Research Design

The aim of this course is to provide students with in-depth knowledge and practical experience in designing a research project. The course understands research design as the relationship between the steps or building blocks of a study, where the choices made at each stage must be carefully considered and justified.

Accordingly, the course addresses the connections between: i) identifying and delimiting a research problem, ii) formulating research questions, iii) conducting literature reviews, iv) developing a theoretical framework with conceptualizations and operationalizations, v) choosing a methodological approach, vi) selecting cases and data, and vii) assessing the ethical aspects of a research project.

Upon completion of the course, the student should have achieved the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The student has in-depth knowledge of:

• The key steps in social science research design, how they are interconnected, and the choices and considerations that must be made at each stage of the design
• The strengths and weaknesses of research designs that use quantitative methods, qualitative methods, or a combination of both

Skills

The student can:

• Develop an independent research design that is well-suited to the chosen research problem and clearly demonstrates how theory will be applied in the analysis
• Identify the steps and choices made in the research designs of others
• Reflect critically and constructively on the strengths and weaknesses of the choices made in their own and others’ research designs
• Assess and discuss conditions for validity and reliability

General Competence

The student can:

• Identify relevant data sources and methods for data collection
• Critically evaluate sources, academic arguments, and use of references
• Collaborate with others in designing a research project