Mastering Academic Research Skills and Methods
Volledige vakbeschrijving
The Skills Track spans from September to January (period 1 - 3), and provides training on various professional and research skills related to academic communication (verbal and written), research design skills (formulation of research questions, basic design of an academic study, choice of methods), as well as working with (academic) sources. The Research Skills component of the Integrated Skills Track is designed to train students in the most important skills required to accomplish research projects in European Studies and European Public Affairs, as well as to prepare for the drafting of the MA ES and MA EPA final work – the internship thesis.
Doelstellingen van dit vak
The main goal of the Integrated Skills Track is to equip the students with practical skills indispensable for the contemporary European Studies graduate such as presentation and writing skills, team-work and strategic communication. In addition, the course prepares the students for the drafting of their graduation project - the thesis. This is a substantial piece of individual scholarly work, based on your independent research, that has the potential to make an original contribution to the state of the art research in the field of European Studies.
After the completion of the Mastering Academic Research Course you are able to:
- Design, plan, and implement an independent research project in the field of European Studies;
- Generate new ideas related to the process of European integration, identify new academic questions and policy problems, and stay up-to-date with the academic and policy literature;
- Select qualitative and quantitative research methods appropriate for answering advanced academic questions about the process of European integration;
- Apply substantive knowledge, theories, and methods in the field of European Studies to new research puzzles in order to facilitate innovation;
- Reach well-reasoned conclusions about the process of European integration and European policy making by combining substantive knowledge, theories, and methods;
- Express research findings on European integration to specialist European and international academic audiences in written academic English through the medium of the MA/EPA thesis.
By completing your thesis you will show that you have fulfilled all the objectives of the MA in European Studies/EPA MA: You will have strong knowledge of the process of European integration and policy making; you are able to apply concepts and theories to relevant cases.
Aanbevolen literatuur
- Blaikie, Norman. (2007). Approaches to Social Enquiry: Advancing Knowledge. 2nd ed., Cambridge: Polity
- Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. FitzGerald. 2016. The Craft of Research. Fourth ed. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.
- Gerring, John. 2012. Social Science Methodology: A Unified Framework. Second ed. Cam- bridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Gerring, John. 2016. Case Study Research: Principles and Practices. Second ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Grix, Jonathan. (2004). The Foundations of Research. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Howard, Christopher. 2017. Thinking Like a Political Scientist: A Practical Guide to Research Methods. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
- Moses, J. and T. Knutsen (2007). Ways of Knowing: Competing Methodologies in Social and Political Research. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Mosley, Layna, ed. 2013. Interview Research in Political Science. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univer- sity Press.
- Thomas, Gary. 2017. How to Do your Research Project: A Guide for Students. 3d edition.