| CODE | EST5597 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Research Methodology | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | European Studies | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit guides students through the "research cycle" starting from a research question and going through the development of the literature review and theory, the methodology and research design, the discussion of own arguments and findings, and the design of good conclusions. This study-unit emphasises methodological pluralism - including qualitative and quantitative research designs, rationalism and constructivism, small-N and large-N studies, hypothesis testing and thick description. The study-unit consists of seminars, tutorials, and group learning, and is structured on three interrelated components: - Developing a literature review; - Constructing a theory and research design; - Analysing findings. This study-unit also introduces students to research methods and writing skills. This study-unit informs students on how to make research, optimize the use of available sources, as well as use them in the most appropriate manner. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims to provide students with a solid methodological background as well as the practical knowledge necessary to pursue social science research, particularly in the domain of European Studies. Therefore, the study-unit aims at acquainting students into advanced research skills, stimulating and reinforcing their professional attitude in doing research, and providing them the background needed for developing their dissertation. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Learn about the use and purpose of research in social science; - Identify good quality research; - Identify ethical implications when doing research; - Define basic theoretical (political, economic and legal theories which constitute the main pillars of the European Studies course) outlooks which will have causal effects on research at various stages; - Identify and assess different research orientations within an area of study such as qualitative and quantitative methodologies, amongst others; - Acquire knowledge of different research styles, for instance survey research, case-study research, comparative studies, amongst others; - Identify various methods of collecting, organizing and analyzing data; - Comprehend the importance of appropriate and suitable ways of presenting, communicating and disseminating data. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Draft a proper proposal for a research project; - Search for relevant information deriving from primary and secondary sources from libraries and electronic resources; - Conduct a proper literature review besides acquiring the ability to perceive main conclusions deriving from the research; - Demonstrate an understanding of pluralism in social science research methods and identify the best method in addressing a research question; - Develop an argument and keep track record of references to be inputted properly in the research; - Analyse data; - Summarize ideas in his/her own words. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Acock, A.C., 2012, A Gentle Introduction to Stata. Stata Press. - Burnham P; Gilland K; Grant W; Layton-Henry Z. (2008) Research Methods in Politics, Palgrave, UK. - Della Porta, Donatella, e Michael Keating. 2008. Approaches and methodologies in the social sciences: a pluralist perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - Exadaktylos Theofanis and Radaelli Claudio M., 2012. Research Design in European Studies. Palgrave. - Kellstedt, Paul M. 2011. The Fundamentals of Political Science Research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - King, Gary, Robert O. Keohane, e Sidney Verba. 1994. Designing Social Inquiry. Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. - Dunleavy, Patrick. 2003. Authoring a PhD. How to Plan, Draft, Write, and Finish a Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Class attendance is obligatory, as this is a seminar based course and assessment depends on class participation. Should a student miss more than two seminars the lecturer may barr the student from the study-unit. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Seminar | ||||||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Jean Claude Cachia |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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