Forskarutbildningskurs i statsvetenskap: Politiska partier - system och organisation

1917 Responsible: Kursen arrangeras i samarbete mellan Institutionen för samhällsvetenskap vid Växjö universitet och statskunskap vid Örebro universitet samt Forskarskolan Demokratins villkor, Örebro universitet Kursansvarig: Gullan Gidlund, Örebro universitet (019-303936, gullan.gidlund@sam.oru.se) och Magnus Hagevi, Växjö universitet (0470-70 80 22, magnus.hagevi@vxu.se)
From: 2008/11/10 to: 2009/01/17
Subscription Deadline: 2008/10/01
Place: Växjö och Örebro, Sverige
ECTS (Danish Ph.D. students only): 7,5 hp alternativt 1
Further information: Magnus Hagevi

                            Forskarutbildningskurs i statsvetenskap

Politiska partier system och organisation, 7,5 högskolepoäng (alternativt 15 högskolepoäng)

 

                     

Arrangör: Kursen arrangeras i samarbete mellan Institutionen för samhällsvetenskap vid Växjö universitet och statskunskap vid Örebro universitet samt Forskarskolan Demokratins villkor, Örebro universitet

 

Kursansvarig: Gullan Gidlund, Örebro universitet (019-30 39 36, gullan.gidlund@sam.oru.se) och Magnus Hagevi, Växjö universitet (0470-70 80 22, magnus.hagevi@vxu.se)

 

Kursens mål

 

·        Doktoranden skall kunna grundläggande begrepp och centrala teoretiska ansatser om partiorganisation och parti­system i representativa demokratier.

·        Doktoranden skall kunna delta i den statsvetenskapliga debatten angående teorier om partiorganisation och parti­system.

·        Doktoranden skall efter kursen dels ha kunskap om teoriutvecklingen och den teoretiska forskningsfronten i ämnesområdet.

 

Kursens moment

 

·        Demokratins genombrott och masspolitikens utveckling i början av 1900-talet

·        Partiernas glansperiod och partisystemens istid

·        Partiernas kris och förnyelse.

·        Partierna och internationaliseringen

 

Kursen har fyra moment som alla är relaterade till politiska partiers organisation och partisystem. I det första momentet diskuteras partiteorier som främst beaktar resultatet av demokratins genombrott och masspolitikens utveckling i början av 1900-talet. Partierna måste nu kunna agerar på både mass- och elitnivå för att vara funktionsdugliga.

 

I det andra momentet är parti- och partisystemteorierna till stor del reaktioner på utvecklingen efter andra världskriget under den tid då partisystemen betraktas som frusna. Partierna tycks i allt högre grad vara ohotade kolosser som i allt större utsträckning försöker fånga så många väljare som möjligt. Man talar om ideologiernas död och partisystemen uppfattas som statiska. Teorierna intresserar sig för partiernas samarbete, konflikter, väljarberoende och partisystemens stabilitet.

 

I det tredje momentet utgår kursen från partierna och partisystemens kris och förnyelse. Teorierna beaktar då partiernas ökade beroende av statliga bidrag och oberoende av andra inkomstkällor, den politiska medialisering och politikens professionalisering samt partisystemens instabilitet men även anpassningsförmåga till förändrade villkor.

 

I det fjärde momentet uppmärksammas det ökade omvärldsberoendet, internationaliseringen och de teoretiska problem som uppkommer när inte längre nationalstaten är det självklara navet för den politiska makten. Nu ligger fokus på EU och europeiseringen och de teoretiska försök som görs för att använda gamla modeller liksom ansträngningar som görs för att finna nya teoretiska begrepp och perspektiv.

Examination och kurskrav: Kursen examineras genom inlämningsuppgifter och seminarier. 

Organisation: Kursen organiserar sig efter fyra aktiviteter: föreläsningar, seminarier, inlämningsuppgifter och självstudier.

Språk: Svenska.

Kursen innehåller obligatorisk litteratur, men doktoranden skall komplettera med litteratur med självvald inriktning inom kursens ram. Några förslag på sådan kompletterande litteratur ges i kursplanen, men i samråd med lärare kan doktorand även komplettera med annan litteratur. Den obligatoriska litteraturen ligger främst till grund för en studieomfattning på 7,5 högskolepoäng, men det är möjligt att komplettera med kurslitteratur till 15,0 högskolepoäng.

 

Anmälan: Anmälan senast den 1 oktober till Magnus Hagevi (magnus.hagevi@vxu.se,

0470-70 80 22).

