Expand+POL20050 Research Methods in Political Science
Academic Year 2021/2022
As an introduction to the approaches in the empirical study of politics, this course will give an overview of causal inference methods in political science. This course will rei...

Hide-POL20050 Research Methods in Political Science
Academic Year 2021/2022
As an introduction to the approaches in the empirical study of politics, this course will give an overview of causal inference methods in political science. This course will reinforce the learning from Foundations of Political Research module and introduce students to commonly used statistical techniques in political science research. It will also cover quantitative methods, including sampling and basic statistical analysis, from describing and visualising patterns in numerical data to multiple regression analysis. Students will also be introduced to statistical programming for research in political science.

Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this module students should be able to:
- Understand the principles of good research design in politics;
- Have a basic understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of a large variety of methods;
- Solid understanding of causal inference and the logic of social scientific inquiry;
- Be able to calculate and interpret statistical results;
- Be able to implement and interpret a statistical analysis;
- Appreciate the practicalities of ethics and dissemination in politics research.