Osnova témat

  • Introduction to the Course

    The course aims at introducing the fundamentals of research strategies and methodologies traditionally applied in International Relations and Security Studies. The primary objective of the course is to gain familiarity with the character of qualitative research, principles of its research design and some of the core methodologies, methods and techniques that can be applied to investigate social phenomena qualitatively. Particular emphasis is placed on acquiring a sufficient understanding of the logic of qualitative research design with the aim to promote students’ independence when navigating the diverse terrain of qualitative methodologies, but especially when applying the knowledge gained throughout the course to make competent and confident methodological choices in their Master’s dissertations.

  • MA Dissertation Project and Topic Registration - 26 February

    During the semester students should start considering the topic of their MA dissertation. They should consult it with a potential supervisor. While developing this relation, students should make sure that their supervisor will register their MA dissertation topic in the SIS by 15th June.

    The supervisors will ask the students to formulate the project of their MA dissertation. The project should be finalized and uploaded to the SIS by the supervisor by the end of September 2024. There is a template for the dissertation project that will be uploaded to the SIS. This procedure is not related to the assessment process in this course. The course is generally meant to contribute to students’ ability to submit a coherent piece of MA research.

    The final versions of MA projects will be uploaded to SIS by individual supervisors.

    Deadline 15th June

  • 1. No Class - 19 February

  • 2. Introductory Lecture (Vít Střítecký) – 26 February

    Structure of the course, assignments, MA dissertation registration process. This lecture will introduce the assessment matrix that will be used by the reviewers to evaluate your MA dissertation. The general philosophy as well as specific sections of the matrix will be explained. The matrix reflects the overall requirements of quality research and thus should serve as the guideline for writing. The lecture will also introduce the MA dissertation project.

     

  • 3. Basics of Qualitative Research Design (Vít Střítecký) - 4 March

    Assembling fundamental components of qualitative research design in IR and Security Studies from scratch (identifying research problems and phrasing research questions; data collection and data analysis; triangulation; research objectives and contribution; research ethics; citation standards).

    Compulsory Reading (53pp):

    -   Lamont, Christopher K. 2015. Research Methods in International Relations. Los Angeles: Sage, 37-62 (Chapter 2).

    -   Maxwell, Joseph A. 2012. Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach. Los Angeles: Sage, 78-90 (Chapter 4).

    -   Tracy, Sarah J. 2013. Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 21-36 (Chapter 2),

    Recommended Reading (9pp):

    -   Barkin, Samuel. 2008. “‘Qualitative’ Methods?” In Qualitative Methods in International Relations: A Pluralist Guide, edited by Agata Klotz and Deepa Prakash, 211-220. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

     

  • 4. Communicating with Theories: Literature Review (Vít Střítecký) - 11 March

    Integrating theoretical and conceptual framework: communicating with theories; analytical approaches to writing a literature review as a tool for incorporating theories and concepts into your research.

    Compulsory Reading (35pp):

    -   Lamont, Christopher K. 2015. Research Methods in International Relations. Los Angeles: Sage, 79-92 (Chapter 4).

    -   Randolph, Justus. 2009. “A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review.” Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation 14(1): 13.

    -   Silverman, David, and Amir Marvasti. 2008. Doing Qualitative Research: A Comprehensive Guide. Los Angeles: Sage, 365-373 (Chapter 21).




     

  • 5. Epistemology and Ontology (Jakub Tesař) - 18 March

    This lecture will introduce the philosophical underpinnings of different methodological approaches in social sciences.

    Compulsory Reading (40pp):

    -   Jackson, Patrick Thaddeus. 2011. The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations. Philosophy of Science and its Implications for the Study of World Politics. London and New York: Routledge. (Chapters 1 and 2)

  • 6. Basics of Qualitative Case Studies (Vít Střítecký) - 25 March

    Introduction to the fundamentals of case study design, typology, paradigmatic approaches, interactions and overlaps with other qualitative methods.

    Compulsory Reading (59pp):

    -   Gray, David E. 2004. Doing Research in the Real World. Los Angeles: Sage, 123-151 (Chapter 6 Designing Case Studies).