 

Kursstart: Kursen startar 10 november 2008 och avslutas 18 februari 2009.

 

 

Schema och kurslitteratur

 

 

Moment: Demokratins genombrott och masspolitikens utveckling i början av 1900-talet

 

Vecka 46 (exakt tid och plats meddelas senare)

 

11.30 Gemensam lunch

13.00 Introduktion

13.30 15.00 Föreläsning: "Masspartiet från idealtyp till ideal" 

15.30 17.00 Föreläsning: "Partisystem i ljuset av stabilitet och framgång"

 

Obligatorisk litteratur

 

Maurice Duverger (1967): Political Parties: their organization and activity in the modern state. London: Methuen

 

Gullan Gidlund (1989): "Folkrörelsepartiet och den politiska styrelsen. SAP:s organisationsutveckling" i Klaus Misgeld, Karl Molin, Klas Åmark (red) Socialdemokratins samhälle 1889 - 1989. Stockholm: Tidens förlag.

  

William Wright (1971): "Comparative Party Models: Rational Efficient and Party Democracy" i A Comparative Study of Party Organization, William Wright (ed.), Columbus: Merrill, s 17-54.

 

Seymour Martin Lipset och Stein Rokkan (1967): "Cleavage Structrures, Party Systems, and Voter Alignments: An Introduction" i Lipset & Rokkan (eds.) Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross-National Perspectives. New York: The Free Press, s 1-64.

 

 

Moment: Partiernas glansperiod och partisystemens istid

 

Vecka 48 (exakt tid och plats meddelas senare)

 

11.30 Gemensam lunch

13-15 Föreläsning: "Partiorganisationernas strävan efter att bli stabila kolosser"

15.30 Föreläsning: "Partisystemen i moderniteten: förklaringar och rädslan för kaos"

 

Obligatorisk litteratur

 

Antony Downs (1957): An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper & Row.

 

Otto Kirchheimer (1966): "The Transformation of the Western European Party Systems" i Political Parties and Political Development, red Joseph LaPalombara och Myron Weiner. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 177-200.

 

Angelo Panebianco (1982): Political Parties: organization and power. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (valda delar).

 

Giovanni Sartori (1990 [1976]) "A Typology of Party Systems" i The West European Party systems, red Peter Mair (utdrag ur Sartoris Party and Party Systems). Oxford: Oxford University Press, s 316-349.

 

Kompletterande litteratur

 

Arend Lijphart  (1977): Democracy in Plural Societies: A Comparative Exploration. New Haven: Yale University Press.

 

Gunnar Sjöblom (1968): Party Strategies in a Multiparty System. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

 

 

Moment: Partiernas kris och förnyelse

 

Vecka 50 (exakt tid och plats meddelas senare)

 

11.30 Gemensam lunch

13-15 Föreläsning: "Partier utan medlemmar? "

15.30 Föreläsning: "Tolkningar av och förklaringar till partisystemens förändring"

 

Obligatorisk litteratur

 

Karl von Beyme (1996): "The Concept of Political Class: A New Dimension of Research on Elites?" West European Politics, 19:67-86.

 

Russel Dalton och Martin Waterberg, red (2002): Parties without Partisans: Political Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

Ronald Inglehart och Scott Flanagan (1987): "Value Change in Industrial Society." Controversy. American Political Science Review, 81:1289-1319.

 

Richard Katz och Peter Mair (1995): "Changing Models of Party Organization and Party Democracy: The Emergence of the Cartel Party" Party Politics, 1:5-28.

Peter Mair (1998): Party System Change: Approaches and Interpretations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

Kompletterande litteratur

 

Jens Borchert och Jürgen Zeiss, red (2003): The Political Class in Advanced Democracies: A Comparative Handbook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

Klaus Detterbeck (2005): "Cartel Parties in Western Europe?" Party Politics, 11:173-191.

 

Gullan Gidlund (2004) "Folkrörelsepartiet i kunskapssamhället" i Olof Ruin (red) Politikens ramar och aktörer. Stockholm: Hjalmarsson & Högberg.

 

Richard Gunther, José Ramón och Juan Linz, red (2002): Political Parties: Old concepts and New Challenges. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

Knut Heidar och Ruud Koole, red (2000): Parliamentary Party Groups in European Democracies: Political Parties Behind Closed Doors. London: Routledge.

 

Richard Katz och Peter Mair (1996): "Cadre, Catch-all or Cartel?: A Rejoinder." Party Politics, 2:525-234.

