Bachelor
2024/2025
Research Seminar
Type:
Compulsory course (Political Science and World Politics)
Area of studies:
Political Science
When:
3 year, 2 module
Mode of studies:
offline
Open to:
students of one campus
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
2
Course Syllabus
Abstract
This course is a freshmen introduction into the craft of academic research. The class is divided into two substantive blocks. The first one attempts to engage students into a broad discussion of what the research is and how working with academic literature contributes to producing original research. The second block covers some major elements of research design, thus, providing students with the general understanding of how the research process looks like and its anticipated outcomes.
Learning Objectives
- The main goal of this course is to introduce students to the basic steps of conducting and academic research.
- As a subgoal the course aims at developing the skill of writing a literature review as one of the steps of any research process.
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Conducts a literature review
- Students explore how a research question connected with a broader research problem. Students learn to tie their question to the theoretical problems in a partiqular field of study.
- Students learn what academic research is and what role does it play in political science.
- Students explore what place does literature review take in a single research. Student learn what goals does literature review aims to reach.
- Students learn how to choose the best research design of future paper depending on the number of cases for analysis: experiment, statistics, comparative research and case-study. Sudents learn the differences and nuances of conducting different types of reseach.
- Students learn how to download, use and administrate citation manager systems.
- Students learn how to form a research design in social sciences, with all its parts and elements, by looking into specific examples
- Students learn how to operate in the university library and how to use the electronic resources
- Students learn how to transfer the concepts into the measurable and relevant research variables.
- Students learn the different ways to organize and structure a literature review
- Students learn what theory and hypotheses are in social sciences. Students learn how to formulate hypotheses and how to work with them in their own research.
- Students learn which parts does research include and how fo they compose in a single paper.
- Students explore the definitions of academic integrity and plagiarism. Students learn to differ the types of plagiarism. Students grasp how to avoid plagiarism in academic reserach the penalties for breaking the rules.
- Students learn the differences between the topic of a research and a research question. Students learn how to formulate a good research question.
- Students will learn how to transfer the concepst into the measutable and relevant research variables
- finds, defines and uses the information from different sources which required for solving of research and professional problems (including the system approach)
- retrieves, collects, processes and analyzes information relevant for achieving goals in the professional field.
- outlines the need for resources and plan its using for solving professional problems
- chooses research methods appropriate for resolving the professional tasks.
- executes applied analysis of the political phenomena and political processes: by using political science methods and in support of practical decision making process.
- forms a research design in social sciences, with all its elements and with all its parts, by looking into specific examples
- knows what kind of research questions can be formulated and what kind of research problems there are
- Knows the key types, principles and elements of the empirical research
- Uses advanced tools and methods of literature selection and review
- Performs systemic literature review and bibliometric analysis
- Сhooses research methods appropriate for resolving the research tasks
- Performs systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis
- Applies knowledge on theory building to their own interpretive research
- Applies knowledge on theory building to their own positivist research
- Knows key principles of case selection and sample design
- Knows key principles of mixed-methods application
Course Contents
- How to prepare a literature review?
- Positivist research and theory building
- Interpretive research and theory building
- Case-selection and sample design
- How can we combine research methods?
Assessment Elements
- Written Assignment: Team Literature ReviewA literature review is a written assignment on a topic proposed by the team themselves and approved by the tutor. A review has to include a clear statement of a question / thesis statement of a broader research problem; be explicit as regard the structuring principle of your review and briefly describe perspectives for further research in the concluding section of your review. Review structure: (1) Abstract. (2) Introduction. Includes your question / thesis statement, broader research problem and the structuring principle of your text. (3) Body of the review. Consider selected pieces of literature according to the selected structuring principle and in a way which allows a team to illuminate the question / thesis statement of your review. (4) Conclusion. Sums up your review, provides an answer to your question or major arguments for your thesis statement, and elaborates on several avenues for further research. (5) Bibliography (list of references)
- In-class Tests
- Interim AssignmentThis assignment is designed to check both skills of using Zotero and identification of research questions.
