IR 230-02
Research Methods II

Pınar Bilgin
Department of International Relations

Aims
This course is designed to introduce students to the basics of International Relations research. The aims of the course are twofold: First, it aims to present an overview of alternative approaches to research adopted by students of International Relations. Second, the course aims to foster the basic practical skills and knowledge necessary for working successfully on a research project and communicate the results in writing.
 

Objectives
The general objectives of this course include the development of students' research and written presentation skills. At the end of this course, you should be able to:

• demonstrate familiarity with alternative approaches to research adopted by students of International Relations; discuss their strengths and weaknesses;
• demonstrate familiarity with the methodological issues involved in International Relations research;
• demonstrate awareness of the methodological issues involved in Internet-based research;
• formulate a research question;
• identify, locate and make efficient use of appropriate sources;
• prepare a research prospectus;
• prepare an outline for an essay;
• write an academic research paper.

Assessment
You will be assessed in the following ways:
20% class participation
50% research paper and its components
30% final examination
You will be provided with further detail on each of these components in the coming weeks.

Teaching
Lectures will take place on Wednesdays 13:40, 14:40 and 15:40 in room B112.
You are required to attend the lectures. If you cannot attend please let me know beforehand, or contact me afterwards to provide a ‘legitimate’ excuse for your absence (in accordance with Bilkent University regulations). Attendance will be taken. Absences will be taken into account when deciding your final grade.
You do need to read the assigned texts. The key point is that you will get far more out of the course the more you read and the more you attend the lectures. In the coming weeks more and more time will be devoted to discussions to help you to develop your listening, talking and arguing skills. You will need to show evidence of preparation when participating in these discussions.
If you have any problems regarding the reading material or with the course in any way, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can try and address the problem.

Week 1
Explaining and Understanding International Relations: The Two Traditions
 

• Martin Hollis and Steve Smith, Explaining and Understanding International Relations (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990) 7-9.

Week 2
Methodological Debates in International Relations
 

• Robert Jackson and Georg Sørensen, Introduction to International Relations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999) 217-248, esp. pp. 217-232.

Week 3
Explaining International Relations
 

• Martin Hollis and Steve Smith, Explaining and Understanding International Relations (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990) 45-50, diagram on p.51.

Week 4
Understanding International Relations
 

• Martin Hollis and Steve Smith, Explaining and Understanding International Relations (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990) 68-82.

Week 5
'Black Boxing' the State: Systemic Approaches and Game Theory
 

• Martin Hollis and Steve Smith, Explaining and Understanding International Relations (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990) 92-110, 130-141.

Week 6
The Research Process: Finding a Topic
 

• Wayne Booth, Gregory G. Colomb and Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1995) 35-47.

Week 7
The Research Process: From Topics to Questions
 

• Richard Veit, Christopher Gould and John Clifford, Writing, Reading and Research, 5th ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001) 305-309.

Week 8
Opening up the 'Black Box': Roles and Reasons
 

• Martin Hollis and Steve Smith, Explaining and Understanding International Relations (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990) 149-167.

Week 9
Beyond the Explaining Understanding Divide?
 

• Robert Jackson and Georg Sørensen, Introduction to International Relations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999) 217-248, esp. pp. 232-248.

recommended
Jutta Weldes, 'Constructing National Interests,' European Journal of International Relations 2:3 (1996) 275-318.

Week 10
The Research Process: Understanding, Locating and Making Efficient Use of Information Sources
 

• Gregory M Scott and Stephen M Garrison, The Political Science Student Writer's Manual, 4th ed. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001) 148-160.
• Richard Veit, Christopher Gould and John Clifford, Writing, Reading and Research, 5th ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001) 276-304.

Week 11
The Research Process: Internet-based Research
 

• S.D. Stein, Learning, Teaching and Researching on the Internet: A Practical Guide for Social Scientists (London: Longman, 1998) 243-253.
• Gregory M Scott and Stephen M Garrison, The Political Science Student Writer's Manual, 4th ed. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001) 125-135.

Week 12
The Research Process: Argument Building and Critique
 

• Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb and Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1995) 88-106, 146-148.

Week 13
The Research Process: Outline and Paper Format
 

• Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb and Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1995) 152-154.
• Gregory M Scott and Stephen M Garrison, The Political Science Student Writer's Manual, 3rd ed. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000) 39-48.
• Richard Veit, Christopher Gould and John Clifford, Writing, Reading and Research, 5th ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001) 359-377.

Week 14
The Research Process: Writing Competently
 

• Richard Veit, Christopher Gould and John Clifford, Writing, Reading and Research, 5th ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001) 325-357, 441-459, 495-506.

recommended
 Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term papers, Theses and Dissertations, 5th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987) 175-205.
 

Chicago style notes and bibliographic entries
Chicago style--using footnotes
Using Chicago Style to cite Internet documents and sources

APA style in-text citations
APA style bibliographies
Using APA style to cite Internet documents and sources