IRS 288 International Relations Research Methods

This course is intended to equip students with advanced methodological skills necessary to successfully complete a major research project in the social sciences. In the spirit of interdisciplinarity, its aim is to enable learners to develop an understanding of the basic methodological choices available in the field of political science and in cognate fields such as International Relations, Law, and sociology.

Problems of methodology and research design will be approached in the broader context of the philosophy of social science. Throughout the course students will have the opportunity to engage a series of debates concerning the core methodological and philosophical traditions in the social sciences such as positivism, hermeneutics, Marxism, poststructuralism, and formal theory. These include perspectives which seek to understand human action from 'the inside', by paying attention to its subjective or intersubjective meaning, as well as rival, scientific perspectives of studying the social world which assume the human subject away. An alternative set of theories present the entire social reality as a 'text', whereas rival formal theories discard the idea of meaning, language and reflexivity. Additionally, students will acquire competences in research design with a particular emphasis on qualitative research (ethnography, participant observation, case studies). The aim is to enable each researcher to develop an independent research project by identifying a methodological tradition of choice and by acquiring basic knowledge of its fundamental principles, as an indispensable prerequisite for sound research.