Research Skills and Methods

(Autumn & Spring 1999/2000)

 

Convenor: Paul Taggart

Office: A69 (ext.2322/8292)

E-Mail: p.a.taggart@sussex.ac.uk

Aims and Objectives | Teaching Methods | Assignments | Background Reading

Autumn Course Outline | Spring Course Outline


This course runs through the autumn and spring terms. It is a compulsory course for all MACES students and for all first-year research students in Sussex European Institute, except those who have been exempted because they are taking or have already taken equivalent courses. Parts of the course will also be taken by students doing the MA in Anthropology of Europe. The course will occupy three teaching hours per week with additional or alternative sessions for DPhil students. Although the course includes a compulsory core, special consideration is given to the different needs of taught graduate students and research students as well as students doing different subjects.

The teaching hours allocated to the course are Mondays 9.15 - 12.15 in room A71. The format of teaching varies from week to week according to the course content.

Aims and Objectives

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the principles and practicalities of doing research in the field of European Studies. On the one hand, the course will provide basic grounding in social science concepts, analytical approaches and research tools including data collection and compilation, quantitative and qualitative methods. On the other hand, the course is specifically tailored to students of European studies, with particular emphasis on contrasting traditions of research in European studies as well as European sources and documentation.

The course has four major objectives. At the end of the course students should:

The course is divided into three sections. The structure reflects a gradual move from the wider issues at the outset of the course to the more specialist tools of research in the last section. The first section introduces the context of research. In this section, we deal with some very practical issues (such as how to present research) as well as addressing the more theoretical issues involved in social science research. The second section deals with the process of designing research while the final section presents a number of different social science methodologies that students will read in the work of others and, some of which, they will utilise in their own work.

Teaching Methods

The course will be taught through weekly sessions of three hours each which combine lectures, discussions, working in groups and smaller workshops.

For some weeks research students only will have short dedicated sessions that follow from a shortened session for all students taking the course, or which run along side the other sessions for non-research students

Assignments

For MACES students and for research students, assessment is based on six different exercises:

  1. A reading assignment for week 5 of Autumn term on a key text in European Studies
  2. A documentary exercise involving the analysis of a document pack. This is in preparation for the examination (see 4).
  3. The development of a group research design. This involves the identification of a research question, of research hypotheses and concepts and of variables and their measures.
  4. A 24 hour take home examination, in which students are provided with a document pack which they are asked to analyse. This examination takes place in the first week of the spring term. The examination counts as one sixth of the assessed units for the MA programme.
  5. A set of three abstracts in which each student locates published materials employing statistical, survey and interview methodologies and writes up a short methodological abstract for each. This is due in Week 6 of the Spring term.
  6. A set of three abstracts in which each student locates published materials employing textual, comparative and participant observation methodologies and writes up a short methodological abstract for each. This is due in Week 9 of the Spring term.

For MA in Anthropology of Europe students assessment is based on three different exercises:

  1. A reading assignment for week 5 on a key text in European Studies
  2. A documentary exercise involving the analysis of a document pack.
  3. The development of a group research design. This involves the identification of a research question, of research hypotheses and concepts and of variables and their measures.

For research students assessment is based on five different exercises:

  1. A reading assignment for week 5 of Autumn term on a key text in European Studies
  2. A documentary exercise involving the analysis of a document pack. This is in preparation for the examination.
  3. The development of a group research design. This involves the identification of a research question, of research hypotheses and concepts and of variables and their measures.
  4. A set of three abstracts in which each student locates published materials employing statistical, survey and interview methodologies and writes up a short methodological abstract for each. This is due in Week 6 of the Spring term.
  5. A set of three abstracts in which each student locates published materials employing textual, comparative and participant observation methodologies and writes up a short methodological abstract for each. This is due in Week 9 of the Spring term.

In addition all students should be prepared to do occasional extra reading for specific sections of the course.

In addition, students are encouraged to take courses offered by the computing centre; in particular, they should all be familiar with Excel. They are also encouraged to use the language laboratory.

Please Note: In order to qualify for the Master's Degree, it is necessary that you pass this course. Passing the course requires that you attend the sessions and complete the five coursework projects and that you complete the take-away examination.

Background Reading

Students are encouraged to read a basic introduction to social science methodology. A good text that covers some of the same material as the course is:

         May, T. Social Research:Issues, Methods and Process 2nd edn., (Open University Press, 1997).

The reading on social science methodology is vast and includes a range from the very practical to the very theoretical. Some of the key texts representing this range are:

 

 

COURSE OUTLINE

Autumn Term

Autumn Term: Week:  2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10   Spring Term: Week: 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Top

Section One: The Context of Research

Week 2: Introduction

Paul Taggart

This session lays out the structure of the course and makes explicit the aims and objectives of the course. The key focus is on the concept of the 'methodological architecture' of research which will be introduced as both a term as a theme to be followed through the course.

Key Terms:

Research Students: Doctoral Research

Paul Taggart

In this introductory session we discuss what it means to be a research student, and what it means to be part of the SEI research community.

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 3: Writing and Presenting Research

Paul Taggart

This session will provide guidance in writing papers, including choosing a topic, planning, reading and taking notes, writing outlines, references and bibliographies. The session will also cover class participation, listening, reading in advance, taking notes, asking questions.

Key Terms:

Research Students: Dissertation Planning

Adrian Smith

This session will be a shorter one and a half hour session with research students. The aim is to introduce research students to the need to problems faced at the early stages of large research projects and help them avoid some common pitfalls.

