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IR224 RESEARCH METHODS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Course Objectives

The course instructs on the philosophy of science and philosophy of language, two distinct areas of philosophy arguably at the heart of the concept of academic learning. The instruction aims to facilitate an exploration of the question of method for social and political research in the wider setting of human sciences. The so-called second great debate within the discipline of International Relations, roughly between traditionalism and behavioralism, is arguably still key to the assessments of method in the study area. The course seeks to inform students on this debate in the context of the overall question of method in social and political research towards generating knowledge. Students are expected to gain skills and competencies in relation to a basic set of issues in research.

• What is knowledge?
• What is fact?
• How is knowledge claimed to be generated in academic research?
• What exactly is research?
• What are the possibly inherent limitations in digging for data?
• In what specific ways do researchers suggest possible distinctions between fact and value?
• What to make of concepts such as theory, interpretation, objectivity and subjectivity in the acquisition and use of social and political data?

Course Content

The aim of the course is to provide students with a basic knowledge of research methods in the social sciences, with special emphasis on research methods in International Relations. The course has the twofold aim of acquainting students with epistemological issues in the conduct of research in the social sciences, while also providing students with practical research skills ,including research design, data collection and analysis, and use of library resources.

Course Learning Outcomes

Students are expected to develop a general awareness on the nature and limitations of the data produced and presented in academic learning, which they acquire in lectures, textbooks and monographs. As a result, students will approach the study material in the discipline of International Relations with a critical rather than submissive disposition, getting ready to challenge the data and interpretations they routinely come across during the formal education. Last but by no means least, the course will provide skills in making full sense of the theoretical approaches to International Relations, which is an integral part of the education. A basic mastery of concepts such as research, fact, value, theory, objectivity and interpretation are taken for granted in studying theories of international politics, which comes later in education. The present course provides the basic tools for some such mastery.

Program Outcomes Matrix

0: No Contribution 1: Little Contribution 2: Partial Contribution 3: Full Contribution