Type of course

Course content

Objectives of the course

Students who successfully complete this course should have achieved the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

• understand the aims, principles and practice of social research;
• be able to discuss and evaluate the different stages in the research process and critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of different research methods and their applicability to different situations;
• have an understanding of the interplay between methods (techniques of evidence gathering) and methodology (debates and deliberation over how research should proceed).

Skills

• be able demonstrate confident knowledge of, and practice in, fieldwork methods, interview techniques, and participant observation;
• be able to assess the various sources of data, such as interviews, texts, documents and statistics and determine their appropriateness for different purposes;
• have knowledge of discourse analysis, and comparative analyses as methods;
• be able to master the basic survey methods and statistical analysis;
• be able to use the internet with critical judgment and creativity as a data-gathering tool;
• have knowledge of project management techniques and log frame analysis.

General competence 

• be able to use the skills and knowledge described above to independently design and carry out a master¿s thesis project
• be able to write academic texts and other reports in a convincing style appropriate to various audiences
• be able to both evaluate and integrate appropriate ethical standards into research projects;
• have mastered research and project management skills enabling them to perform in a service agency, in the NGO sector or doing research on Human Rights practice.

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods

Introduction to Basic research methods in the social sciences will be given during the spring term in Roehampton.
An introductory seminar/gathering during the mid-term will focus on the planning of research and constructing research questions, and will provide an opportunity for a first presentation of plans for the research proposals. A series of lectures and seminars will be given in May, in the interlude after the regular Roehampton modules and before the symposium in mid-June. The lectures will be supplemented by practical training, and will cover basic social science approaches, such as quantitative data, survey methods and statistical analysis; characteristics of qualitative data such as participant observation and interview techniques, comparative research and interdisciplinary approaches, critical use of sources; text analysis and discourse analysis.

Lectures will be followed up in Tromsø with a focus on the Practice of Social Scientific Research.The main emphasis at this stage will be to sensitise the students to the links between the way the research is positioned, the research questions asked, and the methods chosen. Through a step-by-step process the research questions are linked to an appraisal of data needed, to give the students the confidence and capacity to undertake individual project. Topics to be covered include research design, research instruments, social and ethical considerations, research and policy and doing your own research preparing for the dissertation

During the Tromsø part of the methodology course there will be a seminar over two days where research proposals are elaborated as a preparation for the fourth (dissertation writing) term.

Assessment

Coursework requirements

Course attendance at the lectures is compulsory, and only valid absence will be

approved. Students are required to complete the following coursework in order to take the final examination,

At the beginning of third term students shall submit a 2000 word essay on basic

research methods. Details of the assignment will be handed out at the May lectures.

During the third term students shall give a mandatory seminar presentation about their research projects

Students will also be required to write two or three short essays based on the course reading.

The coursework requirements will be evaluated by the course responsible as pass/fail. It is possibility to resubmit, if an written requirement is failed.

Please note

This course is structured to provide guidance for developing an individual research project, which is a mandatory preparation for the Dissertation module (SOA-3902) of the fourth term.

Students shall submit a research plan (2 pages) by the end of the second term, identifying main topic and proposed theoretical and methodological approach.

Students shall also submit a full research proposal at the end of the third term  (8-10 pages).

The research plan and the research proposal are evaluated by the course responsible and the supervisor as approved/not approved. The proposal must be approved before fieldwork/in situ data gathering.

The final examination is an essay of about 4000 words written during a home examination period of 10 days - concerning the methodological, theoretical, political and/or ethical issues related to research on Human Rights Policy and Practice. The students will be given three different titles to choose from. The essay may also draw on issues related to the dissertation they will write in the following semester.

The essay is graded on the scale of A to F, where F=Fail. A re-sit exam will be arranged for this course.

Recommended reading/syllabus

Approx. 1500 pages

A reading list will be provided before the term start.

Hard-to get chapters/documents will be made available on Fronter.