Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies programme.
The number of participants is limited to 24.
Some topics may have more than one group to choose from.
Description
Why do we conduct research and what are the possibilities and limitations of research in international studies? What does a good research question look like and how can I make sure I am designing and conducting a research project properly and ethically? These are common questions that students have and this course is designed with these questions in mind.
Understanding and conducting research are key components of the BA International Studies programme and this course introduces students to research methods within a specific theme. Building on skills gained in courses such as Academic Reading and Writing, the aim of this course is threefold: to provide a basic understanding of the philosophical assumptions and ethical principles of academic research; to equip students with key practical strategies and techniques for different types and processes of data collection, analysis, and interpretation; and to merge theory and practice by having students design, conduct, and write-up a small research project.
The course utilises a combination of knowledge clips and seminars. The knowledge clips are watched by all students and are broadly applicable to research in the humanities and social sciences. They are meant to provide an overview of academic research, the logic and limitations of qualitative and quantitative methods, and a brief introduction to the philosophy of science and research ethics. The seminars provide a focused engagement based upon the research expertise of the seminar leader. The seminar meetings are meant to assist students in designing a small research project and writing up the tentative results in a research report. While each seminar is unique, all students will be introduced to field specific research design issues, multiple data collection and analysis methods, operationalising research questions, and how to structure and write a research report.
Theme of Seminar
The lecturer’s expertise in on multimodal, spatial, and ethnographic approaches to political economy in middle and low income settings. In my work I explore how space, infrastructure, and material practices are central to understanding global inequalities, the politics of planning and development regimes, and contested notions of sustainability. As a consequence this seminar is suited for students with interests in critical political economy, urban studies, and environmental anthropology, who wish to learn how to design research that goes beyond abstract theorizing and engages with the grounded realities of how power, finance, and informality in urban and rural spaces.
Students will learn how to formulate sharp, well-grounded research questions which can be applied to themes such as:
urban transformation, informality, and spatial inequality
financialization and its everyday effects
greenwashing, extractivism, and the politics of “sustainable” development
international development regimes and their material impacts
land use, infrastructure, and contested claims to space
This is not a seminar for those interested in abstract identity politics, religious studies, or culturalist explanations of global dynamics. Nor will we engage with superficial realpolitik narratives. Instead, we focus on how global and local structures of power are materialized, resisted, and reimagined through the everyday use of space.
By the end of the seminar, you will know how to ask precise research questions, engage critically with theory and data, and design small research projects that contribute meaningfully to our understanding of contemporary political economy and spatial politics. Alongside this, the seminar encourages an ethnographic approach: attention to context, reflexivity about one’s own positionality, and respect for the perspectives of the people and communities at the heart of these dynamics. We will challenge the myth of objectivity and examine how knowledge production is shaped by power, inequality, and colonial legacies.
You will learn to think critically — but also sensibly — about what research design and methodology is and isn’t: how to make choices that suit your research questions, how to recognize the limits of your sources, and how to avoid methodological window-dressing. We will demystify the research process and focus on designing projects that are meaningful, honest, precise, and analytically sharp.
Course objectives
The purpose of this course is to prepare students to understand, design, and conduct academic research. After successfully completing the course students will:
Understand the importance of academic research in acquiring knowledge and how this relates to the philosophy of science and the position of the researcher.
Be able to explain the logic and limitations of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research.
Possess the practical skills necessary for designing research, conducting research, and writing up a research report.
Understand how to formulate and operationalise research questions, address issues in research ethics, collect different types of data, and learn how to analyse and interpret collected data.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
The Knowledge Clips will be viewed by students during week 37.
Seminars
There are seven seminar sessions in this course (typically weeks 38, 39, 40, 41, 45, 46, and 49). Attending all seminar sessions is compulsory. If you are unable to attend a session, please inform your tutor in advance. Being absent at more than two of the seminar sessions will result in a lowering of your Research Report grade (75% of the end grade) with 0,5 point for each session missed after the first two sessions.
Assessment method
Assessment & Weighing
| Partial Grade | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Research Design | 25% |
| Research Report | 75% |
End Grade
To successfully complete the course, please take note of the following:
The End Grade of the course is established by determining the weighted average of the Research Design and Research Report.
Please note that if the Research Report is lower than 5.5, you will not pass the course, regardless of the Research Design grade.
Resit
If the End Grade is insufficient (lower than a 6.0), or the Research Report is lower than 5.5, there is a possibility of retaking the 75% of the Research Report. No resit for the Research Design is possible.
Please note that if the Resit Report grade is lower than 5.5, you will not pass the course, regardless of the Research Design grade.
Students who score an overall insufficient grade for the course, are allowed resubmit a reworked version of the Research Report. The deadline for resubmission is 10 working days after receiving the grade for the report and subsequent feedback. In case of resubmission of the report, the final grade for the report will be lowered as a consequence of the longer process of completion.
Students who fail to hand in their Research Report on or before the original deadline, but still within 5 working days of that deadline, will receive a grade and feedback on their report. This will be considered a first submission of the report, however, the grade will be lowered as a consequence of the longer process of completion.
Students who fail to hand in their Research Report on or before the original deadline, and also fail to hand in their report within 5 working days of that deadline, get 10 working days, counting from the original deadline, to hand in the first version of their report. However, this first version counts as a resubmitted report with consequential lowering of the grade, and there will be no option of handing in a reworked version based on feedback from the lecturer.
Retaking a passing grade
Retaking a passing grade is not possible for this course.
Please consult the Course and Examination Regulations 2025 – 2026.
Exam review 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
To be announced.
Registration
Registration occurs via survey only. Registration opens 14 July 2025:
1) On 14 July 2025 you will receive a message with a link to the survey.
2) Indicate there which are your 5 preferred Research Methods courses, in order of preference.
3) Based on preferences indicated by 28 July 2025 the Coordinator will assign you to one specific Research Methods course by 18 August 2025.
4) Students will then be enrolled for the specific groups by the Administration Office.
5) All students are required to enrol for their group in Brightspace to access all course information.
Students cannot register in uSis for the Research Methods courses, or be allowed into a Research Methods course in any other way.
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 International Studies
Remarks
The deadline for submission of the Research Report is Friday, 9 January 2026.