B0315 - LABORATORIO: CASI DI STUDIO NELLE POLITICHE PUBBLICHE

Learning outcomes

The workshop aims to provide students with soft skills that may prove useful in their future careers. The aim is to advance students' skills through practical exercises. The workshop has a twofold objective: 1) to make students understand, through practical exercises, what it means in practice to do research in the field of public policy; 2) to develop students' ability to draw up a research design and to write - appropriately and effectively - a scientific text. To this end, the workshop will propose a path divided into the following phases: identification of a research topic in the field of policy studies; review of the relevant scientific literature and formulation of a research question; elaboration of a research design; data collection; analysis and interpretation of the data collected; writing of a report and presentation of the results.

Course contents

The workshop consists of ten two-hour sessions and is structured around the progressive development of a research project on public policy. Each session focuses on a specific stage of the research process, combining brief theoretical introductions with practical exercises.

The workshop covers the following topics: the structure of a research paper and the writing of an effective abstract; compiling a bibliography and developing a theoretical framework; conducting a literature search and preparing a critical literature review; formulating a research question and designing a research project; fieldwork and data collection; analysing public policies using different methodological approaches, including case studies, simulations, and role-playing; applying different approaches to public policy analysis through case studies; interpreting research findings and comparing cases across countries; and communicating research results through oral presentations.

Throughout the workshop, students will complete both individual and group assignments aimed at developing the different sections of a research paper, while gaining hands-on experience with some of the research methods commonly used in the study of public policy.

Readings/Bibliography

There is no compulsory reading list. At individual meetings, the lecturer will provide the texts and materials required to carry out the scheduled exercises.

Teaching methods

The workshop is not intended to be a short course in methodology, but rather an 'atelier' in which students can test and hone their skills in writing a scientific text and developing a research pathway in the social sciences. The lecturer's frontal presentations will be reduced to a bare minimum. Participants in the workshop will be offered practical exercises simulating the different phases of a research project and the writing of a scientific text.

Assessment methods

Attending the meetings is compulsory.

The assessment of learning will focus on active participation in class (attendance at least 80% of the meetings is mandatory), and on the student's ability to carry out the assigned exercises. Some of the assignments will be carried out in the classroom, while others will be given as 'homework'.

Teaching tools

The sessions will take place in the computer lab, enabling students to conduct online research, write, and share their work.
The presentation of the different topics will take place through practical examples and collective discussions.

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Federico Toth