DIPL 3800 Investigating International Relations

This class is an introduction to research methods for diplomacy and international relations. Students are introduced to essential skills for researching and writing a thesis paper. The essence of the scientific method is efficiently testing and evaluating an empirically falsifiable research hypothesis. This course provides a basic introduction to research statistics, tools that are widely used to analyze quantitative data. Literature reviews are another essential component of research methods. Students will develop annotated bibliographies relevant to their research topics. The existing social science and policy literatures offer insights into how research professionals make methodological choices to develop theoretical arguments. Through this class students gain a deeper understanding of the assumptions that underlie quantitative analyses and the proper (and improper) uses of quantitative evidence. There are a variety of different computer programs that generate statistics, in text and graphic formats. This course uses SPSS. SPSS is widely used by data analysts, and students can find many online support tools to assist with learning SPSS (YouTube videos, etc.). SPSS is also relatively easy for students to learn. Students may use university computers equipped with SPSS either in the information commons area of the library on the second floor or at one of the public computer labs. SPSS provides a student version of the software for purchase. PSPP (very similar to SPSS) is open-source software, free to download at: https://www.gnu.org/software/pspp/get.html. Catalog listing: This course introduces the basic tools of scientific investigation. Students learn about the scientific method, data gathering, research design, quantitative and qualitative analyses, and computer applications for international relations research. The course aims to equip students with the facts, intuition, and experience necessary for conducting research projects in subsequent diplomacy courses.