The American University in Cairo

Political Science 504

Research Methods in Political Sceince

Fall 2013

Monday 5:00-7:25

Dr. Gamal A. Gawad Soltan

Office Hours: Monday & Thursday 12:00-13:30

Office: HUSS 2036

Email:

Course Description

This course is designed to introduce students to research methods used in political science. The goal of this course is to provide students with research methods that should help them produce quality research. In this class, students will learn some of the quantitative techniques widely used in political research. However, this class is not just about quantitative methods. Qualitative research methods are also covered in this class.

Research methods should not be separated at any moment from the content of our subject matter, i.e., politics. Moreover, methods are broadly linked to the theoretical constructs developed by political scientists to explain political phenomena. Some of these theoretical approaches will be discussed in class, and students are encouraged to establish the link between their research and these theories.

Course Requirements and Student Evaluation

I. Attendance policy: attendance is integral part of the course. Students are allowed only 1 time of absence without penalty. Each additional absence will cost 1 point of the final grade. Students who exceed 3 times of penalized absence might be advised to drop the course. Students who observe the attendance rules will be rewarded a maximum of 5% of the total grade.

II.Class participation and presentations: Students are expected and encouraged to participate in class discussions. Five percent (5%) of the total grade is assigned for class participation and presentations.

III.Joint Class project: All students will take part in a joint project that will occupy us for the entire duration of the semester. A number of assignments will be conducted by students toward the completion of the class project, as the following:

1.  Data collection, phase 1 5 points

2.  Data collection, phase 2 5 points

3.  Report and analysis, phase 2 20 points

TOTAL POINTS 30 points

IV.Individual Student's Project

Each student has to develop his own project/paper. Students are expected to enhance their own research papers through the application of relevant research methods among those covered in class. Papers will be evaluated according the following criteria:

1.  Overall research design

2.  Relation to existing literature

3.  Use of research methods

4.  Added value to knowledge

Points allocated to the individual student research paper distributed among the different related activities as the following:

1.  The enhanced research proposal 5 points

2.  Literature review 10 points

3.  Final research paper 25 points

TOTAL POINTS 40

V.Exam: A short exam designed to test the students quantitative skills will be conducted toward the end of the course. 20 points are allocated to this exam.

Points in this class are distributed as the following

Attendance 5%

Class participation and presentations 5%

Class joint project 30%

Individaul student project 40%

Exam 20%

Reading and Sources

Three kinds of readings and sources will be used in this class

1.  A textbook: Janet Buttolph Johnson and H.T. Reynolds, Political Science Research Methods, 2008.

This book provides through discussion of a number of empirical research methods. It is available in both the bookstore and the reserve section in the library.

2.  Selected articles in which particular methods and topics are addressed and applied. These articles should help illustrate the utility of certain methods and how they can be applied. Selected articles will be posted on blackboard.

3.  A reference book: Joseph F. Healy, Statistics: A Tool for Social Research, 2012.

This book will be consulted when addressing issues of quantification and statistics. Copies of this book can be found in the bookstore and in the library reserve section.

Topics and Readings

1.  September 2

Introduction

2.  September 9

What is Political Science and what is Scientific about it?
Readings:
  1. Johnson and Reynolds, Ch. 2
2.  Colin Elman, Duck-Rabbits in Social Analysis : A Tale of Two Cultures, 2012
  1. Gary Goertz and James Mahoney, for Methodological Pluralism, 2012

Activity: A preliminary discussion for the class project

3. September 16

Building Blocks of Social Scientific Research

Readings:
  1. Johnson and Reynolds, Ch. 4
  2. Johnson and Reynolds, Ch. 5
  3. Sharon Crasnow, The Role of Case Study Research in Political Science, 2012
Activity: Students jointly draft a questionnaire for the class project

Assignment: prepare a one-page proposal of your individual research project to be submitted no later than September 23

4. September 23

Survey Research and Interviewing

Deadline for submitting draft research proposal

Readings:

1.  Johnson and Reynolds, Ch. 10.

2.  Robert E. Lane, The Fear of Equality, 1959

3.  Mark Tessler, Islam and Democracy in the Middle East: The Impact of Religious Orientations on Attitudes toward Democracy in Four Arab Countries, 2002.

