Valeria Resta is a research doctor in political studies. Her research interests focus on regime changes and democratization processes, with particular attention to the role of political parties and party systems in North Africa and the Middle East. Her works have been published in national and international academic journals and as book chapters. She is currently a contract professor of Political Science at the Sapienza University of Rome. Occasionally she collaborates with the Institute for International Policy Studies (ISPI) and with the German think tank Brainville.
Course
Political and Social Research Methodology
The course offers an overview of the methods and techniques available to conduct scientific research in the political and social fields. The main objective is to provide the necessary skills to allow students to transform a generic interest about a phenomenon or a social problem into a substantive research question followed by a relevant and effective research design.
The lessons will focus on the existing paradigms from which the existing social and political research methods and techniques derive. Particular attention will be paid to the dichotomy between the quantitative and qualitative methods and to the analysis techniques considered more innovative. In addition, the possibilities of combining multiple methods and techniques in the analysis of the same phenomenon and the merits that derive from it will also be illustrated. Finally, the bases will be provided for the autonomous use of the main programming software for the statistical analysis in use in the various work and academic fields.
