Class Scientific Research Methods and Techniques

This course aims to provide to students the knowledge and the essential methodological toools - methods and techniques - to develop scientific inquiry and  a research design.

Not applicable

1. The method of scientific inquiry 1.1. Fundamentals of quantitative and qualoitative research 1.2. Inductive and Deductive approaches II. Social Sciences methods 2.1. The statistic method, the experimental method and the comparative method 2.2. Case-studies III. Reseach tecniques 3.1. Qualitative - focus group, ethnografy and interviews 3.2. Quantitative - surveys and content analysis IV. Data Analysis V. Analisys and Discussions of the results.

The syllabus is in line with the learning objectives of the Curricular Unit, namely on key-questions in Political Science and International Relations research. Discussion and practical exercises in the classroom context enhance the teaching/learning model.

Della Porta, D. & Keating, M. (2008) Approaches and Methodologies in Social Sciences. A pluralist perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Collier, D & Brady, H. (2010), Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards. Plymouth, UK: Roman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Gschwend, T. & Schimmelfennig, F. (2014), Research design in political science: how to practice what they preach. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Nina, S. Rogeiro, Terrenas, J. & Reis, L. (2024), Manual de Métodos de Investigação em Ciência Polçítica, Edições Almedina. Mahoney, J. & Goertz, G. (2013), A Tale of Two Cultures: Qualitative and Quantitative Research in the Social Sciences. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Toshkov, Dimiter (2016) Research Design in Political Science, Palgrave.