Academic Skills: Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis
Please note an introduction lecture is scheduled on Monday 2 February 2026, 1715h at Spui - room 1B10
Description Skills in year 2
In year 2 of the bachelor’s program, students are offered two academic skills courses of 5 ECTS each.
Semester 1 (block 1 and block 2): Research Design: How do I develop a research design? (5 ECTS)
Semester 2 (block 3 and block 4): Qualitative and Quantitative Data Analysis (for short: Data Analysis): How do I conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses? (5 ECTS)
These courses build on the academic skills courses from Year 1 and invite students to practice the academic skills required to complete the BSc in Political Science/ International Relations and Organisations. These courses teach students to apply their knowledge and understanding, form judgments, and communicate their findings.
Students are supported during workgroups, office hours and through an online learning environment. The courses build upon one another. The courses build upon one another. Ideally, students complete the Research Design course before participating in the Data Analysis course. However, this is not compulsory.
The overall objective is for students to practice designing, conducting, and reporting political science research as preparation for writing a bachelor’s thesis in Year 3. Although the Research Design course must be passed before students can participate in a Bachelor's project, the Data Analysis course is not a mandatory prerequisite for the Bachelor's project.
Semester 2: Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis
The main objective of this course is for students to carry out two relatively small research projects based on their literature review and theoretical framework (as developed during Research Design), in which students use both quantitative and qualitative methods. The data collection need not be original and must draw on existing sources of data. Students will report on their data analysis in written form and will hold an oral presentation reporting on the progress of one of their research projects.
Course objectives
Objective 1: Students have knowledge about and insight into the criteria for sound empirical quantitative and qualitative research.
Objective 2: Students are able to conduct qualitative and quantitative research and report on this in writing and during an oral presentation.
Objective 3: Students gain experience with conducting a research project over a sustained time period. Working independently, time management, and taking responsibility for the development of the project are central to this experience.
Mode of instruction
Lecture during week 1
Weekly workgroups
Online office hours
Digital learning environment
Assessment method
Written assignments
Participation grade
Graded presentation
Reading list
This course uses the material that was required reading for the Research Methods in Political Science, Statistics I and II, and Qualitative Research Methods courses.
For conducting the quantitative research, you are expected to work with the statistical software programs R and RStudio Desktop. These programs can be downloaded for free, or you can work with them using the university computers.
Please refer to the syllabus for other literature. This additional literature will be available digitally.
Registration
See 'Practical Information'
Timetable
See 'MyTimetable'