Registry
Module Specifications
Archived Version 2018 - 2019
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Description The module serves as a general methodology module for the Masters in European Law and Public Policy. It covers all major methodological approaches to EU law and to public policy and the intersection between these two fields. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Learning Outcomes 1. Acquire knowledge about academic legal research and the diverse approaches towards legal investigation and analysis including comparative, socio-legal, law and economics, critical and feminist approaches 2. Locate and access legal data, particularly EU legal databases and resources 3. Critically evaluate in writing and orally methodologies employed in legal and public policy research. 4. Adopt and adapt a particular methodology or combination of methodologies to a both small and large research projects in the fields of law and public policy 5. Be able to integrate legal analysis in public policy design and public policy questions into legal analysis through an inter-disciplinary approach. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml |
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Indicative Content and
Learning Activities Introduction to Theory and MethodologyA general overview of the role of theory and methodology in social sciences in general and in relation to law and public policy in particular. An assessment of empirical and positivism and non-empirical approaches to social science research.Positivism and the LawAn introduction and approach to positivist approaches to the law and in particular legal interpretation including a brief overview of analytical legal theory and interpretative approaches.Realism and Law and EconomicsAn overview of realist theories of the law (in particular American realism) and the law and economics school and its approach to law and regulation.Critical Legal Studies and Feminist ApproachesAn introduction to CLS and Feminism approaches to the law with a particular emphasis on critical and feminist interpretative methodologies and their difference from traditional approaches.Socio-Legal and Comparative Law StudiesAn assessment of a socio-legal methodologies including integrating empirical sociological studies and social theory into the law. An introduction to comparative law and the comparative methodology. An assessment of the relationship between law and different societies and their mutual influence.The Methodology of EU LawA session dedicated to the specific questions raised by EU law and EU legal scholarship including its multi-national nature, the particular nature of the EU legal system and the diverse traditions in EU legal scholarship.Law and GovernanceA session integrating questions of law and public policy and in particular viewing the role of law in diverse forms and techniques of governance with a particular emphasis on transnational and European sites of governance.Social Scientific Inquiry and Public Policy AnalysisA session introducing students to modern social scientific inquiry and its application to public policy analysis, including how to design and frame policy research questions, and the logic of descriptive and causal inference.Qualitative Approaches to Policy and Political ResearchA session introducing students to the qualitative method, including interpretation and inference, comparative case studies, constructing causal theories, and dependent and explanatory variables.An Introduction to Quantitative Policy and Political ResearchA session introducing students to basic statistical analysis with demonstrations of how it applies to policy and political analysis.An Introduction to Experimental Methods in Evidence-Based Policy AnalysisA session introducing students to experimental methods in evidence-based policy analysis, including RCTs, field and lab experiments. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Indicative Reading List
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Other Resources None | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Programme or List of Programmes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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