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2014/2015  BA-BPOLO1355U  Philosophy of Social Science and Applied Qualitative Methods

English Title
Philosophy of Social Science and Applied Qualitative Methods

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 10 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Course period Spring
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc/MSc i International Business and Politics, BSc
Course coordinator
  • Hubert Buch-Hansen - Department of Business and Politics (DBP)
Main academic disciplines
  • Philosophy and philosophy of science
Last updated on 12/01/2015
Learning objectives
The overall purpose is to develop students’ skills in making informed and reasoned methodological and theoretical choices in their own analytical work. At the end of the course students are expected to be able to:
  • Describe, compare, and discuss the basic positions in the philosophy of science.
  • Formulate a research question.
  • Make and critically assess theoretical and methodological choices.
  • Retrieve relevant information and data.
  • Produce and present coherently argued answers, combining theory, methodology, and data, to the research question posed.
  • Explain how their own work is situated in relation to the above (i.e. the basic positions in the philosophy of science and qualitative methods).
Examination
Applied Social Theory and Qualitative Methods:
Exam ECTS 10
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance.
Individual or group exam Group exam, max. 5 students in the group
Size of written product Max. 60 pages
Maximum project length:
5 students: 60 standard pages
4 students: 50 standard pages
3 students: 45 standard pages
2 students: 40 standard pages
1 student: 30 standard pages
Assignment type Project
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and external examiner
Exam period Spring Term
Make-up exam/re-exam
Another examination form
Re-exam when the ordinary exam is failed is an individual oral exam (20 minutes per student) based upon the same group project with a 3-standard page supplement.
Make-up exam when ill at the ordinary exam is an individual oral exam (20 minutes per student) based on the same group project.
Make-up exam when ill during the writing of the project is a 20 minutes oral exam in the entire curriculum. No aids are allowed.
Course content and structure
The overall purpose is to develop students’ skills in making sound, informed, and reasoned methodological and theoretical choices in their own analytical work. In order to achieve this, the course aims firstly at giving the students and introduction to the history of economic and political thought. Secondly, it aims at giving the students and understanding of major positions and debates in the philosophy of science, such as positivism, constructivism, hermeneutics, and critical realism. Thirdly, the course introduces qualitative methods used in contemporary political economy and business studies such as macro-sociological method, comparative methods, interview techniques and report writing techniques.

The course covers i) key positions in the philosophy of science, focusing on the social sciences, ii) qualitative methods used in contemporary political economy and business studies, and iii) writing a project. Students choose their own project theme and develop their own research question. The project must be action or policy oriented, on behalf of a company or other type of organization, it must draw on both management and social science disciplines from the programme, and it must draw on theory as well as on empirical material.
The course involves writing a project. Students choose their own project theme and develop their own research question. The project must be action oriented, on behalf of a company or other type of organization, it must draw on both management and social science disciplines from the programme, and it must draw on theory as well as on empirical material. The specific action orientation of the project must be addressed in the problem statement and in the conclusion. The purpose of this requirement is to avoid purely academic and theoretical projects with no practical relevance at all. It is a flexible requirement that can be met in different ways.

As a minimum it means that the project must address the questions:
1. Which actor or group of actors is the knowledge produced in this project relevant for?
2. How is it relevant for this actor or group of actors? In other words, how can it contribute to choice of action, strategy formulation, improvement of practice etc?
Depending on the nature of the project, it can be taken further, for instance into
  • A suggested course of action for a specified actor (person, organisation, company) faced with a particular dilemma or difficult decision
  • A suggested medium- or long- term strategy for a specified actor; and there may be other possibilities.
In the evaluation of the project, it makes no difference how far the action orientation is taken as long as the minimum requirement is met.
Teaching methods
Lectures
Last updated on 12/01/2015