INST2003: Research Methods in International Studies

3 minute presentation (15%), Research Proposal (40%), Data Analysis Essay (45%)

None, but you have to be enrolled in B International Studies and have completed either INST1005 or INST1006.

This review comes from an extremely biased person, but I hated this course. Research Methods is a really important part of International Studies as a lot of work in this field is research and field-based so it makes sense that this course is compulsory for a BInSt degree. However, the course was so boring, the way it was run wasn't the best and assessments weren't practical enough for my, and other students' liking.

The course teaches students about research methods, but most students (myself included) struggled to find the methods relevant to International Studies as there weren't enough links to fieldwork or other practical examples. Further, there was a disconnect between the assignments and the content being taught, as the assignments were based on hypothetical situations. This meant we chose research topics, but didn't actually conduct primary research (surveys, interviews, etc.). We used the research methods we had learned in class and placed them into our research proposals, like we were going to conduct the research ourselves. Because of this, students didn't take the course seriously because everything was hypothetical. Also, there wasn't nearly enough guidance for the assessments and we were very confused as to what was expected because of subjectivity; particularly as we all had different research topics and how we would conduct research for our respective topics would be different.
Despite the subject being so incredibly boring, tutorials were run very well and the teaching staff were amazing. I believe there will be changes made to the course due to many complaints, and the lecturer has said there will be more clarification on assessments in the future.

4 - 2 hour lecture, 2 hour tutorial

3/5

Yes

Lecturer: Dr Marilu Melo Zurita, Tutor: Charishma Ratnam

Not really, everything is on Moodle

1/5

None

2019, Term 1