ROMNIA

UNIVERSITATEA BABE-BOLYAI CLUJ-NAPOCA

FACULTATEA DE STUDII EUROPENE
DEPARTAMENTUL STUDII EUROPENE I GUVERNAN

COURSE SYLLABUS
1. Information about the program
1.1 Higher Education
Institution
1.2 Faculty
1.3 Department
1.4 Field of study
1.5 Study level
1.6 Programme of study/
Qualification

Babe-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca

European Studies
European Studies and Governance
International Relations and European Studies
Master
Cultural Diplomacy and International Relations (in
English)

2. Information about the discipline

2.1 Module
2.2 Course holder
2.3 Seminar holder
2.4 Year of
2
study

Guidelines in Research of the Topics of Dissertation

Dr. Mihai Rusu
Dr. Mihai Rusu
2.5
2 2.6. Type of
C 2.7 Type of
Semester
assessment1
module2

OB

3. Total estimated time (teaching hours per semester)

3.1 No. of hours per week

3.1 of which for

course
3.5 of which for
course

3.3 of which for

seminar
3.6 of which for
seminar

3.4 Total no. of hours in the

3
12
curriculum
6
Time distribution:
Conventional hours 6x25=150
Study by using handbook, reader, bibliography and course notes
Additional library/specialised online research, field research
Preparation of seminars/laboratories, homework, projects, portfolios and essays
Tutoring
Examinations
Other activities: ..................
3.7 Total no. of hours for individual
84
study
3.8 Total no. of hours per semester
150
3.9 No. of ETCS credit points
6

24
Hours

30
29
25
20
10

4. Prerequisites (where applicable)

4.1 of curriculum

E - exam, ME - multi-term examinations, C - collocutional examination/assessment

test
2
OB - core module, OP - elective module, F - extracurricular module
1

4.2 of competencies

5. Conditions (where applicable)

5.1 For the
development of the
course
5.2 For the
development of the
seminar/laboratory

Interdisciplinary
skills

Professional skills

6. Specific skills acquired

Writing and presenting a Masters Dissertation in the specific field of

study

Knowledge of and ability to use appropriate methods of research

A practical understanding of descriptive, causal and projective thinking

The ability to place specific inquiry in wider scientific and

epistemological contexts

Sound argumentation skills for academic purposes (includes noticing and

avoiding the most common fallacies in written discourse)

Organizing and conducting scientific study

7. Course objectives (based on list of acquired skills)

7.1 General objective

7.2 Specific objectives

This course is designed to give students an accurate

picture and a practical understanding of research issues in
the social sciences. Fundamental forms of inquiry and
research practices will be linked to the students particular
areas of interest and topics of research.
The course aims to provide:

Ethical guidelines for the research process

Basic research documentation skills

The ability to create, examine and put testable

hypotheses to work

Writing and presenting scientific papers

Scientific argumentation skills

Critical reading skills - with an emphasis on identifying

methodological strengths and weaknesses of (ready-to-be)
published research

8. Contents
8.1 Course

Teaching
methods

Observations

1. Introduction. The Nature of Scientific

Inquiry
2. Contemporary Perspectives on the Social
Sciences. The Main Paradigms and Debates
3. Overview of Research Methods
4. Ethical and Practical Issues in Research
5. Problem Articulation and Research
Design
6. Concept Formation and Measurement
7. Scientific Creativity
8. Scientific Argumentation and Inference I
9. Scientific Argumentation and Inference II.
Social Sciences and Political Research
10. The Use and Abuse of Particular
Methods. The Most Common Fallacies in
Socio-Historical Research
11. Writing and Presenting Your Dissertation
I
12. Writing and Presenting Your Dissertation
II
Bibliography

Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion

1. Adcock, R. and Collier, D. 2001. Measurement Validity: A Shared Standard for

Qualitative and Quantitative Research. The American Political Science Review,
95(3), pp. 529-546.
2. Agresti, A. and Finlay, B. 2009. Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences. 4th
ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Pierson.
3. Almond, G. A. and Genco, S. J. 1977. Clouds, Clocks, and the Study of Politics.
World Politics, 29(4), pp. 489-522.
4. Berg, B. 2001. Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. 4th ed.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
5. Bernstein, S. et al. 2000. God Gave Physics the Easy Problems: Adapting Social
Science to an Unpredictible World. European Journal of International Relations.
6(1), pp. 43-76.
6. Brady, H. E., Collier, D. and Seawright, J. 2006. Toward a Pluralistic Vision of
Methodology. Political Analysis, 14(3), pp. 353-368.
7. Collier, D. and Levitsky, S. 1997. Democracy with Adjectives. Conceptual
Innovation in Comparative Research. World Politics, 49(3), pp. 430-451.
8. Collier, D. and Mahoney, J. 1996. Insights and Pitfalls: Selection Bias in
Qualitative Research. World Politics, 49(1), pp. 56-91.
9. Della Porta, D. and Keating, M. eds. 2008. Approaches and Methodologies in the
Social Sciences. A Pluralist Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
10.Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. 2005. eds. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative
Research. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
11.Elman, C. 2005. Explanatory Typologies in Qualitative Studies of International
Politics. International Organization, 59(2), pp. 293-326.
12.Fearon, H. D. 1991. Counterfactuals and Hypothesis Testing in Political Science.
World Politics, 43(2), pp.169-195.
13.Fierke, K. M. 2002. Links across the Abyss: Language and Logic in International
Relations. International Studies Quarterly, 46(3), pp. 331-354.
14.Fischer, D. H. 1970. Historians Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought.

