GV164-4-SU-CO:
Doing Political Research
PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
2025/26
Government
Colchester Campus
Summer
Undergraduate: Level 4
Inactive
Monday 20 April 2026
Friday 26 June 2026
0
06 August 2024
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BSC LL14 Economics and Politics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC LL2F Economics and Politics,
BSC LL3F Economics and Politics (Including Year Abroad),
BSC LL4F Economics and Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA L900 International Development,
BA L219 Politics with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA L2M9 Politics with Human Rights,
BA LFM9 Politics with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad)
Students will learn how scholars in political science and international relations formulate research questions, develop theories to answer those questions, and use critical and empirical techniques to test the validity of those theories.
More specifically, students will learn how to craft and refine a research question, define and measure concepts, formulate a theory and hypotheses, create a research design in order to collect data, and test theoretically-driven hypotheses with empirical evidence. The ultimate goal of this undertaking is to start students down a path to creating knowledge about the world of politics and global studies using the scientific process.
The aims of this module are:
- To encourage an understanding of what constitutes good research
- To enable students to appreciate the importance of good research design
- To enable students to understand the importance of theory
- To enable students to understand various the various sources of evidence
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- To develop student’s ability to critically assess and discuss a variety of issues in politics.
- To improve students’ abilities to formulate a research question and justify decisions in a research design.
- To develop skills in crafting testable hypotheses
- To develop skills in accurately and precisely measuring key concepts.
- To learn how to gather data and analyse it in a concise fashion.
No additional information available.
This module will be delivered via:
- five two-hour sessions in weeks 30-34 of the summer term.
These sessions will include 45-60 minutes of lecture followed by in-class activities (combination of written and small group discussion) to accomplish the module learning outcomes.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Additional coursework information
It takes practice to become a good researcher. You will find that you will learn most by making mistakes or hearing about the mistakes of others, so get used to discussing research methods with your module supervisors, Assistant Lecturers and other students.
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Module is either passed or marked as not completed.
Reassessment
Module is either passed or marked as not completed.
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Robert Kemp, email: rpkemp@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Hersh Mann, email: hmann@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Hershinder Mann / Dr Robert Kemp
Module Administrator: Nicole Hicks govquery@essex.ac.uk
No
No
No
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
Government
* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.
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