 

Ruud Koole (1996): "Cadre, Catch-all or Cartel?: A Comment on the Notion of the Carelt Party." Party Politics, 2:507-523.

 

 

Moment: Internationalisering

 

Vecka 02 (exakt tid och plats meddelas senare)

 

11.30 Gemensam lunch

13-15 Föreläsning: "Internationella partiorganisationer"

15.30 Föreläsning: "Finns det ett internationellt partisystem?"

 

Obligatorisk litteratur

 

Richard Gunther och Larry Diamond (2003): "Species of Political Parties: A New Typoligy." Party Politics, 9:167-199.

 

Knut Heidar och Lars Svåsand (1997): Partier uten grenser? Oslo: Tano Aschehoug.

 

Simon Hix och Christopher Lord (1997): Political Parties in the European Union. New York: St. Martins Press Inc.

 

Gail McElroy och Kenneth Benoit (2007): "Party Groups and Policy Positions in the European Parliament." Party Politics, 13:5-28.

 

Kompletterande litteratur

 

Russel Dalton och Ian McAllister, red (2007): Party Politics. Temanummer: Political Parties and Political Development. London: Sage.

 

Karl Magnus Johansson (1997) Transnational Party Alliances: Analysing the Hard-won Alliance between Conservatives and Christian Democrats in the Euroepan Parliament. Lund: Lund University Press.

 

Robert Ladrech (2002) "Europeanization and Political Parties: Towards a Framework for Analysis." Party Politics, 8:389-403.

 

Camilla Sandström (2003) Liberalt Partisamarbete i Europa: ELDR en ny typ av parti? Umeå: Umeå universitet.

 

                                             - - - - - - - - - -

Governance Networks: Theory, Practice and Methods

1955 Responsible: Eva Sørensen and Jacob Torfing
From: 2009/01/26 to: 2009/01/30
Subscription Deadline: 2008/12/01
Place: University of Roskilde
Fee: Travel fees is accommodated by the participants
ECTS (Danish Ph.D. students only): 5
Further information: sek@polforsk.dk

Nordic Network on Democratic Network Governance

PhD-course on ’Governance Networks: Theory, Practice and Methods’

26-30 January 2009

Course directors: Eva Sørensen and Jacob Torfing

The PhD-course will run for five days and combine lectures, joint discussions and student presentations. In the morning there will be a thematic lecture that requires listening and reflection. In the afternoon there will first be a joint discussion based on a text presenting an empirical study of governance. This will be followed by student presentations that will focus on research questions, research strategies and the choice of methods. Feedback will be provided from both course directors and fellow students.

Monday the 26^th of January: Government, governance and governance networks

9:00-10:00 Welcome and presentation of program, directors and participants

10:00-12:00 Morning lecture: Government, governance and governance networks

Jacob Torfing

Required readings:

• J. Torfing (2007), ‘Introduction Democratic network governance’, in Marcussen and Torfing (Eds) Democratic Network Governance in Europe, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 1-22.

• J. Torfing (2007), ‘A comparative and multi-level analysis of governance networks: A pilot study of employment policy’, in Bogason and Zølner (Eds) Methods in Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 21-32. (you do not need page 32-40)

• J. Torfing (2007), ‘Empirical findings: Seven network stories’, in Bogason and Zølner (Eds) Methods in Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 41-73.

13:00-14:30 Afternoon discussion: Government and/or governance?

Jacob Torfing

Required readings:

• P.M. Christiansen and L. Togeby (2006), ‘Power and democracy in Denmark: still a viable democracy’, Scandinavian Political Studies, 29(1), pp. 1-24. Available at: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1467-9477.2006.00139.x

• J. Torfing (2007), ‘Local Governance in Denmark’, Working Paper no. 5, Centre for Democratic Network Governance. Available at : http://www.ruc.dk/upload/application/pdf/f51d6748/Working%20Paper_2007_5.pdf

14:30-16:00 Afternoon presentations: 3 paper presentations followed by feedback

Jacob Torfing

Tuesday the 27^th of January: Theories of network governance

10:00-12:00 Morning lecture: Four theories of governance networks

Eva Sørensen

Required readings:

• E. Sørensen and J. Torfing (2007), ‘Governance network research: Towards a second generation’, in Sørensen and Torfing (Eds) Theories of Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 1-21.

• E. Sørensen and J. Torfing (2007), ‘Theoretical approaches to governance network dynamics’, in Sørensen and Torfing (Eds) Theories of Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 25-42.

