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Alumni Brighton
IDS Research Associate Richard Longhurst and the Director of Teaching and Alumni Relations, Robert Nurick hosted an alumni dinner in Brighton.

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Governance Team
Researching public authority in changing environments

Multi-Methods Research Course

'Developed for the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR)'


PASGR_training_session
Peter P. Houtzager is leading an international team of social science faculty and researchers in developing and piloting an applied Multi-Methods Research Course for the new Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR). The course is composed of 7 Modules, taught over a 22 day period, and introduces participants to significant recent advances in concept formation, typological theory, comparative case studies, large-N, experimental design, social network analysis, ethnographic and participatory research techniques. 

PASGR is a not-for-profit organisation based in Nairobi that seeks to enable African social science researchers to produce and communicate quality research that will contribute knowledge to African governance and poverty reduction efforts.  PASGR also works with African universities to strengthen the provision of graduate-level education by enriching the teaching and practice of social science research for public policy in Africa.

The IDS-led contribution to the programme covers the design and piloting of a ‘base’ research methods course under the professional development programme. The Multi-Methods Research Course differs from existing courses in three important ways: 

  1. It is an applied methods course, in which participants assimilate and work though new methods using their own work. The course therefore emphases small group learning. 
  2. Teaching is case study based, following the model used in business and other professional schools. 
  3. The course invests heavily in peer support and review processes. 

The Course targets two main constituencies, both seeking to broaden their familiarity with a range of conceptual and methodological approaches to their research and teaching work: African researchers engaged in social science, social policy and/or governance research working in think tanks, universities and policy-research orientated NGOs; and graduate level teaching staff in African universities who are actively engaged in research.

The Multi-Methods Research course has 7 modules:

1. Designing social inquiry

2. Comparative (Small N) case studies

3. Large-N Research: Principles and an Application (Evaluation)  

4. Network analysis: formal and informal ties

5. Ethnographic methods for informal governance practices

6. Action Research in Governance

7. Policy-Oriented Research Tool Kit

The pilot course will be delivered in Nairobi over the period November 2011 – March 2011.

Researchers



Partners

Partnership for African Social and Governance Research