Suchergebnisse

Applied analysis of international relations began to form at MGIMO-University in the 1970s. This kind of research always attracted considerable interest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, and other executive institutions of the government and received their support. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated the creation of a special unit at MGIMO - the Problem Research Laboratory of Systems Analysis in International Relations. The Laboratory was using system analysis and quantitative methods to produce scientific information for decision-makers to make "more informed decisions in the field of international relations in order to reduce the level of uncertainty in the assessment of the expected impact of these decisions". In 2004, the successor to the Problem Laboratory - Center for International Studies - was transformed into a Research Coordination Council for International Studies, which in 2009 handed its functions to the Institute of International Studies. In comparison with previous periods the Institute of International Studies has significantly increased of research for the Ministry of International Affairs. It has also moved functionally outside its institutional boundaries and produces unclassified research for public offer. It also serves as a place for vivid public discussions among IR specialists. There's also an international recognition of the Institute of International Studies. The "Go to think tanks" international ranking produced annually at the University of Pennsylvania has put MGIMO-University on the 10th place in the category of university based think tanks.

The paper describes the application to longitudinal research of a method of data collection which combines quantitative and qualitative material. It is claimed that Group Feedback Analysis (GFA) helps to validate data collected by various methods and produces additional ethnographic material and insight into the process under investigation. When the people who supply the data are experienced in the subject matter, as is the case with managers and other employees in organizational research, GFA makes it possible for them to help with the interpretation of the data instead of leaving it entirely to the researcher. The method, which has previously been used in cross-sectional research, is shown to have utility in a longitudinal design where it can facilitate organizational learning. It can also contribute to the refinement of a theoretical model.