Political Science 3000 Fall, 2004

Political Science Research Methods TR 2:00-3:15

Dr. Cynthia Bowling

Office: 8030A

Office Hours: TR 3:15-4 or any other time by appt.

Phone: 844-6152

Course Overview and Objectives: In Poli 3000, you will be trained to think critically, explore analytically, and critique carefully social science research. Our emphasis will be on American political research, but you will also be exposed to techniques that can be used to explore issues and problems in comparative politics, international relations, public law and public administration. When you finish this course, you will be able to critique and make your own judgments about popular political research (ie, the polls and statistics you see published in newspapers and magazines) and social scientific research (ie, some journal articles or scholarly arguments). In addition, you will learn the tools to undertake your own theoretical and empirical research – indeed, in small groups, you and some of your peers will undertake a project to explore and analyze some social or political issue/problem here on campus. This will likely be a fairly difficult course for some of you because the basis of this course in not simply facts and figures, but learning a new way of thinking – systematic and scientific.

TEXT: Manheim and Rich, Empirical Political Analysis. 5^th Edition

Calculator (cheap will do).

Course Requirements and Grading Policies: Successful performance in this course hinges on several factors. All students enrolled in the course are expected to attend class regularly and ON TIME –2:00 sharp. (FYI: Punctuality (or lack thereof) is one of my pet peeves). You should also complete the readings and any assignments by the beginning of the class. The syllabus lists “Student Responsibilities”, and these should be completed for the date noted. We will use these as the basis for lecture, discussion, and practical exercises in class. Attendance is mandatory – I will have learned your names by the third class period, and I will notice who is here, who is not, and who participates. This will be reflected in your grade as well – Attendance, Participation, and Homework exercises are worth 20% of your grade. More importantly, however, attendance in class will help you learn and understand some fairly difficult concepts and allow you to ask all the questions you need to understand political science research.

There will be two exams as well. A mid-term, worth 20%, and a Final Exam worth 30% of your grade. The final 30% of your grade will hinge on your group project. Group projects will be discussed in detail in the first week of the course.

Grade Summary:

Mid-Term Exam – 20%

Final Exam – 30%

Class Participation and Class Assignments/Homework – 20%

Group Project –20%

Project Presentation – 3%

Project Participation – 7%

Make-ups for exams will be given to students only when the student presents a university-approved reason and the proper documentation. There is no exception to this policy. Further, because we will be discussing the homework in class on the day it is due, NO HOMEWORK will be accepted late. It may be emailed to me or left in my box and will be accepted at anytime before the class period in which we discuss it.

BONUS! Throughout the semester, there will be the opportunity for up to five points (on your final grade) of Bonus credit. Bonus Quizzes will be given in the first 15 minutes of class on at least 5 different occasions. They will be announced the class period before the quiz. If you are late or absent on one of the Bonus days, you are out of luck. No Make-Up Quizzes will be given for ANY REASON. There will be one other opportunity for extra credit involving a current research project.

Office Hours and Help: My office hours are listed above, and I am often in my office on other days. I encourage and implore you to use my office hours or make appointments for any reason. It is my job to help you learn. Let me do my job! See me if you are having any trouble with assignments, readings, lectures, or other issues. Don’t wait to the last minute. Also, please allow me to reserve the hour before my classes for preparation. Otherwise, my door is open.

Other Issues: There are a few other issues to address.

Students with Disabilities should see me as soon as possible so that we can take the proper steps to ensure your success in this course.

Cheating and Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this course. The occurrence of such activity will be dealt with according to the harshest University-Approved consequences – Most likely an F in the course and possible suspension or expulsion from AU. It just isn’t worth it.

RESPECT for yourself and others is the standard in this classroom. Differences in thought, opinion, or culture are to be respected at all times. Harassment or disrespect of any kind will not be tolerated.

If I have forgotten anything else on this syllabus, we will address it as it arises.

Course Schedule and Assignments

Date	To be Discussed	Student Responsibility
8-19	Introduction to Political Research What is the Research Process – An Overview
8-24	No class	Reading: Chapter 1
8-26	Building Theory, Concepts and Hypotheses – Causal Relationships and Model Building	Reading: Chapter 2 Assignment Due: Example of Political Research and Summary
8-31	Building Models and Causation Continued.	Assignment Due: Chapter 2, Exercises 3 and 4
9-2	Searching the Library – It is not as easy as it sounds! Meet with Group members.	Reading: Chapter 3
9-7	Refining your Model: Concepts, Hypotheses, and Operationalization	Reading: Chapter 4.
9-9	I know What I want to Know, but How do I do it???	Reading: Chapter 5
9-14	Creating a Research Design Continued	Assignment Due: Research Design Problem
9-16	Getting Ready to Gather Data – Sampling Techniques	Reading: Chapter 6
9-21	Gathering Data – Mail, Telephone, and In-Person Surveys – Instrument Creation	Reading: Chapters 7 and 8
9-23	Surveys Continued – Scaling	Assignment Due: Have Topic for Creating Survey Questions
9-28	Creating A Survey – Hands-On Workshop	Assignment Due: Come with Sample Drawn, and a Draft of Cover Page and Survey Questions. Final Draft is Due by EMAIL by 2:00p.m. on 9-29
9-30	Mid-Term Exam	Be On Time, with Blue Book, to Take Exam.

10-5	Project Day	Meet with your Group in Class room, Work on Project. Revise surveys. Dr. Bowling out of town.
10-7	More Data Gathering: Content Analysis and Direct Observation	Reading: Chapters 9, 19
10-12	Interviews and Focus Groups	Reading: pg 313-319, Chapters 18, 20
10-14	I got Stuff! Now What? Organizing Your Data and Codebooks.	Reading: Chapters 10 and 12
10-19	Describing Data	Chapter 13
10-21	Describing Data and Variables: Univariate Statistics	Chapter 14
10-26	Examining Relationships between Two Variables – Measures of Association	Chapter 15
10-28	Examining Relationships between Two Variables – Tests of Statistical Significance
11-2	Examining Relationships between more than 2 variables – Multivariate Analysis	Chapter 16
11-4	Examining Relationships between Two or more Variables (cont.)
11-9,11	Dr. B. did it, I can too! Hands-On workshop on SPSS.	Meet in Computer Lab. Data will be provided for you to work with.
11-16	Project Day	Will reserve Computer lab for students. I will be available for consultation.
11-18	Putting it all together! Preparing the Final Report	Reading: Chapter 21 and 22. Dr. B will be available to work with you and Answer Questions on Projects.
11-30	Presentations Begin	Groups 1, 2, 3 Present Project and are Critiqued
12-2	Presentations Continued.	Groups 4, 5, 6 Present Project and are Critiqued
12-7	Review Session/ Go over Study Guide
12-10		Final Projects Due, 12 noon. No Exceptions
12-15 5:00 pm	Final Exam