Methods & Research Strategy
Methodology Notes for Programme 2: Collective Action Around Service Delivery are now available to download, together with questionnaire forms focusing on four sectors:
Level 2: Social Assistance Network
Level 2: Health Network
Level 3: Collective Actors
Level 3: Providers
(please note the questionnaire forms are in Portuguese)
Reader Lists
Individual Reader Lists consisting of key texts for each of the three DRC programmes have now been compiled and distributed in hard copy or CD format. This valuable research material is now available on request.
The three programme currently running under Phase 2 (2005-2010) are:
Programme 1: Public Action & Private Investment
The central question addressed in this research is: 'How, in the political and institutional environments typical of poor countries, can public action bring about substantial increases in productive private investment that will generate pro-poor growth?'.
Programme 1 Reader List - download available 
Programme 2: Collective Action Around Service Delivery
This research theme emerges partially from the Phase 1: Programmes 2 (Collective Actors) and Programme 3 (Effective Service Delivery for the Poor). The programme will develop a substantial comparative research agenda on collective action by users/beneficiaries of public services such as health and education, especially in urban areas.
Programme 2 Reader List - download available
Programme 3: State Capacity
Help reshape understandings of how best to approach the issue of state capacity and undertake original empirical research in what appear to be the important unexplored issues.
Programme 3 Reader List - download available
To request a hard copy or CD format please email: Linda Bateman with your contact details.
Useful links
Links to on-line professional writing support. Further details
Training Opportunities
Further options for Methods Training:
• At Sussex
a) Courses offered within the MSc Social Research Methods are open to students at IDS. Courses are offered in the winter, spring and summer terms. They cover quantitative and qualitative methods including social science statistics, anthropology, participatory research, discourse analysis, comparative method, action research and more.
Full course listings for 2008-9 can be found here:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/soccul/documents/080925_mschandbook.pdf - 1179.5KB
b) The Science and Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU) offers a number of quantitative courses such as
-
Introduction to Statistical Methods (Spring term). This provides an introduction to descriptive statistics and statistical inference as used in social sciences. It also provides training in the use of SPSS.
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Correlation, simple and multiple regression analysis (Summer term). Among other issues it covers the oretical considerations of linear models, assumptions on the error term and testing for their validity (especially, heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation), interpretation and hypothesis testing on regression, etc.
Contact: Ed Steinmueller (convenor), w.e.steinmueller@sussex.ac.uk
c) . This Methods options as part of IDS MPhil programme (for 2nd year MPhils) takes place in the Autumn Term starting from October-December 2008.
Convenor: Rachel Sabates-Wheeler: r.sabates-wheeler@ids.ac.uk
d) Economics Department
Pre-sessional three-week primer on economics in September designed for graduate students with little or no background in economics. The course covers basic principles of micro and macro economics. Course outline available here:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/economics/documents/primer_rl06.pdf
• Outside Sussex
There are many options for further methods training outside Sussex . These are some of the main institutes:
Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
The Summer Institute in Quantitative Methods of Social Research (June-August 2009, based at the
Anne Arbor, University of Michigan is the main option for in depth quantitative methods training for political scientists in the US. The main route for DRC folks would be attending as a non-credit program scholar, which would mean undertaking a 4 or 8 week programme of tuition. Or for those with more advanced quantitative training, the institute offers a number of shorter 3-5 day statistical courses. The Institute does not generally offer scholarships, but a few workshops do offer stipends (see website for details).
The 2009 ICPSR Summer Program course list and schedule in December 2008. Registration will begin in February 2009. Summer Program short courses (in three- and five-day formats) will be offered from the beginning of June through the end of August. The first four-week session will run from June 22, 2009 through July 17, 2009 and the second four-week session will run from July 20, 2009 through August 14, 2009.
Course listings are available at: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/training/index.html
Full details of prices and application procedures are available at : http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/membership/index.html
Institute for Qualitative Research Methods (IQRM)
IQRM provides intensive training in qualitative research methods for social scientists, and in particular political scientists – both PhD students and junior faculty. The Institute is based at
Maxwell School, Syracuse University
and
shifted from January to a summer time slot end May-early June 2009
. The Institute was established seven years ago to provide advanced training in qualitative, as distinct from quantitative, methods. Training is provided by some of the top scholars in the field on issues to consider at every stage of research design and execution. The Institute covers both epistemological discussions surrounding the choice of particular methodologies, as well as practical applications for research. Themes covered include: standards for drawing inference, concept formation, case selection, issues of measurement, historical analysis in the social sciences, and multi-method research. In addition, participants are each given the opportunity to present and receive feedback on their own research designs.
Most participants at IQRM are students at member institutions (membership allows institutions to send student(s) to IQRM). There are a small number of fully funded ‘open-pool' places that are allocated on a competitive basis. Deadline for open-pool applications is usually February.
See website: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/programs/cqrm/
42nd Essex University Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis and Collection 13 July-21 August 2009
The well-renowned Essex Summer School (Jul-August) at Essex University in the UK offers training in a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods. The School consists of three two-week sessions. Each session offers a variety of courses. Courses run for either two weeks, one week, or three days over a weekend. Deadline for applications is May 2nd
Further information and details of prices and application procedures: http://www.essex.ac.uk/methods/
Funding: there are a limited number of fully funded ESRC places at the School for one course only for students at British universities. These are awarded on a competitive basis. Applications should be made as early as possible.
See website for more details: http://www.essex.ac.uk/methods/ESRC/esrc07.shtm
There are also a limited number of reduced-fee places available to students at universities affiliated to the European Consortium of Political Research.
