Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA Urban Studies programme. Please note that passing this course is an entry requirement for starting Inferential Statistics in the second year.
Starting the academic year 2023-2024, the Methodological Seminar replaces the courses ‘Introduction to Methodology’ and ‘Data Collection Methods’. Students who started their studies before September 2023 and who still need to complete one or both of these courses are referred to the transitional arrangements.
Description
This course consists of three building blocks: 1. Introduction to Methodology; 2. Data Collection Methods 3. Humanities Methods for Urban Research.
In the first building block, Introduction to Methodology, students will get familiar with basic concepts in quantitative methods necessary to conduct research in Urban Studies such as the empirical cycle, research designs, central tendency and variability, the normal distribution, relationsips between variables, and describing and explaining variance. Students will acquire practical skills of data analysis in the statistical programming language R through several assignments that are imbedded in urban research.
In the second building block, Data Collection Methods, students will get familiar with several types of data collection in the social sciences such as survey-research, participant observation, and conducting interviews and focus groups. Students will acquire practical skills of data collection through several assignments that are imbedded in field laboratories (partially outside the university, i.e. in the town of the Hague).
In the third building block, Humanities Methods for Urban Research, students will get familiar with basic methods of collecting and analysing primary sources for humanities-based urban research. They will get hands-on experience in dealing with archival documents, museum collections, and literary texts, as sources for urban research. They will learn to think critically about human and nonhuman actors as well as geographies that shape our modern urban life.
Course objectives
General learning outcomes
See tab Additional information for the overview of the programme's general learning outcomes. In the assessment methods below is outlined which general learning outcome will be tested through which method.
Course objectives, pertaining to this course
The student is able to:
1) At the end of the first building block, describe core concepts of methods and techniques in Urban Studies such as the emprirical cycle, variables, measurement level, central tendency and variability, distributions, association, experimental design.
2) At the end of the first building block, describe basic concepts in desciptive statistics such as measures of central tendency and variability, measures of association.
3) At the end of the first building block, use R for descriptive statistics.
4) At the end of the second building block, students will have knowledge of five important data collection methods in social research: survey, interview, observation, focus groups, and participant observation;
5) At the end of the second building block, students will have the skill to formulate research questions based on concrete human behaviour in urban settings;
6) At the end of the second building block, students will have gained insight in how to choose appropriate methods of data collection;
7) At the end of the second building block, students will know the benefits and pitfalls over the several types of data collection;
8) At the end of the second building block, students will have practical skills in conducting interviews, making systematic observations, doing participant observation and designing a questionnaire;
9) At the end of the second building block, students will be able to reflect on their own role as a researcher.
10) At the end of the third building block, students will be familiarized by humanities methods for urban research.
11) At the end of the third building block, students will have skills to identify archival primary sources and analyse them.
12) At the end of the third building block, students will be able to appreciate the value of literary sources for urban research.
13) At the end of the third building block, students will be familiarized with critical approaches of reading the symbolic landscapes of cities.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Lecture
Tutorial (compulsory attendance)
This means that students have to attend every tutorial session of the course. If a student is unable to attend a tutorial, they should inform the lecturer in advance, providing a valid reason for absence. If they are absent from a tutorial without a valid reason, they can be excluded from the final exam in the course.
Assessment method
Assessment
Tutorial assignments (different in nature for all three building blocks)
-measured programme's general learning outcomes: 4, 7, 10-11, 15-17, 19-26
-measured course specific objectives: 1-6Midterm exam (based on the first building block)
Written examination with closed questions (multiple choice)
-measured programme's general learning outcomes: 7, 16-17
-measured course specific objectives: 1-2Final exam (based on the second and third building blocks)
Written examination with closed questions and open questions.
-measured programme's general learning outcomes: 1, 4, 7, 10-11, 16
-measured course specific objectives: 1, 3-4
Weighing
| Partial grade | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Midterm exam (based on the first building block) | 45 |
| Final exam (based on the second and third building blocks) | 55 |
End grade
To successfully complete the module, please take note of the following:
All assignments need to be evaluated as ‘sufficient’ in order to obtain an end grade.
If any of these assignments is insufficient, the student will get an obligatory extra assignment that needs to be evaluated as ‘sufficient’ in order to obtain the end grade.
If a student gets lower than 5.5 in either of the midterm or final exams, they will fail regardless of the end grade.
Hence, the student passes the course if (1) all (replacement-) assignments are evaluated as sufficient (2) neither of the exam grades are lower than 5.5 and (3) the weighed average of both grades is at least 6.0.
Resit
- If any of the exam grades is lower than 5.50, there is a possibility of retaking the exam, replacing the previous exam grade. If the end grade is insufficient, both of the exams can be re-sitted.
Faculty regulations concerning participation in resits are listed in article 4.1 of the Faculty Course and Examination Regulations.
Retaking the course
If you have to retake the course in the next academic year, it is possible to retake a) the first building block or b) the second two building blocks. A sufficient grade of one of those two parts will only be kept for the next academic year.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organised.
Reading list
Navarro, D (2019). Learning statistics with R : a tutorial for psychology students and other beginners : Version 0.6. Free online: https://learningstatisticswithr.com/book/
Leary, M.L. (2014). Introduction to Behavioral Research Methods (6th international edition). Boston: Pearson.
Examples will be used from Knox & Pinch (2010). Urban Social Geography: An Introduction (6th edition). London & New York: Routledge.
Clark, T., Foster, L., Bryman, A., & Sloan, L. (2021). Bryman's social research methods. Oxford University Press (6th edition).
Gunn, S. & Faire, L. (2016). Research Methods for History. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Nightingale, Carl H. (2024)* Our Urban Planet in Theory and History*. Cambridge Elements.
Williams, Raymond, 1973. The Country and the City. New York: Oxford University Press.
Linder, Benjamin, ed. (2022). Invisible Cities and the Urban Imagination. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022.
Other material will be used. More information will be given during the course.
Registration
- Enrolment through My Studymap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration Exchange
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Student Affairs Office for BA Urban Studies
Remarks
It is possible to retake the course in its entirety or in parts, in accordance with the following criteria:
1- If you passed one part of the course (i.e., all assignments are sufficient AND the exam grade is 5.5 or higher) but failed the other (i.e., at least one assignment is incomplete or insufficient OR the exam grade is lower than 5.5), then you ONLY need to retake the part you failed. Your passing grade for the other part will remain valid for one academic year.
2- If you failed both parts of the course (i.e., you have incomplete and/or insufficient assignments from both parts OR both exam grades are below 5.5), then you must retake the entire seminar.
3- You CANNOT retake a part that you have already passed (i.e., all assignments are sufficient AND the exam grade is 5.5 or higher).