Public Policy Research
Core Courses
Core Methods Courses for MRes Public Policy (provided by the Graduate School):
This course introduces students to statistical methods in the social sciences and aims to provide the skills needed to interpret and conduct data analysis. It does not presume any prior knowledge of statistics or mathematics beyond secondary school level. It covers basis statistics including: units and variables, translating social phenomena to data, types of data, normal distribution, statistical inference, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing and a breif introduction to regression techniques.
This course provides practical hands-on familiarisation with applied research methods. It is designed to introduce students to qualitative methods, the ethics of research and practical report-writing. Topics covered are: varieties of interview technique, the use and abuse of official statistics, life history and oral history techniques, focus groups, content and textual analysis, ethics in social research, and writing a research report.
Introduction to Social Theory for Researchers
This course begins with a historical scrutiny of the founding figures of social science. Then, by following the development of distinctive programmes of social research throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it explores key theoretical and methodological questions. The emphasis of the course is empirical in two senses. First, there is a strong stress on the foundational issues underlying practical empirical research in the social sciences. Second, the teaching of the course will be based firmly upon the close study of original texts. The course examines the status of the natural sciences as an exemplar lf high-status knowledge in our society. It argues that the scientific method, thus, provides an effective model for social inquiry. However, the traditional distinction between a sociology based upon the scientific method and one based on empathetic understanding is questioned. It argues that to apply the scientific method sensitively to social inquiry we have to understand the social nature of the natural sciences. The course also asks ‘why study the social sciences’.
Core substantive courses (provided within Urban Studies) for MRes Public Policy:
Contemporary Government and Governance
This course aims to provide a wide-ranging introduction to issues in contemporary governance, including evaluating the changing structures of government and the emergence and meaning of the concept of governance.
This course introduces different ways of thinking about what policy is and how it is formulated: the actors, institutions, ideologies, information (evidence), popular opinion, the media and other factors that influence urban policy-making and policy outcomes. It explores different views and theories of the policy process and identifies contemporary debates and practical challenges facing urban policy-makers.