13:00-14:30 Afternoon discussion: Different approaches – different studies

Eva Sørensen

Required readings:

• J. Torfing (2007), ‘Discursive governance network in Danish activation policy’, in Marcussen and Torfing (Eds) Democratic Network Governance in Europe, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 111-129.

• A. Buuren, J. Edelenbos and E.H. Klijn (2007), ‘ Interactive governance in the Netherlands: The case of the Scheldt Estuary’, in Marcussen and Torfing (Eds) Democratic Network Governance in Europe, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 150-173.

14:30-16:00 Afternoon presentations: 3 paper presentations followed by feedback

Eva Sørensen

Wednesday the 28^th of January: Metagovernance of governance networks

10:00-12:00 Morning lecture: Metagovernance in theory and practice

Jacob Torfing

Required readings:

• E. Sørensen and J. Torfing (2007), ‘Theoretical approaches to metagovernance’, in Sørensen and Torfing (Eds) Theories of Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 169-182.

• P. Triantafillou (2007),’Governing the formation and mobilization of governance networks’ in Sørensen and Torfing (Eds) Theories of Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 183-198.

• L.J. O’Toole (2007), ‘Governing outputs and outcomes of governance networks’, in Sørensen and Torfing (Eds) Theories of Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 215-230.

13:00-14:30 Afternoon discussion: Different levels and forms of metagovernance

Eva Sørensen

Required readings:

• E. Sørensen (2007), ‘Local politicians and administrators as metagovernors’, in Marcussen and Torfing (Eds) Democratic Network Governance in Europe, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 89-108.

• L. Jensen and H. Kähler (2007), ‘The Danish Ministry of Finance as metagovenor’, in Marcussen and Torfing (Eds) Democratic Network Governance in Europe, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 174-191.

• A. Esmark (2007), ‘Network management in the EU: The European Commission as network manager’, in Marcussen and Torfing (Eds) Democratic Network Governance in Europe, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 252-271.

14:30-16:00 Afternoon presentations: 3 paper presentations followed by feedback

Jacob Torfing

Thursday the 29^th of January: Democratic network governance

10:00-12:00 Morning lecture: Governance networks and democracy

Eva Sørensen

Required readings:

• E. Sørensen and J. Torfing (2007), ‘Theoretical approaches to democratic network governance’, in Sørensen and Torfing (Eds) Theories of Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 233-246.

• E. Sørensen and J. Torfing (2005), ’The democratic anchorage of governance networks’, Scandinavian Political Studies, 28(3), pp. 195-218.

• A. Esmark (2007), ‘Democratic accountability and network governance: problems and potentials’, in Sørensen and Torfing (Eds) Theories of Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 274-296.

• J. Torfing (2008), ‘Harmony through network governance?’, in Tao (Ed.) Governance and Harmony, London: Sage. Will be circulated on the mail.

13:00-14:30 Afternoon discussion: Exercise: the role of politicians and administrators in

democratizing governance

Eva Sørensen

14:30-17:30 Roundtable: Governance networks across Europe

Stig Montin, Gerry Stoker, Jacob Torfing & Torill Ringholm

Friday the 30^th of January: Research methods

10:00-12:00 Morning lecture: How to study governance networks?

Jacob Torfing

Required readings:

• A. Esmark and P. Triantafillou (2007), ‘Document analysis of network topography and network programmes’, in Bogason and Zølner (Eds) Methods in Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 99-124.

• M. Zølner, I.Ø. Rasmussen and A.D. Hansen (2007), ‘Qualitative interviews: Studying network narratives’, in Bogason and Zølner (Eds) Methods in Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 125-147.

• E. Sørensen and J. Torfing (2007), ‘Studying local network inclusion through observation and diaries’, in Bogason and Zølner (Eds) Methods in Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 148-178.

• B. Damgaard and E. Sørensen (2007), ‘Interactive focus group interviewing in studies of network governance’, in Bogason and Zølner (Eds) Methods in Democratic Network Governance, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 179-206.

NB: You might want to focus on the first sections in these chapters that outline how the different methods are applied

13:00-14:30 Roundtable: How to study complex and interactive governance

processes?

Gerry Stoker, Eva Sørensen & Jacob Torfing

14:30 Brief course evaluation and farewell

Deadline for paper: January 12st

Accommodation as well as food is payed by the network.

Travel  expenses must be covered by the participants. In some special cases and after appliance we can accommodate a limited number of participants' travel expenses.

