Dr Simon Glendinning COW 1.07 and Prof Sara Hobolt COW 1.02

This course is compulsory on the MSc in European Studies (Research), MSc in European Studies: Ideas and Identities, MSc in European Studies: Ideas and Identities (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in Political Economy of Europe and MSc in Political Economy of Europe (LSE and Sciences Po). This course is not available as an outside option.

This lecture series offers an introduction to research methods and design for all students taking masters degrees in the European Institute. Themes discussed include: methods in the social sciences; methods in the humanities; common problems of research design; advice on writing coursework essays and dissertations; advice on critical reading and interpretation of texts; the logic of case-studies; comparative research and an introduction to quantitative methods.

1 x 2 hour session MT (week 2), 4 x 1 hour sessions MT (weeks 4, 6, 8, 10) and 5 x 1 hour sessions LT (weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10).

Bob Hancké, Intelligent Research Design: A guide for beginning researchers in the social sciences, Oxford UP 2009; J Caporaso & D Levine, Theories of Political Economy, Cambridge, 1992; R Goodin & H-D Klingemann (Eds), A New Handbook of Political Science, Oxford, 1996.

There is no examination for this course.

This is an unexamined course. We do not currently undertake a course survey.