STV4031 – Field Research for Political Science

This elective specialized methods course introduces graduate students to the politics, ethics, practice and challenges of field research. It is open to students who plan to use qualitative methods (e.g. interviews, participant observation) or quantitative methods (e.g. surveys, field experiments) in the context of fieldwork. We will discuss field research in the discipline of political science, with particular emphasis on fieldwork in conflict-affected settings. The course will cover methodological as well as practical aspects of fieldwork. These include how research design, inference and evidence link to questions of research ethics, respect for human subjects, and fieldwork practice. The course also covers many practical matters, such as fieldwork planning, logistics, ethics approval, access, emotions in the field, and digital security. We will engage with debates about the ethics of fieldwork and engagement with vulnerable populations, analyzing fieldwork findings and ethical obligations beyond the immediate research trip. The course prepares students to design and conduct fieldwork for their MA thesis project. It builds on the compulsory methods courses in the master programs for Political science and Peace and conflict studies (STV402X, STV4020X, PECOS402X and PECOS4022).

Knowledge

Students learn:

• ethical principles of human subjects’ research and engagement with vulnerable populations
• how to design, plan, and execute field research for their own research projects
• how to navigate ethical and practical dilemmas and analyze fieldwork findings

Skills

After taking this class students can:

• design and implement a field research project on their own
• discuss the ethical challenges and limitations of their proposed research
• finalize an application for ethics approval of their fieldwork plan

General competencies

Students learn:

• how to think systematically about ethics and research engagement with human subjects
• analyze field research findings and present them with an appropriate level of triangulation and transparency
• how to provide constructive assessment of field research plans and strategies of inferences and integrate such feedback into their research projects

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

Students enrolled in other Master's Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

10 Lectures and 5 seminars

Compulsory activities:

• Present draft of the term paper in one of the seminar sessions for discussion

If you are ill or have another valid reason for being absent from compulsory activities, your absence may be approved or the compulsory activity may be postponed.Report absence from or the need for a postponed deadline on a compulsory activity Absence from compulsory activities - University of Oslo (uio.no)

Term paper of maximum 4000 words discussing specific challenges associated with the operationalization of qualitative field methods for a possible research project (given or self-chosen topic), including ethical challenges.

Submission of written assignments.

All support material is allowed. When using AI, you must explain and be transparent about its use: read more about the guidelines for AI and exams at How to use AI as a student - University of Oslo

The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Resitting an examination