This course initiates political science students to the practical use of methods and tools in the conduct of a field research project. The aim of the course is to equip students for their future research and fieldwork. To achieve these goals, three main sequences will be followed, with emphasis on the discussion of empirical cases.
First, the Field Research Method course will review the basic stages in the construction and development of political science research, from the definition of the research object to the elaboration of the theoretical framework.
Then, the course will describe the four most commonly used methods in political science: interviews (life stories); (n)ethnographic observations; analysis of texts (frame analysis), reports and archives; and focus groups. It is one of these four techniques (or a combination of these methods) that students will be invited to use in the assignment for which they will receive the final grade.
These research methods will be presented and discussed through case studies drawn from several fields (activism, public policy, international relations, etc.).
Finally, the last part of the course looks at the practical, ontological, epistemological, theoretical and ethical issues that researchers face when conducting field research.