Reading:

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 4: What is European Studies?

Paul Taggart

European studies is not a discipline in its own right; it crosses international relations, political science, economics, sociology, etc. Nevertheless, it is possible to distinguish different traditions among those who are included in the field of European Studies. Broadly speaking, it is possible to distinguish those who are more focused on policy-making and who tend to use what in social science jargon is termed more positivistic research methods and those who analyse broad trends and would describe themselves as normative critical thinkers. Of course, these are not hard and fast distinctions and in SEI we try to bridge both approaches. In this session we examine the contested ideas of European studies as an interdisciplinary study area, a discipline or an area study.

Key Terms:

Reading:

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 5: The Idea of Social Science

Paul Taggart

In this session we examine the definitions of social science and look at the relationship to method in the social science. We examine the relationship between the social and the "hard" sciences. The session looks at the different philosophical justifications of the research basis of science. The most important distinction introduced is that between epistemology and methodology.

Key Terms:

Reading:

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 6: Sources on Eastern Europe

Paul Taggart and Aleks Szczerbiak

This session will provide a basic guide to finding information about Eastern Europe. The session will start with an introduction about the difficulties of undertaking research on Eastern Europe. It will contrast the pre-1989 approaches, where researchers had very little information with new approaches being developed in the new more open situation. In the session we incorporate a practical introduction to finding information on the World Wide Web.

Sources:

Journals

(in English)

Reports-Surveys (Human Rights, Economic, Social, Political, Environmental)

Reference

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 7: EU Documents and Sources

Paul Taggart and Francis McGowan

This session will provide an introduction to the main publications available from European Union institutions and how to use them. It will introduce the document packs which should be completed as preparation for the examination.

Reading:

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Section 2: Research Design

Week 8: Theories, Concepts and Variables

Paul Taggart

In this first session on the process of research design we look at the nature and role of theory in research. We then look at how models can be developed that link concepts and how these concepts can be operationalised using variables.

Key Terms:

Reading

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 9: Causal Models and Indicators

Paul Taggart

In this session we develop the idea of using causal models to link variables and hypotheses to link particular variables. We then begin to look at how to operationalise the model by constructing indicators of the variables used in the causal model.

Key Terms:

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 10: Measurement and Operationalisation

Paul Taggart

This session introduces the broad concept of operationalisation and then moves onto the narrower topic of measurement which was introduced in the previous week. This involves the issues about qualitative and quantative measures. We also look at some specific issues involved in quantative measurement, such as the different types of measures and validity and reliability.

Key Terms:

Reading:

 

Spring Term

Autumn Term: Week:  2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10   Spring Term: Week: 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Top

Section 3: Methodologies

Week 2: Interviews and Elite Studies

Paul Taggart

This session provides a general introduction to the problems encountered when collecting data on the basis of interviews, surveys, and questionnaires ? the choice of samples the formulation of questions, the analysis of answers.

Reading:

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 3: Surveys

Paul Taggart

Survey research is one of the most ubiquitous of research methods in the social sciences. In this session we look at the process of survey research with an emphasis on selecting samples and on the process of creating a survey instrument and the practical issues arising from carrying large surveys.

Key Terms:

Reading:

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 4: Statistical Data I

Paul Taggart & Barry Reilly

The use of quantitative data is widespread in the Social Sciences and it is vital that every student is able to read and assess some basic statistics and be familiar with appropriate data sources. In this first session on statistics we look at how to collect, present and read data, as well as understanding different forms of data.

Key Terms:

Reading:

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 5: Statistical Data II

Paul Taggart & Barry Reilly

In this second session on statistics we focus on measures of assocation, correlation and basic regression.

Key Terms:

Reading:

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 6: Participant Observation

Paul Taggart and Jon Mitchell

In this session we focus on the methodology of participant observation. This methodology raises technical methodological issues but also brings us back to some of the issues raised in the earlier part of the course concerning the distinction between fact and value and concerning the notions of objectivity usually associated with the "hard sciences".

Key Terms:

Readings:

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 7: Textual Analysis

Paul Taggart

In this session we look at the issues raised and the methodologies employed in textual research. This means looking at the issues of seeing culture as a text to be read off, and the rather different quantification of texts involved in the technique of content analysis.

Key Terms:

Reading

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 8: Comparative Analys

Paul Taggart

In this session we look at the methodology of comparative analysis and examine the relative strengths and weaknesses of different comparative strategies.

Key Terms:

Reading:

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 9: Legal and Ethical Issues

Paul Taggart

This session will cover the following issues:

Relations with funding body: contracts; restrictions on research/publication etc.; Data collection: relationship with subjects, confidentiality, information and consent; Privacy laws, Official Secrets Act, conditional access to archives, data sources etc.;Keeping records and Storing Data: data protection. PACE and seizure of research data.; Publication: copyright, defamation, plagiarism, protecting sources.

Reading:

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

Week 10: Conclusion

Paul Taggart

In this session we conclude the course by assessing the relative strengths and weaknesses of different research methods, and by drawing out the relationship between (different) methodological and theoretical approaches. Students will also evaluate the course as a group project in this session.

 

Back to the: Top | Autumn Outline | Spring Outline

 

 

Publication Details
Page Created By: Paul Taggart
Email: p.a.taggart@sussex.ac.uk
Page Last Modified: