| CODE | PPG5115 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Researching Politics, Governance and Law | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Policy, Politics and Governance | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Research in politics, governance and law takes different forms and adopts a wide variety of methodological approaches. This study-unit introduces students to research methods in the study of Politics, Governance and Law with the aims of (a) teaching students how to employ specific methods in their research work, and (b) preparing students to write their dissertation proposal. The study-unit introduces both theoretical/desk-based and empirical/field approaches to research. Thus, key concepts in theoretical, qualitative, quantitative and documentary research are presented, highlighting a range of research methodologies and methods that are applicable both within and across the fields at hand. This study-unit delves into the theoretical underpinnings, epistemological stances and practical guidance needed for sound research design, for crafting research questions, and for engaging in meaningful data collection and analysis. Theoretical approaches (e.g., conceptual, historical or critical research), qualitative empirical research (e.g., interviewing, focus groups, thematic analysis, argumentation analysis, discourse analysis, ethnography), quantitative empirical research (e.g., surveys, basic inferential statistics), and socio-legal and doctrinal methods are presented. In all modalities, three stances will be identified: (a) traditional vs. critical approaches, (b) desk-based vs. field approaches, and (c) data involving documents vs. data involving human participants. Apart from the lectures, the study-unit also consists of a seminar intended to guide the students in the writing of their postgraduate dissertation proposal. Study-unit Aims: - Introduce students to diverse methodological approaches that can be adopted in the study of Politics, Governance and Law, particularly in view of wider societal dynamics; - Contextualise methods and analytical procedures within and across different traditions of research and fields of study; - Present the different theoretical underpinnings and epistemologies involved in research; - Provide practical guidance on collecting and analysing different forms of data, ranging from documents to the input of human participants; - Guide students in the drafting of a postgraduate dissertation proposal; - Introduce different theoretical, qualitative, desk-based and quantitative research methods and analytical procedures. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Explain the different epistemological stances in research; - Explore different methodological stances; - Explain the differences between theoretical, desk-based, qualitative and quantitative research; - Identify what makes a coherent research proposal: wherein epistemology flows into a research design where research questions, methodology, and methods of data collection and analysis align; - Explain the different stages of research writing in terms of research design, research epistemology, methodology, method, research questions, data collection and analysis (knowing the role of each). 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Apply knowledge on research epistemologies and methodologies to their dissertation topic; - Identify an area of research and apply a relevant research methodology to it, culminating in a postgraduate study in Politics, Governance and/or Law; - Examine the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology adopted in their study; - Present a research proposal, delineating its research design, methodology adopted and key research questions; - Conduct specific studies, that is, those involving (a) thematic analysis, (b) theoretical/conceptual work, (c) discourse analysis, (d) argumentation analysis, (e) basic inferential statistics, and (f) document-based work. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Halperin, Sandra & Oliver Heath, Political Research: Methods and Practical Skills, 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2017). - Matthews, B., & Ross, L. (2010). Research Methods: A Practical Guide For The Social Sciences, Pearson education. Supplementary Readings: - Attride-Stirling, J., 2001. Thematic networks: an analytic tool for qualitative research. Qualitative research, 1(3), pp.385-405. - Barbour, R. and Kitzinger, J. eds., 1998. Developing focus group research: politics, theory and practice. Sage. - Begum, Neema & Rima Saini, "Decolonising the Curriculum," Political Studies Review vol. 17, no. 2 (2019): 196-201. - Burnham, Peter et al. Research Methods in Politics, 2nd ed (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008). (available at library) - Brady, H.E., 2000. Contributions of survey research to political science. PS: Political Science & Politics, 33(1), pp.47-58. - Braun,Virginia & Victoria Clarke, Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide (SAGE, 2021). - Brinkmann, S., 2007. Could interviews be epistemic? An alternative to qualitative opinion polling. Qualitative inquiry, 13(8), pp.1116-1138. - Brinkmann, S., 2014. Unstructured and semi-structured interviewing. The Oxford handbook of qualitative research, 2, pp.277-299. - Buhagiar, L.J. and Sammut, G., 2023. The Minimal Model of Argumentation: Qualitative data analysis for epistemic speech, text and policy. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour. - Christoffersen, Ashlee, "Researching Intersectionality: Ethical Issues," Ethics and Social Welfare vol. 12, issue 4 (2018): 414-421. - Creutzfeldt, N., Mason, M., & McConnachie, K. (Eds.). (2020). Routledge handbook of socio-legal theory and methods. New York: Routledge. - della Porta, Donatella (ed), Methodological Practices in Social Movement Research (Oxford UP, 2014). - della Porta, Donatella & Michael Keating, Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences: A Pluralist Perspective (Cambridge UP, 2008). - Fairclough, Norman, Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language, 2nd ed. (Routledge, 2010). - Field, Andy, Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics (SAGE, 2017), Fifth edition. - Flick,Uwe (ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Analysis (SAGE, 2014). (available at library) - Glynos, Jason & David Howarth, Logics of Critical Explanation in Social and Political Theory (Routledge, 2007). - Hesse-Biber, Sharlene Nagy & Patricia Lina Leavy, Feminist Research Practice: A Primer, 2nd ed. (SAGE, 2014). - Jørgensen, Marianne & Louise Phillips, Discourse Analysis as Theory and Method (SAGE, 2002). - Kubik, J. (2009). Ethnography of politics: Foundations, applications, prospects. Political ethnography: What immersion contributes to the study of power, 25-52. - Terrell, Steven R., Writing a Proposal for Your Dissertation: Guidelines and Examples, 2nd ed. (Guilford, 2023). - Watkins, D. (Ed.). (2017). Research methods in law. Routledge. - Wodak, Ruth & Bernhard Forchtner (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language and Politics (Routledge, 2018). |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Seminar & Independent Study | ||||||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Kurt Borg Joseph Bugeja Luke Buhagiar Frances Camilleri Cassar Mario Thomas Vassallo |
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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 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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