Dr Audrey Alejandro COL.7.10

This course is available on the MSc in Applied Social Data Science, MSc in Culture and Conflict in a Global Europe, MSc in Culture and Conflict in a Global Europe (LSE & Sciences Po), MSc in Culture and Society, MSc in Development Studies, MSc in Gender (Research), MSc in Gender, Media and Culture, MSc in Human Geography and Urban Studies (Research), MSc in Inequalities and Social Science, MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Research) and MSc in Social Research Methods. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course is freely available to any MSc or MRes students interested in text and discourse analysis.

The course is also available to PhD students interested in text and discourse analysis, please see MY528.

There are no prerequisites but some prior training in research methods is expected (including finding bibliographical resources, conducting a literature review, creating one's own research question...). Please contact the course convenor if unsure.

How can we use texts and discourses to create meaning about the social world? The goal of this course is to provide students with the skills to construct and conduct social sciences research using text and discourse as an entry point. While acquiring these skills, students also learn how to interpret textual data by exploring the concepts and case studies developed across disciplines. The course both establishes a theoretical foundation for text/discourse analysis and takes a practical and applied approach, so that students can acquire greater independence and confidence to conduct their research project autonomously.

Discourse Analysis is the overarching method that structures the content of the course. The first part of the course focuses on the application of the most common methods used to analyse texts and discourses (including thematic analysis and content analysis). The second part of the course places the in-depth analysis of texts in the broader context of research methods and design, to ensure students know how to critically self-assess their work and produce research to the highest standards. Beyond learning the skills of qualitative text/discourse analysis, this course is an invitation to produce more structured, analytical and critical research capable of grasping not only the visible but also the invisible and implicit dimensions of politics and society.

Examples from across the social sciences will be used throughout the lectures and seminars.

15 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the LT. This year, some or all of this teaching may be delivered through a combination of virtual classes and flipped-lectures delivered as short online videos.

This course has a Reading Week in Week 6 of LT.

A project proposal (c.1,000 words) focusing on the topic that the student will develop in their summative assignment. The project proposal comprises a blog post and a project outline.

Baker, P. and Ellece, S. (2010). Key Terms in Discourse Analysis, London: Continuum.

Dunn K. and Neumann I. B. (2016). Undertaking Discourse Analysis for social research, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Kuckartz U. (2014). Qualitative text analysis: a guide to methods, practice & using software. Los Angeles: Sage.

Scheier, M. (2012). Qualitative Content Analysis. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Research proposal (100%) in the ST.

A research proposal (100%, 4000 words) in the ST. Students can base their research proposal on a dimension/sub-question of their dissertation topic (or a related topic, e.g. a PhD proposal) subject to the approval of their home department.