New York: Harper Torchbooks.

15.Fujii, L. A. 2012. Research Ethics 101: Dilemmas and Responsibilities. PS: Political
Science and Politics, 45(4), pp. 717-723.
16.Geddes, B. 1990. How the Cases You Choose Affect the Answers You Get:
Selection Bias in Comparative Politics. Political Analysis, 2(1), pp. 131-150.
17.Hacking, I. 1990. The Taming of Chance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
18.Jacoby, W. G. 1999. Levels of Measurement and Political Research: An Optimistic
View. American Journal of Political Science, 43(1), pp. 271-301.
19.King, G., Keohane, R. O., Verba, S. 1994. Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific
Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
20.Lakatos, I. and Musgrave, A. eds. 1970. Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge.
Proceedings of the International Colloquium in the Philosophy of Science,
London, 1965. Volume 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
21.Levy, J. S. 2008. Case Studies: Types, Designs, and Logics of inference. Conflict
Management and Peace Science, 25(1), pp. 1-18.
22.Lustick, I. S. 1996. History, Historiography, and Political Science: Multiple
Historical Records and the Problem of Selection Bias. The American Political
Science Review, 90(3), pp. 605-618.
23.Mahoney, J., Kimball, E. and Koivu, K. L. 2009. The Logic of Historical Explanation
in the Social Sciences. Comparative Political Studies, 42(1), pp. 114-146.
24.Mill, J. S. 1919 [1843]. A System of Logic, Raciocinative and Inductive : Being a

Connected View of the Principles of Evidence and the Methods of Scientific

Investigation. London: Longmans, Green and co.

25.Most, B. A. 1990. Getting Started on Political Research. PS: Political Science and
Politics, 23(4), pp. 592-596.
26.Most, B. A. and Starr, H. 1982. Case Selections, Conceptualizations and Basic
Logic in the Study of War. American Journal of Political Science, 26(4), pp. 834856.
27.Oliver, P. 2010. The Students Guide to Research Ethics. 2nd ed. Maidenhead:
Open University Press.
28.Sartori, G. 1970. Concept Misformation in Comparative Politics. The American
Political Science Review, 64(4), pp. 1033-1053.
29.Sekhon, J. S. 2004. Quality Meets Quantity: Case Studies, Conditional Probability,
and Counterfactuals. Perspectives on Politics, 2(2), pp. 281-293.
30.Shively, W. P. 2009. The Craft of Political Research.7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Prentice Hall.
31.Tetlock, P. E. 1999. Theory-Driven Reasoning About Plausible Pasts and Probable
Futures in World Politics: Are We Prisoners of Our Preconceptions? American
Journal of Political Science, 43(2), pp. 335-366.
32.Toulmin, S. E. 2003. The Uses of Argument. Updated Edition. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
33.Turabian, K. L. 1996. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and
Dissertations. 6th ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
34.Van Evera, S. 1997. Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science. Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University Press.
35.Walton, D. 2006. Fundamentals of Critical Argumentation. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
8.2 Seminar / Laboratory

1. Perspectives on Science and Social

Science
2. Research in the Social Sciences.
Methods Overview (2 classes)
3. Ethical and Practical Issues in
Research

Teaching
methods
Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion
Lecture,
discussion, class

Observations

4. Main Steps of Research (3 classes)

5. Evidence and Inference (2 classes)
6. How to Avoid Fallacies
7. Writing and Presenting Your
Dissertation (2 classes)

presentation
Lecture,
discussion, class
presentation
Lecture,
discussion, class
presentation
Lecture,
discussion, class
presentatiom
Lecture,
discussion, class
presentation

Bibliography
The bibliography for the seminars is included in the course bibliography.
9. The correspondence between the content of the course and the
expectations of the academic community, professional associations and
representative employers in the field:

The course covers the main methods and strategies used in state of the art
research in the field of study, emphasizing their epistemological and argumentative
background. By using an interactive approach, close to research tutorship, it seeks to
provide an integration of general (epistemic and normative) issues and the particular
research interests of students, as stated and developed in their work. To this end, the
course aims to define and improve essential research skills, such as the critical analysis
of texts, conceptualization and the operationalization of concepts, and the ability to
formulate sound arguments and significant conclusions thereof.
10. Assessment
Type of activity

10.1 Assessment
criteria

10.2 Assessment
methods

10.4 Course

6 points

Collocutional
examination the oral
presentation of an
advanced or final
version of the
Masters Dissertation
Class presentation
and formative
assessment

10.5
Seminar/Laboratory

4 points divided as
follows:
- 2 points short
written assignment
- 2 points class
activity
10.6 Minimum standard of performance

5 points total

Date

Course holder signature

10.3 Percentage
of the final
grade
60%

40%

Seminar holder signature

.17.01.2014..................
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Date of departmental approval
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Head of department signature

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