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Triangulating debates within the field: Teaching international relations research methodology
Howard, Peter
Howard, Peter
Author
Abstract
Undergraduate introductory methods courses offer a unique opportunity to bring methodological pluralism to the field by teaching students multiple approaches to research. This article presents one way to organize an introductory undergraduate research methods course. By focusing on central debates between methodological approaches on issues of causality, context, and essentialism, an instructor can introduce positivism, interpretivism, and relationalism as distinct, coherent methodological approaches to research. Depicting these three debates and three approaches graphically on a triangle can illuminate some core methodological debates within the field today. It also illuminates the methodological underpinnings of many of the discipline's theoretical debates.
Keywords
teaching, methodology, relationalism, interpretivism, positivism
Date
2010
Type
Journal article
Journal
International Studies Perspectives
Book
Volume
11
Issue
4
Page Range
393-408
Article Number
ACU Department
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
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Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled