This course serves as a basic introduction to the logic of systematic political inquiry, aiming to provide students with the skills to design, perform, and evaluate social science research. The course focuses primarily on the philosophy of science, the logic of causal inference, the formation, systematization, and measurement of concepts, theory/hypothesis building, case selection, and general principles of research design. In addition, it evaluates both the usefulness and limitations of qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches to the social sciences. While this course is designed as preparation for the Master’s thesis, students may apply the skills learned in this course to conduct original social science research in a variety of settings.

Continuous Assessment: 100%