Аспирантура 2023/2024

Аспирантский семинар

Статус: Курс обязательный

Направление: 00.00.00. Аспирантура

Кто читает: Департамент политики и управления

Когда читается: 1-й курс, 1 семестр

Формат изучения: без онлайн-курса

Охват аудитории: для своего кампуса

Преподаватели: Малинова Ольга Юрьевна, Седашов Евгений Александрович, Фергюсон Йен Эндрю

Язык: английский

Кредиты: 6

Контактные часы: 112

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The postgraduate seminar is held throughout the entire period of study and includes modules aimed at mastering the skills of developing the design of a political science research and preparing a dissertation research program, mastering the skills of academic writing and preparing scientific articles, discussing the theoretical and empirical part of a dissertation research. The seminar introduces modern approaches and methods for conducting political science research in line with the positivist and interpretive paradigms, teaches the basic principles of academic writing, develops practical skills in planning research and presenting its results in the form of texts and oral presentations. Within the framework of the seminar, graduate students have unique opportunities to discuss dissertation research at different stages, from the formation of an idea and the development of methodology to testing the results.

Learning Objectives

• The Research Seminar provides a setting for discussing and elaborating the design of PhD research and its results on various stages of 3 years PhD course

Expected Learning Outcomes

• A student knows the main approaches in the field and can use the main methods in political science
• Know the formal structure of research work;
• Students will be able to summarize and paraphrase pieces of academic writing in their research field
• can critically access the academic relevance of the research problem;
• is able ro formulate a research problem for the future thesis. It able to support the statement of research problem by relevant arguments based on analysis of the literature;
• knows the principles of analysis of relevant literature; can do its screening to reveal the research problem;
• is able to access critically an academic relevance and originality of the research problem proposed by colleagues;
• is able to provide arguments for the proposed research problem;
• is able to chose the strategy for the proposed research;
• is able to elaborate a design of the proposed research;
• is able to formulate the research problem and research question;
• is able to write a research proposal as text;
• knows how types of research questions correspond to research strategies;
• is able to discuss the choice of research question, strategy, theories, concepts, methods proposed by colleagues;
• is able to distinguish between different kinds of theory. Understands their role in research;
• is able to explain the functions of concepts, theories, hypothesis and models in different types of social research;
• is able to discuss the design of research for future thesis;
• is able to access critically designs of research proposed by colleagues;
• can formulate a correct research question;
• understands what kind of data is relevant for unswering the proposed research question;
• Know the basic difference between ‘positivist’ and ‘interpretivist’ research traditions
• Understand the notion of ‘causality’ in the framework of Rubin causal model
• Understand how experimental research designs work and how one can go about designing an experiment for a specific research question
• Understand quasi-experimental research designs, such as difference-in-difference and regression discontinuity
• Understand how observational studies differ from experimental and quasi-experimental studies and what can be learned from observational studies
• Understand how and why Weberian ‘ideal types’ define a debate within political science over what research can understand and can (and cannot) explain
• Understand the presuppositions of arguments, questions and narratives about the practice of politics and how these have been applied in interpretive research design
• Understand the presuppositions to a ‘positivist – interpretivist’ choice with regards to the evaluation of ‘case study research’ in political science
• Understand and evaluate, by way of comparison, the research design of ‘case studies’ on the politics of legitimation
• Being able to produce a consistent chapter covering theorical background and methodological choices of the PhD research
• Able to present and discuss a research in progress

