Course Details

RESEARCH METHODS 2

POLS202

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Course Information
SemesterCourse Unit CodeCourse Unit TitleT+P+LCreditNumber of ECTS Credits
4POLS202RESEARCH METHODS 23+0+035

Course Details
Language of Instruction English
Level of Course Unit Bachelor's Degree
Department / Program POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Type of Program Formal Education
Type of Course Unit Compulsory
Course Delivery Method Face To Face
Objectives of the Course This course aims to equip students with the theoretical foundations and practical skills necessary to design, conduct, and analyze qualitative research in the social sciences.
Course Content This course introduces students to key approaches and debates in qualitative research, including interpretivism, constructivism, and feminist methodologies. It covers the full research process—from formulating research questions and conducting literature reviews to collecting and analyzing qualitative data through methods such as interviews and content analysis. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking, reflexivity, and the ethical dimensions of qualitative inquiry.
Course Methods and Techniques The course uses a combination of lectures, interactive discussions, weekly quizzes, written assignments, peer feedback sessions, and hands-on projects such as interviews and visual analysis to help students actively engage with qualitative research methods and apply them in practice.
Prerequisites and co-requisities None
Course Coordinator None
Name of Lecturers Asist Prof.Dr. FATMA ARMAĞAN TEKE LLYOUD armagan.tekelloyd@agu.edu.tr
Assistants None
Work Placement(s) No

Recommended or Required Reading
Resources Marsh, D., & Stoker, G. (Eds.). (1995). Theory and methods in political science (p. 292). London: Macmillan.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.
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Course Category
Social Sciences %100

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
Activities are given in detail in the section of "Assessment Methods and Criteria" and "Workload Calculation"

Assessment Methods and Criteria
In-Term Studies Quantity Percentage
Yarıyıl İçi Çalışmalarının Başarı Notunun Katkısı 14 % 20
Yarıl yılSonu Sınavı/Dönem Projesinin Başarı Notuna Katkısı 1 % 30
Quiz/Küçük Sınav 5 % 20
Ödev 3 % 20
Uygulama Çalışmaları (Laboratuar,Sanal Mahkeme,Stüdyo Çalışmaları vb.) 1 % 10
Total
24
% 100

 
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration Total Work Load
Araştırma Ödevi 1 30 30
Ev Ödevi 6 3 18
Sınıf İçi Aktivitesi 13 1 13
Okuma 13 2 26
Yüz Yüze Ders 14 3 42
Ders Dışı Ara Sınav 1 15 15
Total Work Load   Number of ECTS Credits 5 144

Course Learning Outcomes: Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
NoLearning Outcomes
1 Understand the epistemological and methodological foundations of qualitative research.
2 Differentiate qualitative methods from quantitative and positivist paradigms such as scientism, behavioralism, and rational choice theory.
3 Identify and apply various qualitative methodologies, including interpretivism, constructivism, feminism, and critical theory.
4 Formulate clear, researchable qualitative questions and justify their theoretical and methodological choices.
5 Design and conduct a qualitative research project, including literature review, data collection (e.g., interviews), and analysis (e.g., content and thematic analysis).
6 Critically engage with scholarly texts and relate them to empirical and theoretical discussions in the social sciences.


Weekly Detailed Course Contents
WeekTopicsStudy MaterialsMaterials
1 Introduction to Qualitative Research Read: • Read: https://www.blackwellpublishing.com/content/BPL_Images/Content_store/Sample_chapter/9780632052844/001-025%5B1%5D.pdf --
2 The Rise and Fall of Scientism Read: Stoker and Marsh “Theory and Methods in Political Science”. Introduction. --
3 Behavioralism and Rational Choice Critiques • Reading: David Sanders “Behavioural Analysis”. in Theory and Methods in Political Science” Stoker and Marsh eds. • Reading: Andrew Hindmoor Rational Choice Chapter 2 in Theory and Methods in Political Science, Stoker and Marsh eds --
4 Constructivism and Interpretive Theory Read: Craig Parsons, Chapter 4, in “Theory and Methods in Political Science”, Stoker and Marsh eds. --
5 Feminism and the Interpretive Turn Read: • Ricky Randall, Chapter 6, in “Theory and Methods in Political Science”, Stoker and Marsh eds. --
6 Mid-Term -- --
7 Nitel araştırma Metodu Dizaynı • Creswell, Chapter 3. • Reading: https://viva.pressbooks.pub/mswresearch/chapter/9-writing-your-research-question/ • Reading: https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-question --
8 Conducting a Literature Review Reading: • https://libguides.uta.edu/researchprocess/litreview. • https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/literaturereview • https://research-methodology.net/research-methodology/types-literature-review/ • https://guides.library.ucla.edu/c.php?g=224129&p=1485355 --
9 Peer Feedback & Group Discussions Students will give eachother feedback on their literature reviews. --
10 Data Collection: Interviews Lecture notes --
11 Feedback and Research Development Feedback sessipn --
12 Qualitative Data Analysis (content, thematic, textual) Lecture notes --
13 Orgnaizing an Article and Citation Styles Lecture notes --


Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12
All 5 5 5 3 3 3 3 2 5 5 2 2
C1 5 5 5 3 3 4 3 2 5 5 2 3
C2 5 5 5 1 2 2 2 3 5 5 1 1
C3 5 5 5 2 2 2 2 2 5 5 2 1
C4 5 5 5 1 2 2 2 2 5 5 1 2
C5 5 5 5 2 3 3 5 2 5 5 2 2
C6 5 5 5 5 5 2 5 1 5 5 2 2

Contribution: 1: Very Slight 2:Slight 3:Moderate 4:Significant 5:Very Significant


https://sis.agu.edu.tr/oibs/bologna/progCourseDetails.aspx?curCourse=71013&lang=en
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