Undergraduate Course: Evidence, Politics and Policy (SCPL08010)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course shows how social research can shed light on topical social and political debates. Students are given opportunities to reflect critically on the ways in which evidence is used in debate about public policy. |
| Course description |
This course illustrates how social research can shed light on topical social and political debates.
The specific aims are:
to understand how academic enquiry can be used to understand public political debates and public policy
to understand how evidence informs debates, and how it is sometimes distorted and misused in these debates;
to understand how social and political theory can be brought to bear on understanding topical debates;
to develop the skills of engaging in topical debates in a rational and evidence-based way while also taking account of the important role of ideology and emotion.
After an introduction which ask general questions about evidence and policy, the course looks at four current policy issues that are prominent in political debate. In 2015-16, these will be:
Migration: what are its effects on the UK, and how do people-migrants as well as non-migrants - react to it?
Unemployment: how have people across Europe responded to the rise in unemployment since the beginning of the recession in 2008?
Crime: why are crime levels so controversial while levels of crime in the UK are at all-time lows?
Student finance: what are the effects on educational opportunity of different ways of funding students in higher education- including different approaches to student fees
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
164 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
40% mid-semester assessment: reflective portfolio of student's contribution to online debates.
60% end-of-semester assessment: policy brief.
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| Feedback |
Regular student engagement in online debates with other students and staff, culminating in mid-semester assessment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand how evidence informs debates, and how it is sometimes distorted and misused in these debate.
- Understand how social and political theory can be brought to bear on understanding topical debates.
- Develop the skills of engaging in topical debates in a rational and evidence-based way while also taking account of the important role of ideology and emotion.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Politics. Social Policy. Debate. Evidence. |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Lindsay Paterson
Tel: (0131 6)51 6380
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Daniel Jackson
Tel: (0131 6)50 3932
Email: |
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