Paper detalils:

You are all expected to prepare a paper of maximum 10 pages (i.e. in the region of 4,000 words) which should be posted to Polforsk (sek@polforsk.dk) no later than January 12.
The paper can be either a general outline of your PhD project, a draft chapter from your PhD thesis, or a short draft for an article. It should preferably relate to the topic of the course.
It should, however, comply with ‘standard’ templates for academic articles, and not simply be a bull point list. All papers will later on be distributed among the participants together with a schedule of your presentations.
The presentations will be discussed by a fellow student discussant and commented upon by a senior scholar. You should also prepare an oral presentation of your ‘piece’ of maximum ten minutes, and be prepared to give comments to a fellow PhD student's piece. Power point facilities will be available for those of you who need it.

Kvantitativ metode

1979 Responsible: Anne-Grethe Gammelgaard - agg@ps.au.dk
From: 2009/03/03 to: 2009/05/14
Subscription Deadline: 2008/01/06
Place: Aarhus University
ECTS (Danish Ph.D. students only): 10
Further information: agg@ps.au.dk

Kursus 1: (10 ECTS)

Kvantitativ metode

Ved Peter Bjerre Mortensen og Jens Peter Frølund Thomsen

KURSUSBESKRIVELSE

De fleste beskæftiger sig med statskundskab, fordi de ønsker at få større kendskab til samfundsmæssige
fænomeners indbyrdes sammenhæng. Hvad er årsag, og hvad er effekt? Vi vil især gerne finde årsagerne til,
at fænomener ser ud, som de gør. I så henseende er kvantitativ metode et nyttigt redskab. Denne metode
giver os mulighed for at få overblik over store datamængder og identificere sammenhænge mellem variable.
Solid dataanalyse forudsætter imidlertid en række færdigheder, og disse færdigheder bliver mere og mere
centrale kompetencer både inden for forskningsverdenen og i forhold til omverdenens krav til
statskundskabskandidater. Dette seminar har til formål at opøve brug af kontrol- og kausalitetslogik og gøre
deltagerne bedre til at anvende kvantitative metoder som redskaber. Seminaret genopfrisker og udvikler
derfor deltagernes evner til at behandle og analysere kvantitative data, og alle teknikkerne bliver afprøvet i
praksis. Efter seminaret skal deltagerne selv være i stand til at formulere kausalitetsmodeller, konstruere
indeks, lave spørgeskemaer og analysere disse data på kvalificeret vis.

Seminaret består af tre hoveddele. For det første sætter vi fokus på kontrol- og kausalitetslogik ved blandt
andet at diskutere styrker og svagheder ved eksperimentel metode sammenlignet med mere traditionelle
kvantitative metoder. For det andet skal vi drøfte, hvordan vi med kvantitative metoder kobler teori og
empiri. Vi skal f.eks. udvikle kvantitative indikatorer for komplekse begreber og arbejde med konstruktion af
spørgeskemaer og stikprøveudvælgelse. Endelig skal vi for det tredje blive bedre til at udnytte kvantitative
data bedst muligt. Vi skal med andre ord beskæftige os med analysen af datamaterialerne. I den
forbindelse fokuserer vi på at blive gode til at anvende centrale teknikker inden for statskundskaben, især
lineær regressionsanalyse og faktoranalyse.

Et vigtigt formål med seminaret er at forbedre deltagernes praktiske færdigheder. Derfor skal deltagerne
løbende anvende metoderne på konkrete politologiske problemstillinger. Hver uge får deltagerne en konkret
opgave (f.eks. konstruktion af spørgsmål til et spørgeskema). Disse opgaver løses skriftligt, afleveres til
underviserne og udgør eksamen i seminaret. Underviserne giver en faglig tilbagemelding på hver opgave,
herunder om den kan godkendes, men der gives ikke karakterer.
Som nævnt efterspørges færdigheder inden for dataindsamling og dataanalyse både inden for og uden for
forskningsverdenen, og seminaret er derfor relevant både for overbygningsstuderende og ph.d. stipendiater.
Deltagerne skal imidlertid være indstillet på et ret højt fagligt niveau og store krav til arbejdsindsatsen,
eftersom kurset også udbydes som et ph.d.-kursus.

