coursemapLoading course
School of Politics and International Relations · ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
This course has been replaced by POLS2045 from 2025 onwards. For more information, please visit https://cass.anu.edu.au/recent-changes-cass-programs This seminar style course will teach students the three main qualitative methods used in political science: (elite) Interviewing, document analysis and participant observation. In this practically-focused course, students will learn to generate research questions suited to qualitative methods, design research protocols and implement them. They will then learn how to go about analysing the data they produce or encounter.
Class Participation
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3
Research design paper (1000 words)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3
Reflection on method use Paper (2000 words)
Learning outcomes 2, 3, 4
Research Paper (3000-3500 words)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4
Assessment is set at the 3000 level.
There are no prescribed texts for this course. Readings will be provided via wattle. Preliminary Reading Beach, Derek, and Rasmus Pedersen. Process-Tracing Methods: Foundations and Guidelines. Accessed November 21, 2018. https://www.press.umich.edu/2556735. Brady, Henry E, and David Collier. Rethinking Social Inquiry?: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards. 2nd ed. Lanham, Md.?: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010. http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/48781380. Dowding, Keith. The Philosophy and Methods of Political Science. Political Analysis. London?; New York, NY: Palgrave, 2016. Gerring, John, and Lee Cojocaru. “Selecting Cases for Intensive Analysis: A Diversity of Goals and Methods.” Sociological Methods & Research 45, no. 3 (August 1, 2016): 392–423. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124116631692. Jacob, Stacy, and S. Furgerson. “Writing Interview Protocols and Conducting Interviews: Tips for Students New to the Field of Qualitative Research.” The Qualitative Report 17, no. 42 (October 15, 2012): 1–10. Moravcsik, Andrew. “Transparency: The Revolution in Qualitative Research.” PS: Political Science & Politics 47, no. 1 (January 2014): 48–53. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096513001789. Ragin, Charles C., and Howard Saul Becker. What Is a Case?: Exploring the Foundations of Social Inquiry. Cambridge University Press, 1992. Toshkov, Dimiter. Research Design in Political Science. Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.