On 13 July 2022, at the invitation of the School of Politics and International Relations of Lanzhou University and the InstituteforCentral Asian Studies of Lanzhou University, Professor QiHaixiafromDepartment of International Relations Tsinghua University, gave an online lecture entitled "Theoretical Innovation and Research Methods in International Relations" to ourschool. The lecture was hosted by Professor Chen Xiaoding,deputydeanof the School, and attended by more than 300 teachers and students from inside and outside the school.

At the beginning of the lecture, Professor Qi Haixia stressed that two important issues that we need to consider and address are how to make our research solid and how to push the discipline of international relations to make it more valuable. According to Professor Qi, there are three necessary conditions for theoretical innovation, namely a deeper understanding of existing research, a deeper investigation of the mechanisms behind the issues under study, and a rational application of methodology.

Then, Professor Qi Haixia pointed out that there are two major misconceptions in the application of current research methods. Researchers should choose an appropriate model based on the background and premises, determine the research question and then go forward and reason, and think about how to make hypotheses and develop arguments. At the same time, researchers also need to pay attention to research design, and do a good job of designing the research in terms of question formulation, variable control, hypothesis formulation and case selection or data modelling.

Finally, Professor Qi presented a complete and detailed research process, using her own research area and results as examples. For one, Professor Qi conducted a more comprehensive and in-depth analysis of existing theories and research findings before formulating a hypothesis on the issue of checks and balances. Secondly, Professor Qi further analyzed these findings and attempted to abstract the research to determine whether the findings were generalizable. Thirdly, she builds on the existing research and raises questions for further exploration.

At the end of the lecture, Professor Qi actively exchanged views with students and teachers on relevant issues. The lecture was very inspiring for our students and teachers to understand theoretical innovation and academic writing in international relations.