LITTERATUR

Seminaret vil bl.a. bruge følgende litteratur (i uddrag):
• Agresti & B. Finlay (1997) Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences, third edition, Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall (genopfriskning)
• Diamantopoulos, Adamantios; Winklhofer, Heidi M. (2001) ”Index Construction with Formative
Indicators: An Alternative to Scale Development” Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 38 Issue 2,
p269-277
• Gujarati, Damodar N. (2003). Basic Econometrics. Boston: McGrawHill.
• Kempf-Leonard, Kimberly, Editor-in-Chief (2005) Encyclopedia of Social Measurement, Elsevier (vi
bruger forskellige artikler fra denne encyklopædi. Der er online adgang fra universitets maskiner på
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/referenceworks/0123693985).
• Rosenberg, Morris (1968) The Logic of Survey Analysis, New York, London: Basic Books
• Rummel, R. J. (1967) ‘Understanding Factor Analysis’, The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 11, 4, pp.
444-80.

FORELØBIG KURSUSPLAN

Time 1 (26.3. kl. 10-15)
Introduktion, den kvantitative forskningsproces
Time 2 (2.4. kl. 10-15)
Reliabilitet og validitet, faktoranalyse, indekskonstruktion
Time 3 (16.4. kl. 10-15)
Spørgeskemakonstruktion og stikprøveudvælgelse
Time 4 (23.4. kl. 10-15)
Modelopbygning, kausalmekanismer og krydstabulering
Time 5 (30.4. kl. 10-15)
Grundlæggende statistiske begreber og bivariat regressionsanalyse
Time 6 (7.5. kl. 10-15)
Multivariat regressionsanalyse, inkl. dummyregression og interaktionsled
Time 7 (14.5. kl. 10-15)
Multivariat regressionsanalyse og forudsætningstests

Ansøgningsfristen er 6. januar 2009. Videre oplysninger kan fås hos Anne-Grethe Gammelgaard,
agg@ps.au.dk, tlf. 8942 1329.

Registrering på http://polforsk.dk/about/Tilmelding.pdf/view

Social Research as a Craft

1981 Responsible: Anne-Grethe Gammelgaard, agg@ps.au.dk
From: 2009/03/27 to: 2009/04/03
Subscription Deadline: 2008/01/06
Place: Århus University
ECTS (Danish Ph.D. students only): 10
Further information: agg@ps.au.dk

Kursus 2: (10 ECTS)

Social Research as a Craft

by Asbjørn Sonne Nørgaard, University of Southern Denmark, Odense Thomas Pallesen, University of Aarhus

COURSE DESCRIPTION

All researchers, young or old, who are in the process of making a large scholarly analysis, are faced with a
set of common challenges that relates to the art and craft of making a good study. Social science in general,
and political science in particular, is not an easily defined type of work or process. Even a superficial
inspection of the articles appearing in scholarly journals will reveal an almost infinite number of themes
covered, an abundant use of research methods signifying a plurality of ideals of best practice, and a true
myriad of seemingly relevant sources and data. Notwithstanding the absence of agreed upon shared
standards of good science, most scholars agree that doing good social science is also a craft - a craft that can
be learned.

This course is an invitation to PhD-candidates who want to learn more about how to systematically tackle some
of the issues pertaining to the craft of making good social science. We will only pay scant attention to the
different techniques of data collection and analysis (interviewing techniques, statistical methods, etc.), and
there will be no thematic umbrella for the course, although themes related to political science will be in focus.
The teachers, Asbjørn Sonne Nørgaard and Thomas Pallesen, are political scientist with a broad interest in
comparative politics, public administration and public policy and methodology. Our methodological point of
departure is the scholarly conventions that guide mainstream empirical social science. This implies that we as
scholars develop theoretically informed hypotheses about the social world and hold open the possibility that
these hypotheses can be proven wrong depending upon the results of ones empirical analysis. Unless we can
be proven wrong we can never be proven right either.
The focus of the seminar will be on the interplay between the ´Why, What and How´ of the research design
and process.

The correspondence between the motivation and normative concern of a research project (the why) and a
particular research question is never one to one. There are always more ways to pose a research question. A
concern for the practice of local government may lead to an interest in the cause and effect of governance
networks. But it could also focus on the role of professionals, central government regulation and incentives, the
role of unions, etc. A concern for governance networks is compatible with numerous research questions and
numerous perspectives, e.g. in relation to policy processes and impacts, democratic participation,
accountability, party politics, etc.

However, in particular the relation between ´what´ and ´how´ is open-ended and debatable from a craft
perspective. Continuing the example of governance networks, should the study be a few cases in-depth
analysis of the policy-making process in one or two localities, and if so, should it mainly be based on
interviews, observation, or written records; should it be a broad comparative study based on surveys and
other large data bases; etc.

The trust of the course is that any research project can be improved by paying more attention to the
additional ways and means to probe ones themes of interest. Even if you yourself are neither posing these additional
questions nor making these additional analyses, awareness of the fact that they are relevant will make your own study
better and more focused.

