MVZ428 Qualitative Methodology in IR Research

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2009
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Michal Kořan, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Petr Suchý, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Timetable
Mon 14:00–15:40 U42
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course aims at two goals: first, to comprehensively introduce students to the problematic of qualitative research, its advantages and disadvantages and its possible results; second, to offer a practical guideline for design of a qualitative research using qualitative methodology. For thorough understanding of qualitative methodology it is essential to make an excursion to ontological and epistemological basics of qualitative approach, even by a short historical introduction to the qualitative versus quantitative approach debate. The excursion will be followed up with the development of basic skills of academical work, which students embraced on the undergraduate course dedicated to methodology. The emphasize will be among others on the operationalization of concepts, application of theories (creation and evaluation), the choice of variables, ways of data gathering and qualitative data interpretation or research quality evaluation. In the second third of the course will be presented some of the qualitative methodologies relevant to the research in International Relations (namely single-case study, comparative case study, discourse analysis, ethnography, biography and grounded theory). Students will demonstrate their methodological projects during the course. The objective of these demonstrations is in particular to encourage a joint discussion about problems and issues, which a researcher must deal with in the course of qualitative research and to find a common perspective for their solving. This very discussions and demonstrations are one of the focal points of this course. By accomplishing this course, students should obtain comprehensive orientation in the basics of qualitative research, in the current literature relevant to this topic and he should then by able to deal with common pitfalls of qualitative research. Also student should after finishing the course be methodologically prepared for elaboration of diploma thesis or others serious academical works.
Syllabus
  • First three weeks will deal with general introduction to qualitative approaches. Then are the students suppose to choose a topic or issue, which they will elaborate from different methodological perspectives during the course. This research project does not focus on research result but the research process. What logically follows that the objective is not a comprehensive analysis, the data gathered does not necessarily adhere to standards of academical research; the research aims at developing methodological skills and experimenting with various methodological approaches. Student from the begining of the project will follow the content of lectures and mandatory literature – it means that he or she will deliberately and consciously pick up the topic, find a suitable research strategy and prepare a plan and a research design, latter on the topic will be approached from different methods. All the stages are suppose to be continuously discussed with other students in the seminars. Research project will be processed from the perspective of all previously mentioned methodological approaches. The last part of semester will serve as space for students projects presentations including thorough presenting of the process of research creation.
Literature
  • DRULÁK, Petr. Jak zkoumat politiku : kvalitativní metodologie v politologii a mezinárodních vztazích. Vyd. 1. Praha: Portál, 2008, 255 s. ISBN 9788073673857. info
  • PUNCH, Keith. Úspěšný návrh výzkumu. Translated by Jan Hendl. Vyd. 1. Praha: Portál, 2008, 230 s. ISBN 9788073674687. info
  • HENDL, Jan. Kvalitativní výzkum : základní metody a aplikace. Vyd. 1. Praha: Portál, 2005, 407 s. ISBN 8073670402. info
  • MCNABB, David E. Research methods for political science : quantitative and qualitative methods. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 2004, xxxvi, 571. ISBN 0765612348. info
  • MILES, Matthew B. and A. Michael HUBERMAN. Qualitative data analysis : an expanded sourcebook. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 1994, xiv, 338 s. ISBN 0-8039-4653-8. info
Assessment methods
It is obligatory to have at least 70% (to attend 9 courses) presence at the seminars and lectures and to acquire 40 points for successfully finishing the course. Student can get 3 points at maximum for activity in each seminar, but can gain only 25 points as maximum this way. Seminar aktivity encompasses mainly discussion over the research design and their presentations. Student can gain 20 points for the final presentations, 15 points being the mandatory minimum for every successful research project. The creation of project demands preparation including among others reading of mandatory literature Expected scope of mandatory literature is 150 pages in English and 100 pages in Czech .
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2008, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2009, recent)
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