Doel vak

This course presents an overview of the field of Comparative Political
Research.

Learning outcomes:

Knowledge and understanding – The student has acquired knowledge and
understanding of:
(1) the central debates within Comparative Political Research.

Application – The student has acquired the competences to:
(2) understand the features and trade-offs of applications of different
strands of comparative research (both qualitative and quantitative).

Making judgements - The student is able to:
(3) evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the main types of
comparative research and how they may complement each other.

Communication. The student has acquired the skills to:
(4) write a research design for a comparative case study which is
theoretically relevant and methodologically sound (and feasible). The
design is based on deliberate choices on key methodological issues such
as internal and external validity, conceptualization, measurement and
case-selection.

Inhoud vak

In this course students will contrast approaches to doing Comparative
Political Research and make a design for a comparative case study
themselves. These tasks will help students to gain the basic skills
necessary for performing comparative research and to set up a research
design.

Onderwijsvorm

The course will be taught in the form of lectures and tutorials.
The tutorials provide students with the opportunity to discuss their
preliminary answers to the assignments. The more students prepare and
participate in the tutorials, the more feedback they receive in return.

Toetsvorm

Written assignments (85%).

The course requires active participation which includes attendance (1%),
meeting deadlines (1%), presentations (3%) and peer reviews (10%).

Literatuur

Main Textbook (To be purchased):
Gerring, J. (2017). Case Study Research. Principles and Practices.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2nd Edition.

In addition students will read a number of articles and book chapters.

Doelgroep

2nd year bachelor students in Political Science.
Also open as an elective course. for VU-students and Exchange Students.

Overige informatie

Each week there is one lecture and one tutorial (and/or feedback by
appointment).