Course Contents

• С чего начать, или нулевой цикл исследовательского проекта / How do we start, or Doing pre-research
• Постановка исследовательской проблемы / Statement of the research problem
• Разработка дизайна исследования. Исследовательский вопрос и стратегии исследования. Подготовка программы исследования / Research design. Research question and research strategy. Writing a research proposal
• Инструменты научного исследования: понятия, теории, гипотезы, модели / Analytic tools of a social research: Concepts, theories, hypothesis, models
• Presentation of research proposal for PhD dissertation
• Эмпирические данные и дизайн исследования / Data and research design.
• ‘Positivist’ research
• Experiments
• Quasi-experiments
• Understanding Ideal Types
• Questions, Arguments & Narratives
• Evaluation of Case Studies
• Особенности научной статьи / How to write an article for an academic journal
• Научные статьи бывают разными / Different types of academic articles
• Структура научной статьи / The structure of an academic article
• Коммуникация с журналом. Двойное слепое рецензирование / Communication with the journal. Double blind peer review
• Редактирование и стилистические ошибки ? Copyediting.
• Теоретические и методологические основания диссертационного исследования / Theoretical background and methodology of PhD research
• Обсуждение предварительных результатов исследования / Discussing preliminary results of the PhD research

Assessment Elements

• Research proposal / Программа диссертационного исследования
  Программа исследования подлежит обсуждению и утверждению Академическим советом Аспирантской школы. Текст составляется на языке, на котором предполагается писать текст диссертации. Объем – 20-30 тыс. знаков (без учета списка цитируемой литературы). Рекомендуемый формат ссылок – затекстовый (ссылки на список работ, ранжированных по алфавиту) Research proposal is to be discussed and approved by the Academic Council of the Doctoral School. The language of the text (Russian or English) should correspond to the language of the thesis. For citation, use references to the list of relevant publications sorted in the alphabet order.
• The rationale for selecting a given research topic the PhD thesis / Обоснование темы диссертации
  The topic of research should be proposed by the doctoral student in coordination with their academic supervisor. The rationale for selecting a given research topic for PhD thesis is to be submitted to the Academic Council of Doctoral School of Political Science for a discussion and subsequent approval. The final version of the rationale is stored on the doctoral student’s file as an integral part of the individual curriculum. The text is to be written in Russian or English, depending on the language of future thesis. The length is 3000-4500 words (plus references). / Обоснование темы диссертации служит основанием для обсуждения и последующего утверждения темы аспиранта Академическим советом школы. Научный руководитель осуществляет аспиранту помощь в выборе темы и работе над ее обоснованим. Обоснование, одобренное Академическим советом, вносится в личный кабинет аспиранта и становится частью индивидуального учебного плана. Текст составляется на языке, на котором предполагается писать текст диссертации (русском или английском). Объем – 15-20 тыс. знаков (без учета списка цитируемой литературы).
• Peer-reviewing research proposal prepared by a colleague
  Peer-reviewing of rationale for selecting a given research topic the PhD thesis and research proposal prepared by other students
• Refining a research question
  A revision of the preliminari research question according to the recommendations from the obligatory literature
• Constructing theoretical framework
  Presentation and discussion of the theoretical framework for the PhD research project
• Seminar Participation
  Taking part in the discussions of the literature recommended for the seminar.
• Seminar Written Answers
  A min. 400-word written answer +/- 10% (the question and references should be included in the answer but they are not included in the word count) on the student’s choice of ONE seminar question for any two seminars from the three in each part of the course. To be submitted to the seminar instructor no later than 24 hours before the seminar i.e. 18:10 the day before. There is no maximum word count.
• Research Design Response Paper
  This final assignment will take the form of an essay of 2,500–3,000 words (not including the question and references) to be written at home. The paper can be submitted at any point up to and including the deadline.
• План-проспект статьи
  Подготовить для обсуждения план-проспект статьи по материалам собственного исследования
• Peer-review статьи
• Научная статья
  Статья должна быть сосредоточена на КОНКРЕТНОЙ задаче, решение которой привносит нечто НОВОЕ в уже имеющееся исследовательское поле. НОВИЗНА может быть связана с: 1) постановкой проблемы, 2) способом ее решения, 3) развитием существующих или предложением новых теорий, 4) усовершенствованием понятийного аппарата, 5) оригинальной методикой, 6) введением в научный оборот ранее не изученного (и существенно важного) эмпирического материала и др. Это может быть как research article, так и state of the field или state of the art review. Статья должна быть оформлена согласно требованиям выбранного журнала
• Редактирование научного текста
  Редактирование фрагмента текста коллеги
• Сопроводительное письмо в редакцию журнала
  Необходимо подготовить письмо, сопровождающее представление статьи на рассмотрение журнала
• Theoretical framework and methodology of the PhD thesis
  Submitting and presenting the section(s) of future thesis presenting theoretical background and methodology of the PhD thesis
• Peer-reviewing of the chapter submitted by a colleague
• A presentation of the research in progress
  PhD students are expected to submit a paper presenting preliminary results of their research for the discission on the research seminar organized by the Doctoral School / Подготовка текста доклада, представляющего предварительные результаты исследования для обсуждения на Научном семинаре аспирантской школы.

