B0315 - LABORATORIO: CASI DI STUDIO NELLE POLITICHE PUBBLICHE

Academic Year 2022/2023

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 is structured in 5 meetings of 4 hours each.
In the first meeting, the structure of a scientific article will be presented and some basic tips on how to write a scientific text will be given. Practical exercises on how to write an abstract and how to compile a reference list.
In the second meeting, a common research topic in the field of policy studies will be identified. Practical exercise on how to prepare a literature review.
In the third meeting, we will reason together on how to identify and formulate a 'research question'. Exercise: the research design.
The fourth meeting will be devoted to field research and data collection. Exercise: Each student will be assigned a case/country, on which they will have to collect some specific data.
In the fifth and final meeting, students will present the collected data. Exercise on the presentation, analysis and discussion of the results.

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 five meetings will be held in the department's computer lab, enabling students to carry out online research, and to write and share texts.
The presentation of the different topics will take place through practical examples and collective discussions.

Office hours

See the website of Federico Toth

SDGs

Good health and well-being Quality education

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.