Postgraduate Module Descriptor

POLM140: Qualitative Methods in Social Research

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

Qualitative research in social sciences: opportunities, challenges and prospects
Research design(s) for qualitative research
Logics of inquiry in qualitative research
Traditions and techniques in qualitative research
What is a case in qualitative research? How to select case(s)?
What is data in qualitative research? How to collect data? How to triangulate data?
The role of context in qualitative research
Mixing data, mixing methods
Validity and generalisability
Ethics, transparency and reproducibility
Publishing qualitative research

This module provides critical understanding of sound methodology in qualitative research. You are expected to engage on your own, over the course of this module, with these core issues in qualitative research methodology in regard with one or several specific method(s) for qualitative research of your choice.

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	278	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	22	11x 2 hour seminars
Guided independent study	118	Private study reading and preparing for the module
Guided independent study	160	Preparation of coursework

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Other Learning Resources

Politics Essay Writing Guide:

http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=168656/

You can find lots of advice relating to essay writing at:

http://www.services.ex.ac.uk/cas/employability/askills/essay/index.htm

You can also find other useful advice related to general study skills at: http://www.services.ex.ac.uk/edu/student-learning-skills/resources.shtml

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Basic reading*

Blatter, J. K, M. Haverland and M. v. Hulst (eds). Qualitative Research in Political Science. Sage.

C. R. Ragin. Redesigning Social Inquiry: Fuzzy Sets and Beyond. University of Chicago Press.

Collier, D. and H. E. Brady (eds). Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards. Rowman & Littlefield

Engeli, I. and C. Rothmayr (eds). Comparative Policy Studies: Conceptual and Methodological Challenges. Palgrave.

Gerring, J. Case Study Research: Principles and Practices. Cambridge University Press.

Gerring, J. Social Science Methodology: A Unified Framework. Cambridge University Press.

Goertz, G. Social Science Concepts and Measurements. Princeton University Press.

Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, E. Brady and D. Collier (eds).The Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology. Oxford University Press.

Kapiszewski, D., L. M. MacLean and B. L. Read (2015). Field Research in Political Science; Practices and Principles. Cambridge University Press.

Maggetti, M., F. Gilardi and C. M. Radelli. Designing Research in Social Sciences. Sage.

Seawright, J. Multi-Method for Social Science: Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Tools. Cambridge University Press

Yanow, D. and P. Schwartz-Shea (eds). Interpretation and method: Research methods and the interpretive turn. Sage

Yin, R. Y. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods. Sage.

*Many of these books have multiple editions. As these are basic reading, there is no expectation regarding the specific edition.