The key aim of this module is to develop a range of skills to help students understand and analyse:

• The legal, social and economic basis of corporate power.
• How corporate structures and finances work.
• In practical terms how researchers can penetrate this relatively secret world as part of an academic research agenda.

(LO1) To be able to formulate appropriate and researchable questions about corporate power and corporate activities

(LO2) To be able to identify data sources that can help us answer research questions about private companies

(LO3) To be able to analyse corporate ownership, management, and organisational structures

(LO4) To be able to formulate strategies that seek to overcome key barriers in researching companies

(S1) Problem solving skills

(S2) Research management developing a research strategy, project planning and delivery, risk management, formulating questions, selecting literature, using primary/secondary/diverse sources, collecting & using data, applying research methods, applying ethics

The module will provide a set of skills that will enable participants, through a series of taught activities, to enhance research that focusses upon private companies. It will use public data sources, methodological techniques drawn from academic studies, and materials developed in collaboration with the independent research organisation Corporate Watch to develop those skills.

The content of the module will be organised across the following four subject areas:

•Asking the ‘right’ questions about corporate power.
•Identifying data sources that can help us research corporations.
•How research can help us understand the structure of corporate power.
•How to research companies in difficult settings.

Teaching Method 1 - Workshops
Description: one 8 hour workshop
Attendance Recorded: Not yet decided
Notes: The module will comprise three separate workshops, taking place over a full day. This will comprise a mixture of 'taught' session and one-to-one discussion with course tutors.