University of St Andrews

Key information

SCOTCAT credits : 30

ECTS credits : 15

Level : SCQF level 11

Semester: 1

Planned timetable: Tuesday 11am -1pm

This is a required module for all MRes, PhD and MPhil students in the School of International Relations. It is designed to assist students in understanding the purpose and approaches of international relations scholarship, and to assist them in developing and carrying out their research. As such, it addresses a range of topics, from the history and philosophy of the social sciences to specific research methods.

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact: 2-hour seminar.

Assessment pattern

As used by St Andrews: Coursework = 100%

Personnel

Module coordinator: Dr N J Barnes
Module teaching staff: Various
Module coordinator email njb22@st-andrews.ac.uk

Intended learning outcomes

• By the end of the course students will be able to: - Evaluate competing truth claims
• - Identify the central research question
• - Situate the research question in the relevant literature
• - Formulate a theoretically-interesting argument
• - Select an appropriate method for addressing the research question
• - Apply the methods to the project