- Final Assignment
- Midterm Assignment
- Detailed Plan of the Term PaperIn the end of the course, students are to write a detailed plan of their proposed term paper. The plan must consist of titles for chapters and paragraphs within the as well as short description of the proposed content of each paragraph (in a form of bullet points or plain text). The proposed literature review must adhere to one of the structural logics discussed in class. The titles must be substantial (not just “Main body” or “Paragraph 1”). Each chapter should contain at least 2 paragraphs. Each paragraph should contain at least 2 footnote references to the literature the student is going to build this paragraph on. Footnotes and the reference list must be in line with the Chicago reference style. All plan items must be coherently numbered. Instructors will assess the depth of the survey of the literature undertaken by the student, the logical coherence of the plan, and its fit with the expectations from a literature review. The plan will be assessed by three criteria: 1) depth of the literature survey (4 points max), structure and logical coherence (4 points max), and compliance with the formal requirements (2 points max) according ot the rules below. The final grade is a sum of points received for these three criteria with the following exceptions: 1) the grade for a submitted plan with no indication of academic dishonesty cannot be lower than 1; 2) if the plan receives 0 for the first (depth) and/or the second (structure and logical coherence) criterion, the final grade cannot be higher than 3 regardless of what number of points a student receives for other criteria; 3) if the plan matches the plan of a published review article it will be considered an instance of plagiarism.
- In-class assignmentsSome of the classes will feature written assignments related to the discussed topic.
- Assignment on Data AnalysisThe final exam will take place at the end of the fourth module of the academic year. It will include working with the dataset, building, and interpreting the statistical model, and writing a short conclusion. The exam’s duration is 90 minutes, the students will be allowed to use their laptops and notes in order to complete the task.
- In-Class Participation (3)The lecturer evaluates students' participation at the seminars. The grade for this component is the average of all seminars attended.
- Home AssignmentsAfter some of the classes students are expected to fulfill and submit a written home assignment. The deadline is the beginning of the next seminar.
- In-Class Participation (4)The lecturer evalutes students' participation at the seminars.
- Research Proposal (3rd year)In this assignment, students are to submit a research proposal, based on the topic of their term papers.
- In-Class Participation (3rd year)Participation in discussions, answers to teachers' questions, solving cases, working in groups;
- Research Proposal (4th year)This is an individual written assignment and the main outcome of the research seminar. Students are expected to describe the research design of their future bachelor theses. The expected volume of the paper is 1500 words (+/- 10%).
- Revision testThe revision test will consist of multiple-choice an dopen questions covering the content of the first 5 seminars.
- Home AssignmentStudents are expected to submit regular home assignments (announced in advance) based on the discussed topics and aimed at helping them to grasp the main concepts and apply them to their research designs.
- In-class participationSeminars evaluate students’ progress and ability to critically assess the readings. The component is calculated as an average grade achieved on the seminars
- Literature reviewA student provides a literature review related to the term paper research topic Plagiarism and artificial intelligence usage are strictly prohibited
- Research theory buildingA student provides a theoretical framework related to the term paper topic. A theoretical framework should include research expectations (hypothesis) and clearly correspond to one of two main research logics (interpretive or positivist). Plagiarism and artificial intelligence usage are strictly prohibited
Interim Assessment
- 2022/2023 2nd module0.25 * In-class assignments + 0.25 * In-class assignments + 0.25 * Interim Assignment + 0.25 * Interim Assignment + 0.25 * Midterm Assignment + 0.25 * Midterm Assignment + 0.25 * Written Assignment: Team Literature Review + 0.25 * Written Assignment: Team Literature Review
- 2022/2023 4th module0.2 * Assignment on Data Analysis + 0.2 * Assignment on Data Analysis + 0.2 * Detailed Plan of the Term Paper + 0.2 * Detailed Plan of the Term Paper + 0.2 * Home Assignments + 0.2 * Home Assignments + 0.2 * In-Class Participation (3) + 0.2 * In-Class Participation (3) + 0.2 * In-class Tests + 0.2 * In-class Tests
- 2023/2024 2nd module0.2 * Assignment on Data Analysis + 0.2 * Assignment on Data Analysis + 0.2 * Final Assignment + 0.2 * Final Assignment + 0.2 * Home Assignment + 0.2 * Home Assignment + 0.1 * In-Class Participation (3rd year) + 0.1 * In-Class Participation (3rd year) + 0.1 * In-Class Participation (4) + 0.1 * In-Class Participation (4) + 0.2 * Revision test + 0.2 * Revision test
- 2023/2024 4th module1 * Research Proposal (3rd year) + 1 * Research Proposal (3rd year)
- 2024/2025 2nd module0.2 * In-class participation + 0.2 * In-class participation + 0.4 * Literature review + 0.4 * Literature review + 0.4 * Research theory building + 0.4 * Research theory building
- 2025/2026 2nd module1 * Research Proposal (4th year) + 1 * Research Proposal (4th year)
