Course description

This course aims to provide students with an introduction to research approaches across the areas of Governance and Public Policy, Peace and Conflict Studies and International Relations. The course begins with an overview of relevant issues in the philosophy of the social sciences and then goes on to examine a selection of approaches to the study of politics. We consider the role of quantitative analyses and how these differ from qualitative analyses of politics. We then go on to examine comparative approaches, the uses of history in political analysis, and what political scientists can learn through discourse analysis and interviews. We will also consider approaches that analyse the visual dimension of politics as well as those that emphasize the psychological and emotional dimensions of politics. We will conclude with consideration of approaches that use mixed methods.

Archived offerings