Themes:

In particular we will focus on the following themes:
Social science as a craft vis-à-vis history and the humanities:
• Thinking in units and variables
• Thinking in sources and data
• Description, interpretation and explanation
• Causality and causal modelling
• Improving research questions: the double relevance demand
• Drawing inference: analytical and statistical inference/generalization
• Correlational evidence versus sequence and process
Case-studies, comparative enquiry, statistics, (quasi-)experiments.

LITERATURE:

The main text book, which all is required to buy, is Gary King et al. (1994), Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific
Inference in Qualitative Research, Princeton UP.
Ron King’s book on social research design will be available in a Xerox format.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

All participants produce a 3 to 5 pages description of their project. All project descriptions will be distributed
to the participants.
Each project description includes:
• A brief declaration of intent
• The research question/problem to be studied, and preferably propositions/hypotheses
• A comment on relevance of the project and the literature which the project is debating
• A brief account of the research design
• A brief discussion of the data and sources of the project
• And if relevant, preliminary findings
A revised 2 pages project description is produced during the course.

COURSE PLAN:

The course is organised as six meetings, each time five hours. Half of the time we will have lectures and
discussion of one or more themes. In the other half we will discuss the participants’ project descriptions.
Lesson 1(27.3. from10 AM to 3 PM): On Science and Social Science
• The triangle subject-theory-method
• What is science?
• What is social science?
• Tension between cultural embeddedness, individual choice, and patterns of behaviour
• The role of rationality
Lesson 2 (6.3. from10 AM to 3 PM): On Modeling and Proposing to the World
• Theory, conceptualization and variable specification
• From research problem to propositions
• From general relationships to specified hypotheses
• Causation and causal hypotheses
• Complex causation and the theory of controls
• Cross-sectional v. cross-time modeling: problems of time
Lesson 3 (13.3. from10 AM to 3 PM): On Data and Its Dangers
• The selection of observations (max plausible variation on independent variables)
• Operationalization (indicators, scales, counting - or not)
• Data sources (problems of obtrusiveness, bias and incomplete perspectives)
Lesson 4 (20.3. from10 AM to 3 PM): On Testing and Drawing Inference
• Description and pattern-finding (central tendencies and variance)
• Inference and generalization (´significance´, the null hypothesis)
• Statistical v. analytical generalization
• Different tests: experiments, quasi-experiments, matched comparison, case studies
• Matched comparison: maximize leverage over data, rigor of inference
Lesson 5 (27.3. from10 AM to 3 PM): Work Shop
• Revised project descriptions: Subject, Theory, Method
• Choices and justification
• Theory, propositions, data and operationalization, testing and logic of inference
• Presentation, comments and discussion
Lesson 6 (3.4. from10 AM to 3 PM): What is the Good of Social Science? Heuristics and knowledge production
in the social science perspective
• Practice: Does anyone actually do it?
• Normative concerns?
• Alternative research strategies and perspectives
• The teachers (or a guest teacher) present one of their own research projects and the choices and
challenges they have addressed.

Language: The course will be held in English unless all participants are fluent in one of the Scandinavian
languages. In that case we will speak Danish.

Grading: All participants are graded passed or not passed. The evaluation is based on active participation
in the course and the presentation of their project.

 Registration on: http://polforsk.dk/about/Tilmelding.pdf/view

Please send to:
Anne-Grethe Gammelgaard agg@ps.au.dk • Institut for Statskundskab • Aarhus Universitet •
Bartholins Allé • Bygning 1331 • 8000 Århus C

Deadline for application is 6 January 2009. For further information please contact Anne-Grethe
Gammelgaard, agg@ps.au.dk, tel. 8942 1329.

Evaluation as a social, cultural and political practice

1973 Responsible: Professor Peter Dahler-Larsen, Department of Political Science, University of Southern Denmark
From: 2009/06/08 to: 2009/06/11
Subscription Deadline: 2008/04/15
Place: University of Southern Denmark
Fee: 160 EURO for food etc.
ECTS (Danish Ph.D. students only): 4,5 (2,25)
Further information: sek@polforsk.dk

Course description/objectives:

This course is intended for PhD students interested in learning more about the social practice(s) of evaluation and the roles this activity plays in public administration and policy making. Students should have a prior interest in the field of evaluation and be working on projects that involve consideration of evaluation theories, practices, and methods. Students may benefit from the course not only if they are doing evaluation themselves, but also if they study the social and cultural ramifications of evaluation or if they study workplaces and organizations affected by evaluation.

