Research Seminar

2023/2024

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

6

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Department of Political Science and International Affairs

Course type:

Compulsory course

When:

2 year, 1-3 module

Instructor

Gál, András

Course Syllabus

Abstract

1 y. The course offers an introduction to the practice of social scientific research on a graduate level. Considering the interdisciplinary character of the MA program and the diverse background of the student body, the course aims to familiarize students with international standards of linking empirical and conceptual approaches, data-collection, academic writing, and communicating research results. The course comprises of three major parts. First (sessions 1-4 and 14-15), the formal and logistical sides of scholarly inquiry and academic writing are addressed. Second (sessions 5-13), students will be familiarized with major epistemic and methodological concepts and will receive an introduction to the major research design strategies in social sciences. Finally (sessions 16-21), students will present their term paper proposals, followed by a workshop-style discussion in the class. 2 y. The primary aim of the course is to facilitate the thesis writing process of second-year MA students, in three principal parts. First, core issues around academic writing are addressed, ranging from academic integrity to the clear and persuasive manner of communicating research results (sessions 1-5). Second, critical issues in thesis-writing projects, such as data collection, trade-offs in research design, or case selections strategies are discussed (sessions 6-12). Third, students will discuss their thesis projects in a workshop format (sessions 13-18).