Cultural Responses to the Mexican Revolution (SPAN0011)

SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS|COMPLEX POLICY ISSUES|SOCIAL POLICY|PUBLIC POLICY|SOCIAL RESEARCH

This module is designed for students who already have some knowledge of systematic review methods and who want to explore advanced methods that address the...

Systematic Reviews for Complex Policy Issues (SOCS0062)

This module is designed for students who already have some knowledge of systematic review methods and who want to explore advanced methods that address the complexity of policy issues. Systematic reviews are often commissioned to inform policy and practice decisions. The aim is to produce an accessible, reliable and useful review of evidence. Whilst methods and procedures for examining ‘what works’ in systematic reviews are well established, this narrow focus on intervention effectiveness often excludes important information required for policy implementation. This module focuses on how systematic reviews can grapple with the complexity of social policy and practice issues. The module will provide participants with the skills and understanding necessary to design, plan and appraise systematic reviews to address complex policy issues.

This module will introduce students to key concepts, debates, and findings in political science. Topics to be discussed include the state, elections, parties,...

Understanding Politics II: How Politics Works (SESS0017)

This module will introduce students to key concepts, debates, and findings in political science. Topics to be discussed include the state, elections, parties, legislatures, political executives, party systems, and political regime types. The module will discuss these topics with reference to democracies, non-democracies, and everything in between. Students will also be introduced to research design in political science, focusing on case selection, methods, data, and generalisability. Students will build on material covered in SESS0016 (‘Understanding Politics I: The Big Questions’), but the focus will shift to the empirical (not theoretical) study of politics. We will explore how our knowledge of ‘how politics works’ is created, challenged, and changed. Weekly lectures are complemented by weekly tutorials.

Following completion of the module, students will be familiar with key debates in contemporary political science; will be familiar with different methodologies used in the study of political phenomena; and will be comfortable with reading, understanding, and critically engaging with political science research articles.