Methodological Foundations of Social Scientific Thinking (Mohyla Academy)

Kursbeschreibung / -kommentar

Мета курсу: In this course, we will reflect upon the philosophical and methodological foundations of systematic thinking about social and political issues. What distinguishes scientific analysis of empirical phenomena from non-scientific writing about our world? What is the logic and procedure of social inquiry? Why does and how does comparison play a central role in the identification of possible causes for this or that political event? What are the typical fallacies of social analysis? How can one distinguish good from bad social scientific theorizing?

Завдання курсу:
Method of teaching: Classes will mainly consist of class discussions, cooperative reading of significant texts, and analysis of the arguments in the texts. Students are asked to perform regular short oral presentations and pass a final exam. Occasionally, I will give lectures on selected issues

Тема 1.
On the Methodology of Independent Study: Reading and thinking properly (19 pp.)
(Reading Focus: How can I read in such a way as to learn as much as possible?)
Рекомендована література:
Anthony Daley, “On Reading: Strategies of Students,” PS: Political Science & Politics, vol. 28, no. 1 (March 1995), pp. 89-100 (handed out to every participant).
John Stuart Mill, `Two Methods of Comparison', in: Amitai Etzioni and Frederic Du Bow, eds., Comparative Perspectives: Theories and Methods (Boston: Little Brown 1970): 205-213.

Тема 2.
The Science in Social Sciences (30 pp.)
(Reading Focus: What Distinguishes Scientific from Non-Scientific Ways of Cognition?)
Рекомендована література:
Gary King, Robert O. Keohane and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1994): 3-33.

Тема 3.
Descriptive Inference (40 pp.)
(Reading Focus: What are possible pitfalls of descriptive inference?)
Рекомендована література:
Gary King, Robert O. Keohane and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1994): 34-74.

Тема 4.
Causalality and Causal Inference (39 pp.)
(Reading Focus: What are possible pitfalls of causal inference?)
Рекомендована література:
Gary King, Robert O. Keohane and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1994): 75-114.

Тема 5.
Determining What to Observe (37 pp.)
(Reading Focus: What are the sources and consequences of selection bias?)
Рекомендована література:
Gary King, Robert O. Keohane and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1994): 115-149.

Тема 6.
Understanding What to Avoid (57 pp.)
(Reading Focus: How to secure valid research results?)
Рекомендована література:
Gary King, Robert O. Keohane and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1994): 150-207.

Тема 7.
Increasing the Number of Observations (22 pp.)
(Reading Focus: What are the sources and consequences of selection bias?)
Рекомендована література:
Gary King, Robert O. Keohane and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1994): 208-230.

Тема 8.
Dealing Constructively with Selection Bias (35 pp.)
(Reading Focus: How can one deal with the problems of selection bias?)
Рекомендована література:
David Collier and James Mahoney, "Insights and Pitfalls: Selection Bias in Qualitative Research," World Politics, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Oct., 1996), pp. 56-91