Universität Wien
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210261 UE M2: Methods of Political Science (2014S)

8.00 ECTS (4.00 SWS), SPL 21 - Politikwissenschaft
Continuous assessment of course work

Tuesday 8.30-11.30 KR B NIG Erdgeschoß (ground floor)

First session 04.03.2014

Please sign up to this course via univis before the start of the semester; this is mandatory. It is not possible to sign up after this.

Attendance at the first session is compulsory. Students who do not attend the first session may lose their place in favour of students on the waiting list.
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 40 participants
Language: German

Lecturers

Classes

Currently no class schedule is known.

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The course provides knowledge of quantitative research approaches and methods that are necessary for researching and writing MA thesis. This course is important because you will learn how to conduct research, particularly within the social science field.

The first part of the course deals with the development of a research design. For this purpose all key concepts and steps of the research design are discussed: formulation of a research question, literature review, theory, hypothesis definition and testing, concept definitions and operationalization, case selection and empirical verification. Some of the questions that will be discussed include the following: How do I find a research question? How to formulate a research question? What elements should a quantitative research design include? How can a research question be adequately justified theoretically?

The second part of the seminar discusses statistical methods that are useful for answering the research question and to verify the hypotheses formulated. The empirical analyses are carried out using Stata to sample records in the computer room.

Assessment and permitted materials

The final grade is made up of:
- response papers (20%) and a research concept essay (20%) during the first half of the course
- homework (20%) and an empirical exercise work (20%) during the second half of the course
- class participation (20%).

We will discuss the requirements in class in the first session.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Assuming that you have read the material and participated regularly in class, the seminar will:

- sharpen your ability to produce original research in social science while developing skills in designing and conducting research studies, collecting and analysing data, drawing appropriate conclusions based on statistical results, and writing up scientific reports;
- help you choosing your MA thesis research question, collecting data and evidence, drawing conclusions and writing up your thesis;
- help you in analysing quantitative data and interpreting your results using Stata, a common statistical analysis programme used in the social sciences;
- develop your capacity for critically evaluating “scientific evidence” that is communicated in academic journals, the popular press, and other outlets such as reports from government agencies, non-profit organizations, and corporations.

Examination topics

The seminar is organized in one weekly session every Tuesday.

During the first half of the course (04 March to 29 April 2014) the weekly sessions are devoted to the discussion of the assigned readings. The role of the instructor is to provide some structure to the discussion and adding, where useful, additional information. Your role will be to lead the discussion. We expect each of you to participate in the discussion. Readings for the sessions are available for download on Moodle or on hold in the library. Attendance is mandatory and will be taken twice during each seminar. For each session three types of literature are offered. Required reading should be read by all participants. For each session an "application" article is listed to help us implement what we have learned. You must read this application article before the class. You should read each "application" article asking: 1. What does the article say? What are the research questions or hypotheses? How does the author answer the questions? What are the main conclusions? 2. What are the article's strengths and weaknesses, in your opinion? Think critically and practically. In addition, there is a supplementary literature if you want to treat a subject in depth.

During the second half of the course (13 May to 17 June 2014) the weekly sessions are devoted to the practice of data analysis, in particular using regression methods. You will become familiar with using Stata to manage and analyse data. You will also gain an understanding of the basics of bivariate and multivariate linear regression. In the last session, we will take a brief look at logistic regression models. For these classes, you will be asked to submit weekly homework as well as a longer final task.

Reading list

The literature will be available on Moodle and/or at the Department of Methods as a paper copy (which can then be photocopied on site).

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:38