RESEARCH DESIGN, METHODS, and APPROACHES in POLITICAL SCIENCE
Political Science 399
RESEARCH DESIGN, METHODS, and APPROACHES in POLITICAL SCIENCE
Fall, 1995 MW 3:00-4:15 ACD 211
Steve Nichols
Office: Craven 5305-DOffice Hrs.: TWR 9:30-10:30, or by appt. Phone: 750-4198 E-mail:
Focus: The primary objective of this course is to teach majors how to conduct and report empirical political science research. After an overview of some of the core concepts and orientations in the field of political science, we will review various designs for the quantitative study of political phenomena. We will then explore the basic statistical techniques of empirical analysis. The course will entail "doing" as well as learning, in that students will design and execute actual research projects employing computer analysis of quantitative political data.
Required Texts: Three texts are required for this course:
Johnson, Janet Buttolph, and Richard A. Joslyn. 1995. Political Science Research Methods 3rd Edition. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly.
Norusis, Marija J. 1993. SPSS for Windows Base System User's Guide. Release 6.0. Chicago: SPSS Inc.
Prysby, Charles, and Carmines Scavo. 1993. Voting Behavior:
The 1992 Election. Washington, D.C.: The American Political Science Association.
In addition, I may assign supplementary reading -- journal and newspaper articles, etc. -- of relevance to the course. I will make this material available to you throughout the semester, either through the library reserve or as class handouts.
Course Prerequisites: There are no official prerequisites for this course, but I do assume a fundamental preparation in basic statistics and some familiarity with computers. Students lacking that preparation should consult with me before proceeding with the course.
Expectations: You are expected to (A) attend class regularly; (B) do the assigned reading before the class session in which each topic is discussed; (C) complete several course assignments and computer projects; (D) design, execute, and report the results of a piece of empirical political science research; and (E) take three mid-terms.
Grading Policy: Grades will be based on attendance, the assignments/computer exercises, the research project, and three mid-term exams. I will weight the various components of the grade as follows:
Course Component % of Grade
Attendance 5%
Assignments, computer work20%
First mid-term10%
Second mid-term15%
Third mid-term20%
Research project30%
The 5% of the grade dependent on attendance will be earned by students with two (2) or fewer absences. Students with three (3) or more absences will earn 0 points for attendance.
Regular class attendance is important for reasons beyond its contribution to your grade. Past experience suggests that it will be virtually impossible to do well in this course if you fail to come to class regularly. This is true for a variety of reasons, one of which is that some of what you will be expected to know is not covered in the texts. Additionally, because topics addressed in the latter part of the course assume mastery of material covered earlier, the effect of frequent absences is compounded as the term progresses. If you do not feel capable of consistent class attendance, this is probably not a course you should take.
Exams will likely be a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions, but I reserve the right to select a particular exam format should the need arise.
Failure to take an examination or turn in an assignment at the scheduled time will result in a score of 0 for the exercise. MAKE-UP TESTS WILL BE GIVEN UNDER EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES ONLY. Please note that I offer no opportunity for "extra-credit" in this course.
TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE
I. Science and the Study of Politics
Week 1 (August 28, 30)
Topic: Introduction to scientific inquiry and the scientific method generally, and to political research specifically.
Read: Johnson and Joslyn (hereafter "J & J"), Chapters 1 & 2
Weeks 2 and 3 (September 6, 11, 13)
Topic: Concepts, hypotheses, and variables; description, explanation, and prediction.
Read: J & J, Chapter 3
Assignment 1 due: Wednesday, September 13
Weeks 4 (September 18, 20)
Topic: Operationalization and measurement.
Read: J & J, Chapter 4
Norusis, pp. 169-70.
Assignment 2 due: Wednesday, September 20
1ST MID-TERM: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
II. Designing Political Research
Weeks 5 (September 25, 27)
Topic: Experimental design.
Read: J & J, Chapter 5 (up to p. 133)
Weeks 6 and 7 (October 2, 4, 9, 11)
Topic: Survey research design and sampling.
Read: J & J, Chapter 10 (pp. 266-93); Chapter 7 (all), and
Chapter 5 (pp. 133-43)
Norusis, pp. 249-56.
Assignment 3 due: Wednesday, October 11
2ND MID-TERM: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11
III. Analyzing Political Data
Week 8 (October 16, 18)
Topic: Review of univariate and bivariate data analysis.
Read: J & J, Chapters 11 and 12
Norusis, pp. 172-77; pp. 206-11; pp.213-18;
and pp. 291-94.
Assignment 4 due: Monday, October 23
Weeks 9, 10, 11 (October 23, 25, 30; November 1, 6, 8)
Topic: Multivariate data analysis.
Read: J & J, Chapter 13
Norusis, pp. 311-18; pp. 324-30.
Assignment 5 due: Wednesday, November 8
3RD MID-TERM: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13
IV. Conducting Empirical Political Research
Weeks 12 - 15 (November 13 - December 6)
Topic: Student research projects.
Read: J & J, Chapters 6 and 14
RESEARCH PROJECTS DUE: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13 (2:45 P.M.)