See ecpr website: http://www.essex.ac.uk/ecpr/
Summer Meetings of the Political Methodology Section of APSA, Penn State University (July 18-21)
[information from Becky Morton, Program chair] NB : deadline 15 March
Revised call for papers below for the Summer Meetings of the Political Methodology Section of APSA. NSF funds will help provide support for approximately 35 graduate students and will provide resources for the attendance of women and minorities to the summer methods meetings. To apply to attend the meetings fill out the application form at the Society's webpage: http://polmeth.wustl.edu/methods2007/register/
We encourage women and minorities to apply to attend the meetings. If
you also would like to be considered for the funding for attendance by
women and minorities, please state this in your application for
attendance and/or send a separate email to this effect to
rbm5@nyu.edu . Please note -- only those who apply for attendance via
the web page will be considered -- the email notification is simply so
that we can be sure and flag those applications eligible for the
funding for women and minorities.
There has been some confusion over how individuals who will be
starting as Assistant Professors in the fall should apply. Such
individuals, if they have funding from their new institutions to
attend the meetings, should apply as faculty and we encourage those
whose institutions are likely to be supportive to seek such funding.
But if such funding is not possible, they can apply as graduate
students.
Because of the need for this clarification and the recent availabilty
of new funds available to support women and minorities attendance at
the meetings the deadline for applications has been extended to
Thursdays, March 15th.
Below is the revised call for papers for the meetings. If you have
not applied to attend, please consider applying. If you have applied,
but know of a graduate student or a faculty colleague who would
benefit from the meeting -- especially woman or minority faculty
members who can benefit from the funding available -- please encourage
them to apply!
Becky Morton -
Programme Chair
Call for Papers: The 24th Annual Summer Methodology Conference will be held 18-21 July, on the campus of the Penn State University. These meetings are
sponsored by the Society for Political Methodology and the APSA
Political Methodology Organized Section. Further support comes from
the Penn State College of Liberal Arts, Department of Political
Science, and Quantitative Social Science Initiative as well as the
National Science Foundation.
Attendance at the Summer meeting is by invitation. To apply to attend
the meetings fill out the application form at the Society's webpage:http://polmeth.wustl.edu/methods2007/register/
Applicants stipulate their willingness to give a paper, act as
discussant, present a poster (all graduate students), or simply
attend. Individuals who will be starting as Assistant Professors in
the fall, if they have funding from their new institutions to attend
the meetings, should apply as faculty. We encourage those individuals
who will be starting as Assistant Professors in the fall whose
institutions are likely to be supportive to seek such funding. But if
such funding is not possible, these individuals can apply as graduate
students. As is the case with all graduate students, they are required
to submit a poster application. Again, note that the deadline for
applications has been extended to March 16th (two weeks later than
last year). However, we anticipate no problem with sending out formal
invitations by April 1.
Please also note: Each coauthor of a paper or poster must apply
separately to attend. Coauthors who do not apply before the March 16th
application deadline will not be considered for attendance. This is
necessary so that the organizers have an accurate count of the number
of participants at the meeting and can allocate resources efficiently.
As many of you are aware the Society voted at the last Business
Meeting at APSA to work toward increasing the size of the summer
meeting as suggested in the report presented by the Long Range
Planning Committee. Of course the expansion has costs; all
participants will stay in hotels and eventually no meals will be
provided. This summer will be a "transition" meeting, with some
aspects of the new and old.
Specifically, more faculty and graduate students will be invited to
the conference than in past years, although participation is still
limited by space constraints. While more graduate students will be
invited to the conference, the number who will be able to present
posters is constrained by space and time, so not all graduate students
invited to attend will be invited to present posters. Graduate
students whose posters are accepted for the conference will have their
expenses (airfare, hotel, and conference registration) paid by a grant
from the National Science Foundation. Graduate students who are
invited but are not poster presenters will be expected to be funded by
their home institutions. It is extremely helpful to the Society if
faculty who have resources can fund poster presenters as well.
To expand the presentation opportunities for faculty, the programme
committee is considering having some faculty present in shorter time
slots and to present posters. Submissions of papers that are
coauthored with graduate students or junior colleagues are also
especially encouraged. When paper proposals are submitted, authors
will have an opportunity to express preferences over the different
presentation formats. However, these preferences cannot be
guaranteed.
Penn State has negotiated reduced hotel rates with two hotels which
are within walking distance of the conference location on campus. All
attendees will stay in hotels (including funded graduate students who
will share rooms). Faculty will be responsible for making and paying
for their own hotel reservations at the reduced rate. Lunches will be
provided on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. There will be a
conference dinner on Friday night and a conference reception on
Saturday. Penn State will provide information on restaurant offerings
in the area for the other times.
The registration is $200 for each faculty member and $50 for each
graduate student, which must be paid in advance of the conference to
Jonathan Katz, Treasurer. Faculty are expected to obtain support from
their home institutions to cover their conference expenses.
Penn State University is located in State College, PA. The University
abuts the downtown, offering an array of restaurants and entertainment
very near the conference and hotels. Summer weather is generally mild
and attendees interested in mountain biking or hiking should consider
an extra day's visit.
We thank our hosts Suzie De Boef and Burt Monroe, and sponsors at Penn
State University and the National Science Foundation. Additional
information can be found at the conference website, which will be
continually updated between now and the conference - http://polmeth.psu.edu . Questions should be directed to Suzanna De Boef at sdeboef@psu.edu .
Please check this page regularly for updates
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