MVZ428 Qualitative Methodology in IR Research

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2015
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.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 11:30–13:00 U43
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 48 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/48, only registered: 0/48
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
After a successful completion of this course, students will understand main principles and rules of qualitative research. Students will also be able to identify advantages and disadvantages, possibilities and limits of qualitative research. Students will acquire a wide array of practical skills and techniques of qualitative research and the ability to utilize them in their own research. Students will be able to navigate through different ways of interpreting qualitative data and they will be sufficiently equipped for writing final diploma thesis as well for other academic undertaking. These skills will be demonstrated in the course of the semester by student's presentations of application of individual methodological approaches. Presentations will be critically discussed and evaluated at seminar meetings. 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. These discussions and demonstrations are one of the focal points of this course.
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
Teaching 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 .
Assessment methods
Evaluation of the course will be based on combination of points from presentations and from the final research project.
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 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2015, recent)
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