C8710 - LABORATORIO DI RESEARCH DESIGN

Learning outcomes

The course aims to introduce students to the fundamental principles of research design in the social sciences, with particular attention to the applicability of the concepts learned to organisational and professional settings, including those outside academia.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• formulate clear, feasible and relevant research questions, both in academic settings and in the operational and decision-making contexts of the professional world;
• understand the main ontological and epistemological assumptions and relate them to appropriate methodological choices for social research;
• design an appropriate research strategy—small-N, large-N, single-case or comparative—based on the research question, context, available data and operational objectives;
• translate broad empirical problems into operationalisable concepts and indicators, identifying the information and data needed to answer the research question;
• develop realistic work plans that take account of time, data access, ethical constraints and other feasibility considerations.

The overall aim is to equip students with the skills needed to conduct rigorous and useful research that can contribute both to scientific knowledge and to practical action in professional settings.

Course contents

Session 1 – Introduction to the principles of research design in the social sciences

Content and guiding questions

• What is—and what is not—research design?
• What is the relationship between the research question, theory, data and the strategy of inference?
• How do ontological and epistemological assumptions shape methodological choices?
• What are the differences between descriptive, interpretive, explanatory and evaluative objectives?
• How can research design also be applied to non-academic organisational and decision-making problems?

In-class exercise

Guided analysis of the research design of two papers, focusing on their abstracts, introductions and methods sections:

• What is the research question or explanatory question?
• What research design or inferential strategy is adopted?
• What are the main epistemological assumptions?
• What are the cases under analysis? What varies across the cases: X, Y or both?
• What are the main strengths and possible limitations of the design?

Further reading

• Della Porta, D. and Keating, M. (2008), “How Many Approaches in the Social Sciences? An Epistemological Introduction,” in Della Porta, D. and Keating, M. (eds.), Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 19–39, Chapter 2.
• Schmitter, P. (2008), “The Design of Social and Political Research,” in Della Porta, D. and Keating, M. (eds.), Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 263–295, Chapter 14.

Session 2 – Developing research questions in public policy and organisational studies

Content and guiding questions

• How can we distinguish between a topic, a concrete problem, a general interest and a research question?
• What makes a research question clear, relevant, well-defined and answerable?
• What is the difference between descriptive, comparative, explanatory and evaluative questions?
• How can an operational or organisational problem be transformed into a research question?
• How can we identify the unit of analysis, level of analysis, reference population and time frame?
• How does the research question influence the choice of research design?

Exercises

In-class group work: how can we develop a research question in political science, sociology or organisational studies?

Starting from a public-policy, administrative or organisational problem, each group will:

• define the scope of the phenomenon of interest;
• formulate possible research questions;
• identify the unit and level of analysis;
• assess the clarity, relevance and feasibility of the questions;
• select and justify the most promising research question.

Further reading

• McCauley, A. and Ruggeri, A. (2020), “From Questions and Puzzles to Research Project,” in Curini, L. and Franzese, R. (eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Research Methods in Political Science and International Relations, Chapter 2.
• Hancké, B. (2009), Intelligent Research Design, Chapters 1 and 2.

Session 3 – Constructing explanations: theory, hypotheses and causality

Content and guiding questions

• What does it mean to explain a social phenomenon?
• What is the difference between association, correlation and causality?
• What are causal mechanisms and theoretical explanations?
• How are hypotheses or empirical expectations formulated?
• What are necessary and sufficient conditions?
• How should alternative explanations and possible confounding factors be considered?
• What role does counterfactual reasoning play in causal inference?

It is important to clarify that not all research projects need to formulate a causal hypothesis. Descriptive and interpretive research designs must nevertheless specify their theoretical expectations and the criteria through which the evidence will be interpreted.

Exercise

Construction of an explanatory framework for a phenomenon of interest:

• defining the explanandum;
• identifying possible explanans;
• formulating a causal mechanism;
• identifying alternative explanations;
• identifying the evidence that would support or call into question the proposed explanation.

Readings

• Hancké, B. (2009), Intelligent Research Design, Chapter 3.
• Gherardini, A., Chapter 9, in Barbera, F. and Pais, I. (eds.), Fondamenti di sociologia economica. EGEA.

Session 4 – From the research question to the design: which research strategy?

