This course provides a graduate-level introduction to and overview of approaches to political science research. We will first start discussing the major methodological, ontological, and epistemological approaches to research in political science. We will then lay the foundations of conducting research in political sciences, covering important issues such as ethics, research questions, literature review, and academic writing. We will continue with examining a rich collection of qualitative and quantitative research methods, by exploring both the theoretical approaches to these methods and practical/empirical applications of these methods in our field.

The capstone of the course is an original research proposal, which students may submit as a TÜBİTAK research proposal (such as TÜBİTAK 1001, 1002, 3501 programs) or an equivalent research proposal to be submitted to international agencies such as the European Union. At the end of the course, the students are expected to be well-equipped and knowledgeable regarding various research methods and techniques in our field, how to conduct them in their own research, and how to present their research in front of an academic audience.