Analytic Skills for Global Affairs

Catalog description

Crucially, the research methods that are employed to answer one’s question determine the accuracy of the answer one obtains. Thus, a course like this is concerned less with what we know, and more with how we know it. The goals of this course, therefore, are to introduce students to the research process and the different types of research methods available to answer critical questions about global affairs. Students will learn about both qualitative and quantitative methods and will cover the advantages and disadvantages to different types of data collection and analysis. Further, this course will enhance students’ ability to analyze arguments, evaluate evidence, and convey key ideas and research findings effectively. By the end of this course, students should be able to design a research project, define and measure key social science phenomena, formulate hypotheses, design tests of their hypotheses through qualitative and/or quantitative methods, and effectively present their research designs. In addition, students will learn how to deconstruct scholarly research into its fundamental components (e.g., the author’s research question, variables, hypotheses, sample, research method, etc.) and, as such, become more critical readers of published work and sharper researchers and thinkers.