Research Methodology Training for International Relations Graduate Students in China

Abstract

This article discusses the current situation of research methodology training for international relations (IR) graduate students in China. Since the country’s opening up, research methods training in IR has gradually advanced in universities. We administered a survey to postgraduate IR students in China about their training in research methodologies. The results reveal that IR methodology training in China is still not satisfactory at most schools and varies across universities. Although most of the students did not know much about quantitative research methods, they are beginning to demand more training in this area. This is reflected in both the curriculum design at universities and our survey results. Thus, improvements in teaching IR research methods at Chinese universities are needed, especially improvements that focus on quantitative methods and formal modeling.

Keywords:

• Graduate education
• methodology teaching
• curriculum design
• international relations

Notes

1 The debate is not about whether we should build such a school or not. Most IR scholars in China support this idea. However, scholars are far from reaching an agreement on how a Chinese school of IR should look like. There are several such attempts consist of a wide range of work by Chinese scholars. For instance, the “Tsinghua Approach” emphasized on ancient Chinese strategic thought, aiming to explain great power competitions (Zhang 2012; Yan 2011, 2019). Yaqing Qin from China Foreign Affairs University developed a Relational Theory based on Chinese guanxi tradition (Qin 2018). The “Shanghai School” of IR theory, mainly promoted by Fudan University and Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, underlined the principles of inclusive and symbiotic (gongsheng) (Zhang and Chang 2016).

2 For ideological consideration, all political science departments had been closed since 1952. Only these three universities were required to build IR departments in the 1960s. Though the content of political science and IR training differs remarkably, the boundaries of IR and political science is not clear and interrelated since 1978.

3 The Chinese referred here is in a broad sense, including mainland Chinese, Hong Kong people, Taiwanese who have gone abroad for training, or other ethnic Chinese studied or worked overseas.

4 Most IR departments actually sit in the same school with other non-IR political sciences departments. As a result, the research methods courses in these IR departments are similar to those of non-IR political science discipline. These universities include Renmin University of China, Fudan University, Jilin University, etc. In contrast, some IR departments are separated from other non-IR political science fields, and their course design tends to be more unique.

5 “Circular on the 14th Workshop on Research Methods for International Relations.” Accessed at http://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/publish/ir/3616/2016/20160405162640251380263/20160405162640251380263_.html.

6 “2016 Catalog for Computational Social Science Workshop, Center for Social Survey, Sun Yat-sen University.” Accessed athttp://ssa.sysu.edu.cn/article/495.

7 The Chinese Ministry of Education officially developed a list of all the postgraduate programs in China. According to the list, postgraduates who major in international relations, international politics, and diplomatic studies are most closely related to IR. Our sample was drawn from graduate students in these programs. Meanwhile, other listed programs – such as scientific socialism, world economy, etc. – may also involve international studies in class, but those were excluded from our sample.

8 Instructors distributed the questionnaire, which is in Chinese and on paper, during required courses. The detailed respondent sample size for each university is as follows, Peking University (20), Renmin University of China (97), Fudan University (79), Jilin University (40), Beijing Foreign Studies University (39), University of International Business and Economics (49), China Foreign Affairs University (78), China University of Political Science and Law (40), and Jinan University (57). Based on the number of graduate students in each school, the survey was largely in accordance with quota sampling.

9 We do not deny that qualitative research and historical analysis are also “social scientific” by nature. However, under the Chinese context, quantitative methods require more rigorous training while these traditional methods tend to be short of formal training.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Donglin Han

Donglin Han is a Professor of Political Science at the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China. His areas of interest include Chinese politics, public opinion and quantitative research methods.

Zhaoyuan Chen

Zhaoyuan Chen is a Political Science doctoral candidate at the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China. His areas of interest include international and comparative political economy, and China's foreign policy.

Ye Tian

Ye Tian is a Professor of International Relations at the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China. He teaches and researches international relations theory and international political economy.