POL42350 Connected_Politics

Academic Year 2020/2021

The Connected_Politics module trains students to conduct research projects relating to computational social science in small teams under the supervision of the assigned project coordinator and the module coordinator. In this module, students will apply cutting-edge methods from political science, data science, and computational social science to answer social science research questions. Students will learn how to collaborate on research projects with their peers, setting out short-term and longer-term goals, and dividing up various tasks within their group. At the end of the module, students will have gained significant experience in designing and executing a collaborative academic research project.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

– Execute a demanding research project using methods relating to computational social science
– Collaborate with peers and academic faculty on an academic research project
– Evaluate and compare a variety of research methods, sources, data, and analysis
– Critically and thoroughly examine a research question through independent, data-driven research
– Effectively communicate methods and findings

Indicative Module Content:

– Working on collaborative projects
– Research design(s) and the role of theory in the “digital age”
– Formulating and designing a research question
– Case-selection strategies
– Operationalisation and measurement
– Open science practices, research transparency in groups
– Replicability and reproducibility of research
– Presentation of progress

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Seminar (or Webinar)

6
Autonomous Student Learning

218
Total

224
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
active/task-based learning; peer and group work; interactive seminars; student presentations and progress reports 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Requirements:

In order to take the module, students are expected to have attended at least one module on Introduction to Statistics.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Group Project: A 6,000-word research paper Week 12 n/a Graded No

60
Presentation: Conference-style presentation of the research question, data, methods, initial results, and progress on the project Week 7 n/a Graded No

20
Seminar: Attending the Connected_Politics Lab seminar in spring term and writing response papers on presentations (pass/fail; at least 5 response papers must receive a “pass” grade) Throughout the Trimester n/a Pass/Fail Grade Scale No

20

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Remediation Type Remediation Timing
In-Module Resit Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback will be provided by the project coordinator and the module coordinator on a continuous basis throughout the module. The module coordinator will grade the progress report, presentations, participation, and research paper.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.

 
Spring
      
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 Wed 14:00 - 15:50