Stratégies de recherche pour le mémoire (partie 2)

Teacher(s)

Aoun Elena; Moyson Stéphane;

Language

French

Content

The seminar is aimed at second-year students in the Master 120 programs in public administration and political science, International relations.Its aim is to help these students progress in the construction of their dissertation through a reasoned research strategy.
Building on the achievements of the first part of the seminar (MSPOL2111), this seminar aims to explore the following dimensions in greater depth:

• Problematization
• Theorizing
• Methodology (research design) and its limits
• Argumentation
• Structuring the dissertation and formal issues
• Defending the dissertation.

Teaching methods

The seminar is based on a participatory learning approach.
It alternates between different strategies, and relies on interaction between teachers and students, as well as possible external contributors: 

• In ex-cathedra sessions, the teaching team outlines the knowledge and skills required to complete the thesis;
• In some cases, students are required to prepare in advance, and certain key skills are practiced directly during the seminar;
• Some interactions enable students to present an intermediate version of their final individual work, based on what they have learned in the preceding sessions. Comments are then made by the teaching team and, where appropriate, by other students ('peer review').

In preparation for certain sessions, students are asked to read one or more texts that will serve as a basis for the course.

Evaluation methods

Assessment is based on :

• active student participation in the various sessions (15% of the final grade)
• a series of assignments (20% of the final grade) carried out over the weeks in application or preparation of the sessions, most of which will be used for a final written assignment
• this final assignment equates with a key part of the dissertation (50% of the final grade), which students will have to defend (15% of the final grade).

All the work and the defense must demonstrate the student's ability to acquire the skills required to implement a reasoned research strategy for the final dissertation.

Online resources

Course material will be made available on Student Corner.

Bibliography

Blaikie, N., & Priest, J. (2018). Designing social research: The logic of anticipation. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. 
Coman, R. et. al. (2016), Méthodes de la science politique. De la question de départ à l'analyse des données, Bruxelles, Belgique : De Boek.

Faculty or entity

PSAD