    -   George, Alexander L., and Andrew Bennett. 2005. Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 355-356, 388-389, 405-406, 415-422 (Appendix with Case Study applications).

    -   Yazan, Bedrettine. 2015. “Three Approaches to Case Study Methods in Education: Yin, Merriam, and Stake”. The Qualitative Report 20(2), 134-152.

    Recommended Reading (19pp):

    Gerring, John. 2005. Case Study Research: Principles and Practices. CUP, 17-36 (Chapter 2)




  • 7. Easter Monday - 1 April


     

  • 8. Explanatory Case Studies – Focus on Qualitative Causation (Vít Střítecký) – 8 April

    Tracking causal mechanisms in a qualitative style, analysing causality within cases – methods of process tracing and congruence analysis.

    Compulsory Reading (60pp):

    -   Evangelista, Matthew. 2015. Explaining the Cold War’s End: Process Tracing All the Way Down? In Process Tracing: From Metaphor to Analytic Tool, edited by Bennett, Andrew and Jeffrey T. Checkel. Cambridge: CUP, 153-185 (Chapter 6).

    -   George, Alexander L., and Andrew Bennett. 2005. Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 226-254 (Chapter 9 The Congruence Method).




  • 9. Qualitative Content Analysis and Thematic Analysis (Kristián Földes) - 15 April

    ‘Basic’, interpretive and qualitative approaches to content analysis; specifics of thematic analysis; application of the logic of induction, deduction and abduction; principles of coding and software-aided QCA.

    Compulsory Reading (46pp):

    -   Drisko, James W. and Tina Maschi. 2016. Content Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press, 1-8 (Introduction), 81-119 (Chapter 4).

    Recommended Reading (25pp):

    -   Swain, Jon. 2018. A Hybrid Approach to Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research: Using a Practical Example. In SAGE Research Methods Cases. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.




  • 10. Discourse Analysis (Kristián Földes) - 22 April

    An introduction to the principles of discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis with focus on their application.

    Compulsory Reading (38pp):

    • van Dijk, Teun A. 2009. Critical Discourse Studies: A Sociocognitive Approach. In Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis, edited by Wodak, Ruth and Michael Meyer, 80-102. Los Angeles: Sage, 80-102 (Chapter 3).

    • Neumann, Iver B. 2008. Discourse Analysis. In Qualitative Methods in International Relations: A Pluralist Guide, edited by Agata Klotz and Deepa Prakash, 61-77. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 61-77 (Chapter 5).

     

  • 11. Visual Analysis (Jakub Tesař) - 29 April

    Going beyond text-based approaches, this lecture will discuss visual methodologies in the study of international politics and security.

    Recommended Reading (55pp):

    -   Bleiker, Roland. 2018. ‘Mapping Visual Global Politics.’ In Visual Global Politics, edited by Roland Bleiker, 1–29. Abingdon; New York: Routledge.

    -   Schlag, Gabi. 2016. ‘Imagining Security: A Visual Methodology for Security Studies’. In Transformations of Security Studies: Dialogues, Diversity and Discipline, edited by Gabi Schlag, Julian Junk, and Christopher Daase, 173–89. London and New York: Routledge.

    -   Robinson NT. 2014. Have you won the war on terror? Military videogames and the state of American exceptionalism. Millennium - Journal of International Studies 43(2): 450-470




  • 12. Engaging AI/LLM I (Vít Střítecký) - 6 May

    Advances in AI, particularly large language models

    (LLMs) will fundamentally affect social science research. The last two sessions will

    introduce the technology and offer practical insights into LLMs' landscape. Last but

    not least the ethical standards connected with academic practice will be highlighted.

    Compulsory Reading:

    - Grossmann, Igor et al. (2023). AI and the transformation of social science

    research. Science, Vol 380, Issue 6650, pp. 1108-1109

    - Valdenegro, Daniel (2023). A Large Language Models Digest For Social

    Scientists. preprint https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/m74vs

  • 13. Engaging AI/LLM II (Vít Střítecký) - 13 May

    Advances in AI, particularly large language

    models (LLMs) will fundamentally affect social science research. The last two

    sessions will introduce the technology and offer practical insights into LLMs'

    landscape. Last but not least the ethical standards connected with academic practice

    will be highlighted.