The research process

In the module PO233, students undertake a research project on democracy or democratization. Some of these go on to be presented at the URSS. This project allows students to develop their academic and analytical skills through research into democratization. The aim is to put research led learning into practice.

During the module, key methodological issues will be discussed, such as:

• Conceptual and measurement issues in understanding "what is democracy?"
• Theoretical explanations for democracy and regime change
• The use of the comparative method and how to compare different countries

 

Building on these in-class discussions and making use of the research wheel, students will develop an interesting research question, apply it to the relevant countries, and use empirical evidence to test and prove theoretical explanations.

Click here for examples of previous students' essays.