UK: Routledge. [168 pp.]
- Mayan, M. J. (2009) Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. [172 pp.]
Methods for text analysis
- Boréus, K. and Bergström, G. (2017) Analyzing Text and Discourse: Eight Approaches for the Social Science. London: Sage. [304 pp.]
Policy Analysis
- Halperin, S & Heath, O. (2020) Political Research. Methods and Practical Skills. Oxford: Oxford University Press [528 pp].
Additional literature (500 pages) may be added.
Course evaluation
Malmö University provides students who participate in, or who have completed a course, with the opportunity to express their opinions and describe their experiences of the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarise the results of course evaluations. The University will also inform participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures taken in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).
Interim rules
If a course is no longer offered, or has undergone significant changes, the students must be offered two opportunities for re-examination based on the syllabus that applied at the time of registration, for a period of one year after the changes have been implemented.
Additional information
If a student has a Learning support decision, the examiner has the right to provide the student with an adapted test, or to allow the student to take the exam in a different format. The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text.