Content and guiding questions

• How can a research design be selected that is consistent with the research question?
• What are the differences, advantages and limitations of:
  • single-case studies;
  • small-N comparative studies;
  • large-N research;
  • longitudinal and cross-sectional designs;
  • qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods strategies?
• When is it useful to study a single case in depth?
• When does comparison genuinely add descriptive or explanatory value?
• How can depth, breadth and the potential for generalisation be balanced?

Exercise

Groups will be assigned different research questions. For each question, students will:

• propose one or more possible research designs;
• explain what data would be required;
• discuss the advantages and limitations of the alternatives;
• select the most appropriate strategy, also considering the available time and resources.

Readings

• Schmitter, P. (2008), “The Design of Social and Political Research.”
• Hancké, B. (2009), Intelligent Research Design, Chapters 2–3.

Session 5 – Selecting cases and constructing comparisons

Content and guiding questions

• What are “cases,” and how are their boundaries defined?
• How can cases be selected that are informative in relation to the research question?
• What is the difference between typical, crucial, extreme and deviant cases, and between “least-likely” and “most-likely” cases?
• How do Mill’s methods of agreement and difference work?
• What are Most Similar Systems Designs and Most Different Systems Designs?
• What risks arise from selecting cases on the basis of the outcome?
• How can cross-case comparison be combined with within-case analysis?
• To what extent can the results be generalised?

Exercise

Analysis of the research design of one or more comparative articles. Working in groups, students will identify:

• the research question;
• the explanandum and explanans;
• the unit and level of analysis;
• the logic of case selection;
• variation across the cases;
• the type of inference;
• alternative explanations;
• the strengths and limitations of the design.

Session 6 – Concepts, indicators, data and evidence

Content and guiding questions

• How can an abstract concept be translated into observable dimensions?
• What does it mean to operationalise a concept?
• What are the differences between concepts, variables, dimensions and indicators?
• How can the validity and reliability of indicators be assessed?
• What evidence is required to answer the research question?
• What are the advantages and limitations of quantitative data, documents, interviews, observations and administrative sources?
• How can different sources be combined and triangulated?
• How can the availability, quality and comparability of data be assessed?

Exercise

Starting from a concept relevant to public policy or organisational studies, students will:

• define it;
• break it down into dimensions;
• propose one or more indicators;
• identify the necessary sources;
• discuss possible problems of validity, availability or comparability.

If time permits, the second part of the session will include guided exploration of sources such as Eurostat, the OECD, ICTWSS, administrative data and policy trackers. The aim is to learn how to assess and select sources rather than to conduct a statistical-analysis exercise. If there is insufficient time, this activity will be assigned as homework.

Session 7 – From the initial idea to a research plan: feasibility, ethics and project workshop

Content and guiding questions

• How can a research design be translated into a concrete work plan?
• What data are actually accessible?
• How should sampling, the time frame and the different research stages be defined?
• What constraints arise from limited time, resources and access to the field?
• What ethical problems may emerge?
• How should personal data, consent, anonymity and power relations within organisations be handled?
• How should the limitations, uncertainties and scope of validity of the findings be reported?

Exercise: research design clinic

Each student will bring a draft of their project. Through small-group work and structured feedback, students will discuss:

• the relevance and clarity of the research question;
• the consistency between the question and the research design;
• the selection of cases or the study population;
• concepts, indicators and sources;
• feasibility;
• ethical aspects;
• the main limitations;
• the changes to be made before the presentation.

Final section – Presentations of individual research projects Sessions 8, 9 and 10

Students will present individual research projects—for example, proposals for thesis projects or research to be conducted within their own organisation—in the fields of public policy or human resources.

• The focus will be on research design: the research question, research strategy, case selection, data sources and related elements.
• Presentations will be followed by peer-to-peer feedback and a methodological “clinic” addressing the project’s strengths, limitations and possible extensions or modifications.

Readings/Bibliography

Hancke, B. (2009) Intelligent Research Design. A Guide for Beginning Researchers in the Social Sciences. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Donatella Della Porta e Michael Keating (eds.), (2008). Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Teaching methods

The course consists of ten two-hour sessions. Each session will normally include a brief lecture and a practical workshop activity, usually conducted in small groups. Short homework assignments may occasionally be set. During the final part of the course, students will present their projects.

Assessment methods

Class participation and the final presentation of the research design for a project developed by each student constitute the main forms of assessment.

Attendance at a minimum of eight of the ten workshop sessions and completion of the final presentation are mandatory requirements for obtaining a passing grade.

Teaching tools

Materials uploaded on Virtuale

Office hours

See the website of Arianna Tassinari