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Course Syllabus

Master 2025/2026

Methodology and Research Methods of Political Science and Economics

Type: Elective course (Politics. Economics. Philosophy)
Delivered by: School of Politics and Governance
Where: Faculty of Social Sciences
When: 1 year, 2, 3 module
Open to: students of one campus
Instructors: Ilia Inshakov, Stanislav Pashkov, Konstantin Zhigadlo
Language: English
Contact hours: 64

Course Syllabus

Full SyllabusAsk Question

Abstract

The course is designed to introduce students to the philosophy and methodology of research in the social sciences and to show them how the specialization and integration of different methodologies work across social sciences and beyond. In addition, students are familiarized with the main methods of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed research, and they learn about the challenges associated with their application.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • shaping students’ critical thinking in the face of multiple epistemological strategies, working methodologies and theoretical approaches practiced in contemporary social sciences
  • helping students to develop skills necessary for choosing analytical tools adequate to specific research areas and tasks, for designing research programs
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • critically evaluates research projects in political science and economics
  • critically evaluates research projects in political science and economics
  • designs methodological frameworks for research projects in political science and economics
  • knows the key principles of the most common methodologies and research methods of political science and economics
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Introduction to the Philosophy and Methodology of Science
  • Methodological Specialization and Integration
  • Challenges of Quantitative Research
  • Challenges of Qualitative Research
  • Challenges of Mixed Research
  • Challenges of (Neo)institutionalism(s)
  • Challenges of Constructivist Tradition(s)
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Group Work Presentation & Paper 1
    Your research project will be divided into three steps: (1) Formulating a puzzle and a research question. (2) Discussing methodological options and challenges. (3) Summarizing the research design and suggesting expected results. Each step, in its turn, presupposes that your group (a) sends a presentation to the instructor’s email, at least, one day before the seminar, (b) gives a 20-minute oral presentation, during which your ideas are discussed in class and your team receives feedback from the instructor and other students, and (c) prepares the written version of this step (2-4 pages) within a week, taking into account the feedback received. Each member of the team should be involved in the preparation and oral presentation of every step. Violation of the deadlines for pre-uploading the presentation or uploading the text will result in a penalty of 1 point in each case. The absence of a presentation or text for any step will result in a penalty of 3 points in each case.
  • non-blocking Group Work Presentation & Paper 2
    Your research project will be divided into three steps: (1) Formulating a puzzle and a research question. (2) Discussing methodological options and challenges. (3) Summarizing the research design and suggesting expected results. Each step, in its turn, presupposes that your group (a) sends a presentation to the instructor’s email, at least, one day before the seminar, (b) gives a 20-minute oral presentation, during which your ideas are discussed in class and your team receives feedback from the instructor and other students, and (c) prepares the written version of this step (2-4 pages) within a week, taking into account the feedback received. Each member of the team should be involved in the preparation and oral presentation of every step. Violation of the deadlines for pre-uploading the presentation or uploading the text will result in a penalty of 1 point in each case. The absence of a presentation or text for any step will result in a penalty of 3 points in each case.
  • non-blocking Group Work Presentation & Paper 3
    Your research project will be divided into three steps: (1) Formulating a puzzle and a research question. (2) Discussing methodological options and challenges. (3) Summarizing the research design and suggesting expected results. Each step, in its turn, presupposes that your group (a) sends a presentation to the instructor’s email, at least, one day before the seminar, (b) gives a 20-minute oral presentation, during which your ideas are discussed in class and your team receives feedback from the instructor and other students, and (c) prepares the written version of this step (2-4 pages) within a week, taking into account the feedback received. Each member of the team should be involved in the preparation and oral presentation of every step. Violation of the deadlines for pre-uploading the presentation or uploading the text will result in a penalty of 1 point in each case. The absence of a presentation or text for any step will result in a penalty of 3 points in each case.
  • non-blocking Group Work Final Paper
    The final project is a compilation of three intermediate papers that has been fully edited and equipped with all the necessary logical transitions between the three parts. It also provides an opportunity to address any drawbacks that were not improved during the main part of the course. A table should be attached to the main text of the project, reflecting the instructors’ comments and how they have been taken into account in the final version. Violation of the deadline for submitting the final text will result in a penalty of 1 point for each day.
  • non-blocking Peer Review
    The review should freely reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the paper under review and also indicate points for improvement. The optimal length is two pages. Try to make your review balanced and devote sufficient attention to both the strengths and weaknesses of the project. Write in academic language and style. Aim to be insightful and strict enough, while at the same time respectful toward your colleagues. It is forbidden to criticize the personalities of team members or to use non-academic vocabulary in reviews.
  • non-blocking Participation and Discussions in Class in Module 2
  • non-blocking Participation and Discussions in Class in Module 3
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • 2025/2026 3rd module
    0.15 * Group Work Final Paper + 0.1 * Group Work Presentation & Paper 1 + 0.1 * Group Work Presentation & Paper 2 + 0.1 * Group Work Presentation & Paper 3 + 0.175 * Participation and Discussions in Class in Module 2 + 0.175 * Participation and Discussions in Class in Module 3 + 0.2 * Peer Review
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Approaches and methodologies in the social sciences : a pluralist perspective / ed. by Donatella della Porta . (2008). Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.283822104
  • Hall, P., & Taylor, R. (1996). Political Science and the Three New Institutionalisms. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.45428ED0
  • Keating, M., & Della Porta, D. (2008). Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences : A Pluralist Perspective. Cambridge , New York: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=304674
  • Mahoney, J., & Goertz, G. (2006). A Tale of Two Cultures: Contrasting Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.18538E6D
  • Mäki, U., & ScienceDirect (Online service). (2012). Philosophy of Economics. Amsterdam: North Holland. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=249147
  • Searle, J. R. (2005). What is an institution? Journal of Institutional Economics, (01), 1. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.cup.jinsec.v1y2005i01p1.22.00
  • Taagepera, R. (2018). Science walks on two legs, but social sciences try to hop on one. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.688BE5ED
  • The Oxford handbook of political methodology / ed. by Janet Box-Steffensmeier . (2008). Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.253060168

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • King, G. (DE-588)135604311, (DE-576)166299405. (1994). Designing social inquiry : scientific inference in qualitative research / Gary King; Robert O. Keohane; Sidney Verba. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.039730549
  • Klingemann, H.-D., & Goodin, R. E. (1996). A New Handbook of Political Science. Oxford: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=273524

Authors

  • ALEKSEEV ALEKSANDR VLADIMIROVICH
  • Inshakov Ilia Aleksandrovich
  • ILIN MIKHAIL VASILEVICH