Final Dissertation

This course aims to provide students with a solid understanding and appreciation of the terminology, key concepts, theoretical approaches, and research methods used in political science. It is designed to teach students how to develop sound scientific research designs. The course prepares and supports students in writing their final dissertation.
The course presents and applies the steps of the research process. Each class is dedicated to a step in the process of scientific reasoning, which is first explained, then illustrated with examples, and finally applied by the students through practical exercises.

Required and Corequired knowledge and skills

The course is designed on the assumption that students have no background in political science research methods.

The course follows a seminar format, encouraging active student engagement through regular at-home assignments, as well as in-class presentations, discussions, and practical applications.

Each session consists of an explanation of a specific step in the research process (with concrete examples), followed by hands-on student application through exercises, and the development of your own research design for the final dissertation.

The course relies heavily on active student preparation. Students are expected to complete all assigned work prior to each class to fully participate in discussions and activities.

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

PowerPoint presentations are posted each week on the UV. They emphasise the structure of the course, but they do not constitute an exhaustive syllabus.

The UV is also used to submit the assignments and hosts additional course materials such as links to websites, blog posts, audio or video content, and readings. To prepare assignments, students are expected to follow the Assignment Instructions available on the UV.

Relevant textbooks include:

In English:

Burnham, P., Gilland Lutz, K., Grant, W., & Layton-Henry, Z. (2008). Research Methods in Politics (2nd ed.). Houndmills Palgrave Macmillan.

Curini, L., & Franzese, R. (2020). The SAGE handbook of research methods in political science and international relations. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Howard, C. (2017). Thinking like a Political Scientist. The University of Chicago Press.

Johnson J.B., Mycoff, J.D., & Reynolds H.T. (2019). Political Science Research Methods (9th ed.). CQ Press.

Klotz, A., & Prakash, D. (Eds). (2008). Qualitative Methods in International Relations. A Pluralist Guide. Palgrave MacMillan.

Lamont, C. (2021). Research Methods in International Relations (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd.

McNabb, D.E. (2020). Research Methods for Political Science. Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches (3rd ed.). Routledge.

In French:

Coman R., Crespy, A., Louault, F., Morin, J.-F., Pilet, J.-B., & van Haute, E. (2022). Méthodes de la science politique. De la question de départ à l’analyse des données (2nd ed.). De Boeck Supérieur.

Course notes

• Université virtuelle

Contacts

Romain Weikmans (coordinator) – romain.weikmans@ulb.be
Elisa Lopez-Lucia - elisa.lopez.lucia@ulb.be
Leonardo Puleo – leonardo.puleo@ulb.be
Sébastien Rojon – sebastien.rojon@ulb.be
Giulia Sandri – giulia.sandri@ulb.be
 

Campus

Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• Practice work
• Oral presentation
• Group work
• Other

Practice work

Oral presentation

Group work

Other

Class attendance is mandatory. Students are not allowed to miss an oral presentation, except under serious and documented circumstances. Missing an oral presentation will result in a missing grade for that assignment in the continuous evaluation.

Likewise, students are not allowed to miss any class, except under serious and documented circumstances. A missed class equates to a penalty of 10% of the grade of the continuous evaluation. A maximum of two absences is tolerated. Three or more absences will result in an ABS (missing) grade for the entire continuous evaluation component of the final course grade.

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

Student performance will be assessed as follows:

1) Continuous evaluation (Assignments #1 to #7): 50%.

• Assignment #1 Oral presentation (one text to read, analyse, and present): 5%
• Assignment #2 Literature review: 10%
• Assignment #3 Oral presentation of a research topic/case: 5%
• Assignment #4 Oral presentation of research question and links with theory: 5%
• Assignment #5 Final dissertation form: 5%
• Assignment #6 Revised final dissertation form: 5%
• Assignment #7 3000-word text, with research question, theoretical section, hypotheses/arguments, and research design: 15%

Failure to submit any part of the continuous evaluation will result in an ABS (missing) grade for the entire continuous evaluation. THIS PART OF THE GRADE CANNOT BE RETAKEN.

2) Final dissertation and conference (assignments #8, #9, and #10): 50%.

• Assignment #8 Final dissertation: 35%
• Assignment #9 Oral presentation for final conference: 10%
• Assignment #10 5-minute discussion of a final dissertation from another student: 5%

It is MANDATORY to have a grade for both parts of the course. Students who do not receive a mark for both parts of the course will be assigned an ABS (MISSING) grade until both components are completed and evaluated. In other words, participation in the continuous evaluation is compulsory and cannot be bypassed.

Retake Session (August/September):

- No retake session allowed if no grade for continuous evaluation.

- Only Assignments #8 to #10 can be (re-)submitted.

Language(s) of evaluation

• english