Lectures will focus on the ways in which evaluation practices are connected to the achievement of social goals via policy formation and implementation and the management and administration of social service agencies. Lectures will also focus on how evaluation leads to change in professions, workplaces and organizations.

Format and student activity

As a part of the course, each student will present his or her own project. There will be ample time for discussions. Each student is obliged to turn in a short paper which describes a few ideas resulting from participating in the course. The working language of the course will be English.

Approval and deadline for papers

Within a week after the registration deadline, the applicants will informed if their application is approved.
Deadline for sending papers are Sunday 17th May.

Time:

June 8-11, 2009. The course goes on from 9.15 to app. 16.30 each day. There will be a few social events some of the evenings. There will be a course dinner the first night.

Place:

University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark. Rooms are reserved in the modern conference section of the university.

Draft program:

	Monday June 8	Tuesday June 9	Wednesday June 10	Thursday June 11
Morning	Introduction Purpose and format of the course Lecture by Thomas Schwandt: Understanding the cultural practice(s) of evaluation This lecture focuses on ways in which we understand and value the human activity called ‘evaluation’. Discussion	Lecture by Peter Dahler-Larsen: Evaluation in contemporary organizations. This lecture focuses on ways in which evaluation is shaped as a modern recipe for “good” management and organization Discussion	Lecture by Thomas Schwandt: Evaluative reasoning, evidence and use   This lecture discusses the requirements of evaluative reasoning; the role that empirical evidence plays in reaching an evaluative judgment about the value (merit, worth, significance) of a social policy or program; and, issues in making use of evaluative knowledge in decision making. Discussion	Lecture by Peter Dahler-Larsen: The constitutive effects of evaluation. This lecture discusses the “utilization” of evaluation and offers a constructivist perspective on the many ways evaluation shapes practices Discussion
Afternoon	Students present their projects Discussion of cross-cutting themes & problems	Students present their projects Discussion of cross-cutting themes & problems	Students present their projects Discussion of cross-cutting themes & problems	Students present core ideas for their conclusive paper

For questions about content: Peter Dahler-Larsen: pdl@sam.sdu.dk

Some Suggested Readings:

• Bovens, M., T Hart, P. & Kuipers, S. (2006). The Politics of Policy Evaluation (pp. 317-333) in The Oxford Handbook of Public Policy, M. Moran, M. Rein, & R.E. Goodin (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Chelimsky, Eleanor (2005). “The Purpose of Evaluation in a Democratic Society” (pp. 33-55) in The Sage Handbook of Evaluation, Shaw, Ian F., Jennifer C. Greene & Melvin M. Mark (eds.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

• Dahler-Larsen, Peter (2005). “Evaluation after Disenchantment? Five Issues Shaping the Role of Evaluation in Society” (pp.141-160) in The Sage Handbook of Evaluation, Shaw, Ian F., Jennifer C. Greene & Melvin M. Mark (eds.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Dahler-Larsen, Peter (2007) : Constitutive Effects of Performance Indicator Systems. In: Saville Kushner and Nigel Norris (eds.): Dilemmas of Engagement: Evaluation and the New Public Management. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 17- 36.

• House, E.R. & K. Howe (1999). “Evaluative Reasoning” In Values in Evaluation and Social Research, Laughton,Deborah C. (ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage publications.

• Sanderson, Ian (2004). Getting Evidence into Practice. Evaluation, 10(3): 366-379.

• Sanderson, Ian (2003).Is it ‘What Works’ that Matters? Evaluation and Evidence-based Policy-making. Research Papers in Education, 18(4): 331–345.

• Schwandt, Thomas (2008).Educating for Intelligent Belief in Evaluation. American Journal of Evaluation, (29)2: 139-150.

• Schwandt, Thomas (2005).The Centrality of Practice to Evaluation. American Journal of Evaluation, 26 (1): 95-105.

• Schwandt, Thomas (2008).Toward a Practical Theory of Evidence for Evaluation. To appear in What Counts as Credible Evidence in Applied Research and Evaluation Practice, C. Christie & S. Donaldson (Eds.).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Stern, Elliot (2005). “Contextual Challenges for Evaluation Practice” (pp. 292-314) in The Sage Handbook of Evaluation, Shaw, Ian F., Jennifer C. Greene & Melvin M. Mark (eds.). London - Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

• Stern, Elliot (2008). Evaluation: Critical for Whom and Connected to What? Evaluation, 14(2): 249-257.