Admission requirements
Mandatory course for students enrolled in the bachelor’s programme Security Studies.
Description
This course follows-up on the course Research Methods I, where we move on from developing a research proposal to learning more about the data collection and analysis possibilities in social science research. You will be provided with thorough theoretical and practical knowledge on how to conduct research by examining a variety of data collection methods and of the principal methods of analysing social scientific data. Specifically, you will be learning about surveys, discourse analysis and interviewing. Furthermore, you will be introduced to statistical software programme SPSS, and Atlas.ti to help you analyse quantitative and qualitative data.
This course is divided up into lectures and course labs. The lectures will provide the theoretical knowledge on the data collection while the course labs will focus more on gaining practical skills on how to analyse the collected data. At the end of this course you are able to conduct your research, analyse your data and learn how the results are disseminated in a social scientific manner.
Course objectives
The student is introduced to three different social science research methods: two qualitative approaches (document analysis, qualitative interview) and one quantitative approach (survey).
The student is able to determine which research method, or methods, are best suited for the research question he or she aims to answer.
The student learns how to gather documents, interview data, and survey data that are needed to answer his or her research question.
The student is able to analyse quantitative and qualitative data using statistical software (R and Atlas.ti).
The student is able to report his or her findings with clarity and precision.
The student understands the importance of intellectual integrity and ethical scholarship.
Timetable
On the right side of programme front page of the E-guide you will find links to the website and timetables, uSis and Blackboard.
Mode of instruction
7 plenary lectures
4 course labs in smaller groups (attendance is mandatory)
Course Load
Total study load of 140 hours
Contact hours: 33
Self-study hours: 104
Examination: 3
Assessment method
3 x seminar assignments, each counting for 20% of the final grade
1 x final exam, counting for 40% of the final grade
The final grade for the three seminar assignments together (which form 60% of your final grade) needs to be at least 5,50. This means that a failed seminar assignment needs to be compensated with a passed seminar assignment, to ensure that your final grade for the seminars is at least 5,50.
The grade for the final exam needs to be at least 5,50 in order to pass the course. A failed exam may not be compensated with seminar assignments.
The calculated final grade for this course must be 5,50 or higher to pass the course.
Resit
Students will be permitted to resit an examination if they have a calculated final grade lower than 5,5 or with permission of the Board of Examiners.
Resit of the seminar assignments is only possible if you have done and handed in all three assignments. The resit entails redoing one or more of the failed assignments. Resits are not possible for passed assignments and assignments that were handed in pro forma.
Resit of the final exam will take the same form
Blackboard
Course page will be available one week in advance
Reading list
Information on readings will be announced on Blackboard
Registration
To be announced by OSC staff.
Contact
Dr. Pauline Aarten, course coordinator p.g.m.aarten@fgga.leidenuniv.nl