Checking date: 19/05/2025 20:36:09


Course: 2025/2026

Applied Political Inteligence
(14432)
Bachelor in Political Science (Study Plan 2018) (Plan: 396 - Estudio: 205)


Coordinating teacher: LORENZO RODRIGUEZ, JAVIER

Department assigned to the subject: Social Sciences Department

Type: Electives
ECTS Credits: 6.0 ECTS

Course:
Semester:




Requirements (Subjects that are assumed to be known)
Research Methodology in Social Sciences Statistics applied to the Social Sciences I and II Theories and Research Approaches in Political Science Comparative Politics I Political Behaviour Research Techniques in Political Science Electoral Analysis
Objectives
To introduce the fundamental concepts of Political Intelligence, Big Data and Computational Science applied to Political Science. To understand the implications of these new techniques in the study of political and social behaviour. To understand the implications of the basic techniques of Computational Science applied to the study of Political Science.
Learning Outcomes
LEARNING OUTCOMES 1.Possessadvanced knowledge and skills in Political Science, both related to theoretical issues and of a practical or methodological nature. 2. Will be able to collect data,produce information and use it to base their reflections and judgements on social and political reality. 3.Will be able to apply the skills and knowledge acquired to solve problems in complex situations and in academic or professional work environments that require creative or innovative ideas. 5.You will be able to identify your training needs in your field of study and work or professional environment and will be able to organise your learning autonomously and independently of the type of context BASIC COMPETENCES 2.Students are able to apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional manner and possess the competences usually demonstrated through the development and defence of arguments and problem solving within their field of study. 4.Students should be able to communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences 5.Students will have developed the learning skills necessary to undertake further study with a high degree of autonomy. GENERAL COMPETENCES 2.To be able to recognize the social, political, cultural and religious diversity of contemporary societies and the relevance and transversality that democratic values and human rights have in these societies 3.To be able to study the social and political reality using the scientific method, from a critical perspective and recognizing the variety of theoretical and methodological approaches of the different subdisciplines and specialities in Political Science. SPECIFIC COMPETENCES 2.To analyse the political systems¿ structure and functioning and their interaction with the environment 3.To know the structure and functioning of political institutions and their interrelation with the remaining components of the political system 4.To analyse political actors behaviour, political participation¿s processes and the role of citizens in contemporary democracies 9.To recognize the historical dimension of political and social processes and to explain them by taking such dimension into account. 13.To know how to analyze public policies as well as how to design, plan, implement and evaluate public programs and projects 14.To identify the key theories of international relations and to connect them with the domestic political processes. 16.To know the most important theoretical contributions and the principles that guide scientific research in the field of Social Sciences; and to know how to apply statistical methods and research techniques to produce, collect, analyze and interpret both quantitative and qualitative data. TRANSVERSAL COMPETENCES 1.To be able to work in multidisciplinary and international teams 2.To demonstrate the ability of planning and organizing your work, the ability of reaching the right decisions by taking into consdieration the available information and the abilty of gathering and interpreting relevant data to make good judgments in your area of study
Description of contents: programme
- Introduction to Political Intelligence - Concept of Intelligence and Political Intelligence - Big Data and Artificial Intelligence - Definition, concept and main differences with other "neighbouring" concepts - Application of Political Intelligence to political problems - Political and electoral behaviour - Marketing and political communication - Public policy - Security policies - Disinformation, hoaxes - Privacy and ethical issues - Applied political intelligence techniques - Theoretical and methodological implications: correlation vs. causation - Data collection techniques - Storage platforms and software for information processing - Use of basic quantitative methods for intelligence analysis - Visualisation techniques - Introduction to foresight and future studies
Learning activities and methodology
The lecture sessions are a combination of lectures and discussions of the content of the course readings. Students should be prepared to take notes on the lectures and participate in discussions of the readings. The seminar classes consist of exploring platforms and software associated with the subject matter of the unit, and carrying out tasks, exercises and assignments using some of the techniques or software shown. The course is structured into 4 established and compulsory activities in order to pass the course. 1) Active participation in the tasks and discussions in the lectures and seminars classes.¿ 2) Group research work.¿ 3) Hand in different exercises proposed throughout the course. 4) Final exam
Assessment System
  • % end-of-term-examination/test 40
  • % of continuous assessment (assigments, laboratory, practicals...) 60

Calendar of Continuous assessment


Extraordinary call: regulations
Basic Bibliography
  • Barreiro, B.. La sociedad que seremos¿: digitales, analógicos, acomodados y empobrecidos.. Planeta. 2017
  • González-Bailón, Sandra.. Decoding the Social World: Data Science and the Unintended Consequences of Communication. The MIT Press. 2017
  • Jungherr, A., Rivero, G., & Gayo-Avello, D. Retooling Politics: How Digital Media Are Shaping Democracy. Cambridge University Press. 2020
  • Persily, N., & Tucker, J.. Social Media and Democracy: The State of the Field, Prospects for Reform. Cambridge University Press. 2020
  • Robles, José Manuel; Rodríguez, J. Tinguaro; Caballero, Rafael; Gómez, Daniel . Big data para científicos sociales. Una introducción. Cuadernos Metodológicos CIS. 2020
  • Stroud, Natalie Jomini, and Shannon C. McGregor. Digital Discussions¿: How Big Data Informs Political Communication. Routledge. 2021
  • Sunstein, C. R. . Republic.com. Paidós Estado y Sociedad. 2003
  • Tucker, J., Guess, A., Barbera, P., Vaccari, C., Siegel, A., Sanovich, S., Stukal, D., & Nyhan, B. Social Media, Political Polarization, and Political Disinformation: A Review of the Scientific Literature.. SSRN Electronic Journal. 2018

The course syllabus may change due academic events or other reasons.