Interim Assessment

• 2023/2024 1st semester
  0.025 * Constructing theoretical framework + 0.025 * Constructing theoretical framework + 0.04 * Peer-review статьи + 0.04 * Peer-review статьи + 0.025 * Peer-reviewing research proposal prepared by a colleague + 0.025 * Peer-reviewing research proposal prepared by a colleague + 0.025 * Refining a research question + 0.025 * Refining a research question + 0.15 * Research Design Response Paper + 0.15 * Research Design Response Paper + 0.2 * Research proposal / Программа диссертационного исследования + 0.2 * Research proposal / Программа диссертационного исследования + 0.07 * Seminar Participation + 0.07 * Seminar Participation + 0.08 * Seminar Written Answers + 0.08 * Seminar Written Answers + 0.1 * The rationale for selecting a given research topic the PhD thesis / Обоснование темы диссертации + 0.1 * The rationale for selecting a given research topic the PhD thesis / Обоснование темы диссертации + 0.15 * Научная статья + 0.15 * Научная статья + 0.04 * План-проспект статьи + 0.04 * План-проспект статьи + 0.02 * Редактирование научного текста + 0.02 * Редактирование научного текста + 0.075 * Сопроводительное письмо в редакцию журнала + 0.075 * Сопроводительное письмо в редакцию журнала
• 2024/2025 1st semester
  0.3 * Peer-reviewing of the chapter submitted by a colleague + 0.3 * Peer-reviewing of the chapter submitted by a colleague + 0.7 * Theoretical framework and methodology of the PhD thesis + 0.7 * Theoretical framework and methodology of the PhD thesis
• 2025/2026 1st semester
  1 * A presentation of the research in progress + 1 * A presentation of the research in progress

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• A sequence for academic writing, Behrens, L., 2005
• Academic writing and publishing : A practical handbook, Hartley J., 2010
• An introduction to the philosophy of science, Bortolotti, L., 2008
• Contemporary debates in philosophy of science, , 2004
• Designing social inquiry : scientific inference in qualitative research, King, G., 1994
• Designing social inquiry : scientific inference in qualitative research, King, G., 2021
• Handbook of research design and social measurement, , 2002
• Philosophy of science : a contemporary introduction, Rosenberg, A., 2012
• Philosophy of science : a new introduction, Barker, G., 2014
• Philosophy of science : key concepts, French, S., 2016
• Philosophy of science : the central issues, Curd, M., 2013
• Philosophy of science and sociology : from the methodological doctrine to research practice, Mokrzycki, E., 2009
• Principles of comparative politics, Clark, W. R., 2013
• Политология. Методы исследования, Мангейм, Д. Б., 1999

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Academic writing : a handbook for international students, Bailey, S., 2011
• Encyclopedia of research design. Vol.1: A-G, , 2010
• Encyclopedia of research design. Vol.2: H-P, , 2010
• Encyclopedia of research design. Vol.3: Q-Z, Index, , 2010

Authors

• Malinova Olga Iurevna