Course description
Comparative Research Designs and Methods
This course is part of the IPSAMOOC project, a joint venture Federica Weblearning - IPSA, the International Political Science Association
Emile Durkheim, one of the founders of modern empirical social science, once stated that the comparative method is the only one that suits the social sciences. But Descartes hadposited that "comparaison n'est pas raison," which means that comparison is not reason (or theory) by itself. So what's the right answer?
This course provides an introduction and overview of systematic comparative analysis in the social sciences, and shows you how to use this method for constructive explanation and theory building.
A major portion of the course is devoted to new approaches and software that have been developed in recent yearsto handle highly complex cases. Such cases includecomparisons of EU member states, Latin American political systems,and particular policy areas. Procedures such as Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and related methods are able to reduce complexity and to arrive at "configurational" solutions based on set theory and Boolean algebra. These are more meaningful in this context thancommonly used, broad-based statistical methods.
Inthe last section, these methods are contrasted with more common statistical comparative methods at the macro-level. We'll discuss various states or societies and their respective strengths and weaknesses.
Upcoming start dates
Who should attend?
Prerequisites:
Basic quantitative or qualitative methodological trainingwill be useful, but participants with little methodological training should find no major obstacles to following the course.
Training content
- An understanding of systematic comparative analysis and why it is more useful than other broad-based statistical methods
- How to use systematic comparative analysis for constructive explanation and theory building
- How to apply systematic comparative analysis to real-world politics
Course delivery details
This course is offered through University of Naples Federico II, a partner institute of EdX.
4-6 hours per week
Costs
- Verified Track -$59
- Audit Track - Free
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