Activity: Elaboration of the class project questionnaire of the questionnaire for the class project

Activity: presentations of individual research proposals

Assignment: conduct 3 interviews towards the testing of questionnaire developed in class and prepare brief report on your observations on the data collection process, to be submitted on Sep30.

5. September 30

Document Analysis

Readings:
  1. Johnson and Reynolds, Ch. 9.
2.  K. J. Holsti, National Role Conceptions in the Study of Foreign Policy, 1970

3.  Andrew W. Barrett and Lowell W. Barrington, Bias in Newspaper Photograph Selection, 2005

Activity: discussion of the data collection report towards the finalization of the questionnaire.

6. October 7

Research Design

Readings:
  1. Johnson and Reynolds, Ch. 6.
  2. Ryan E. Carlin • Gregory J. Love, The politics of interpersonal trust, 2011.
  3. James Druckman, The growth and development of experimental research in political science, 2006

Activity: finalization and enhancement of the class project's questionnaire

7. October 14

Aid El-Adha

8. October 21

Sampling

Readings:

1.  Johnson and Reynolds, Ch. 7

2.  John Gerring, What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for? 1998

3.  Mark Tessler, Amaney Jamal, Michael Robbins, New Findings on Arabs and Democracy, 2012

Assignment: Conduct 15 interviews according to the agreed upon criteria. The collected data should be coded and entered in the provided data file and submitted by e-mail no later than November 1

9. October 28

Quantitative Methods

Deadline for the submission of the enhanced research proposal

Readings:
  1. Johnson and Reynolds, Ch. 11.
2.  Ted Hopf , Polarity, The Offense Defense Balance, and War , 1991.

3.  Ronald F. Inglehart and Margaret Woodward, Language Conflicts and Political Community, 1967.

4.  Fares Braizat, What Arabs Think, 2010

10. November 4

Quantitative Methods

Readings:

1.  Johnson and Reynolds, Ch. 12

2.  AMANEY A. JAMAL, Reassessing Support for Islam and Democracy in the Arab World? Evidence from Egypt and Jordan 2006.

3.  Steven Fish, Islam and Authoritarianism, 2002

Activity: Analysis for the class' project data

Assignment: Prepare a report describing the class project data phase and the findings you see in it. The report should be submitted no later than November 19th

11. November 11

Analyzing Relations between Variables

Deadline for the submission of literature review

Readings:

  1. Johnson and Reynolds, Ch. 13: pp. 428-465.

2.  Stephen Ansolabehere, Shanto Iyengar, Adam Simon and Nicholas Valentino, Does Attack Advertising Demobilize the Electorate, 1994.

12. November 18

Analyzing Relations between Variables

Deadline for the submission of class' project analytical report phase

Readings:

1.  Johnson and Reynolds, Ch. 13: pp. 465-526

2.  Michael Ross, Oil, Islam and Women, 2008

Activity: Students presentation and further analysis of class' project data

Assignment: Explore the provided data file and prepare an analytical report on the findings you can see in the data to be submitted on November 26th

13. November 25

Game Theory

Readings:

  1. Shaun P. Hargreaves Heap and Yanis Varoufakis, Game Theory: A critical message, 2004, pp. 1-38 (RESERVE)

2.  Shaun P. Hargreaves Heap and Yanis Varoufakis, Game Theory: A critical message, 2004, pp. 172-210 (RESERVE)

  1. James M. Buchanan and Yong J. Yoon, All Voting Is Strategic, 2006

Activity: Discussion of the students' findings in the provided data file

14. December 2

Research Report

Readings:

1.  Johnson and Reynolds, Ch. 14.

Activity: Presentation of students' individual research project

15. December 9

Deadline for the submission of student individual final paper

Final Comments: On The Ontology And Epistemology Of Political Research

Readings:

1.  Abhishek Chatterjee, Ontology, Epistemology, and Multimethod Research in Political Science, 2011

Activity: Presentation of students' individual research project continue

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