POLI 205: DOING RESEARCH IN POLITICS COURSE SYLLABUS SPRING 2019

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1 POLI 205: DOING RESEARCH IN POLITICS COURSE SYLLABUS SPRING 2019 PROFESSOR: Dr. Gibbs Knotts, 114 Wentworth (Room 203), (office), (cell), LOCATION AND MEETING TIME: Education Center (ECTR) 108, Tuesday and Thursday 9:25 a.m. -10:40 a.m. OFFICE HOURS: Monday and Wednesday 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m., Tuesday and Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., and by appointment COURSE OVERVIEW This course introduces students to qualitative and quantitative analysis of politics. While some statistical material will be covered, we will also explore research strategies, research designs, and the interpretation of research results. The primary goal of the course is to strengthen skills necessary for the research enterprise. The final project for the class will be an original quantitative research paper using a common dataset provided by the instructor. COURSE SPECIFC OBJECTIVES This course will give students a better understanding of quantitative and qualitative analysis of politics. By the end of the course, students will: Identify and explain current academic research projects in politics Enhance critical and social scientific thinking skills in order to distinguish between scholarly and non-scholarly approaches Develop research questions that are answerable with a variety of methods. Demonstrate some of the methods used by scholars of politics this includes how data are collected & analyzed and the strengths and weaknesses of different methods. Develop skills in designing a research project DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES This course is also designed to help students meet many of the political science department s learning objectives. Specifically the course will help students: Demonstrate understanding of readings, analyze texts critically, effectively write papers Demonstrate knowledge of the variety of methods used by scholars of politics and understand which methodological approaches are appropriate where and 1

2 choose their own methodological approaches in papers Demonstrate mastery of the independent research process COURSE MATERIALS There is one required book for this course. Paul Kellstedt and Guy Whitten The Fundamentals of Political Science Research (Third Edition), Cambridge University Press. Additional readings will be available in OAKS. COURSE POLICIES Students with Special Needs or Circumstances 1. Any student eligible for and needing accommodations because of a disability is requested to speak with me during the first two weeks of class or as soon as the student has been approved for services so that reasonable accommodations can be arranged. 2. The College will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Students should apply for services at the Center for Disability Services/SNAP located on the first floor of the Lightsey Center, Suite 104. Students approved for accommodations are responsible for notifying me as soon as possible and for contacting me one week before accommodation is needed. 3. This College abides by section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you have a documented disability that may have some impact on your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please see an administrator at the Center of Disability Services/SNAP, (843) or me so that such accommodation may be arranged. Writing Lab I encourage you to take advantage of the Writing Lab in the Center for Student Learning (Addlestone Library, first floor). Trained writing consultants can help with writing for all courses; they offer one-to-one consultations that address everything from brainstorming and developing ideas to crafting strong sentences and documenting sources. For more information, please call or visit Center for Student Learning I encourage you to utilize the Center for Student Learning s (CSL) academic support services for assistance in study strategies, speaking & writing skills, and course content. They offer tutoring, Supplemental Instruction, study skills appointments, and workshops. Students of all abilities have become more successful using these programs throughout 2

3 their academic career and the services are available to you at no additional cost. For more information regarding these services please visit the CSL website at or call (843) Academic Honesty Lying, cheating, attempted cheating, and plagiarism are violations of our Honor Code that, when identified, are investigated. Each incident will be examined to determine the degree of deception involved. Incidents where the instructor determines the student s actions are related more to a misunderstanding will handled by the instructor. A written intervention designed to help prevent the student from repeating the error will be given to the student. The intervention, submitted by form and signed both by the instructor and the student, will be forwarded to the Dean of Students and placed in the student s file. Cases of suspected academic dishonesty will be reported directly by the instructor and/or others having knowledge of the incident to the Dean of Students. A student found responsible by the Honor Board for academic dishonesty will receive a XF in the course, indicating failure of the course due to academic dishonesty. This grade will appear on the student s transcript for two years after which the student may petition for the X to be expunged. The F is permanent. The student may also be placed on disciplinary probation, suspended (temporary removal) or expelled (permanent removal) from the College by the Honor Board. Students should be aware that unauthorized collaboration--working together without permission-- is a form of cheating. Unless the instructor specifies that students can work together on an assignment, quiz and/or test, no collaboration during the completion of the assignment is permitted. Other forms of cheating include possessing or using an unauthorized study aid (which could include accessing information via a cell phone or computer), copying from others exams, fabricating data, and giving unauthorized assistance. Research conducted and/or papers written for other classes cannot be used in whole or in part for any assignment in this class without obtaining prior permission from the instructor. Students can find the complete Honor Code and all related processes in the Student Handbook at: Late Work Late assignments will be penalized 5 points per day. In addition, students must contact me within 24 hours of a missed exam and present a legitimate reason for missing the exam. If a student does not contact me, or if the reason is not legitimate, the student will automatically fail the exam and will not have an opportunity for a make-up test. 3

4 Course Evaluations We will devote a small portion of class time for students to complete the online evaluations for this course. GRADING PROCEDURES Grading Scale 1. Homework Assignments 10% 2. Exam I 20% 3. Exam II 20% 4. Research Paper 20% 5. Research Presentation 10% 6. Lecture/Event Responses 10% 7. Attendance and Participation 10% Grades will be assigned based on the following. A: , A-: 90-92, B+: 88-89, B: 83-87, B-: 80-82, C+: 78-79, C: 73-77, C-: 70-72, D+: 68-69, D: 63-67, D-: 60-62, F: 59 or below Homework Assignment There will be four homework assignments during the semester. Assignment 1 is due on January 24, Assignment 2 is due on February 5, Assignment 3 is due on March 12, and Assignment 4 is due on March 26. The assignments must be submitted via OAKS by 11:59 p.m. on the due date. Exams There will be two in-class exams during the semester. The exams will take place on February 14 and April 2, and we will spend time reviewing for the exams during the class before each exam. More details about the exams will be available later in the semester. Research Paper Students will write an 8-10 page research paper. The paper is due on April 25 and should be submitted via OAKS 11:59 p.m. The paper must include an original empirical analysis using the dataset provided by the instructor. The research topic is due on March 5. More details about the research paper will be available throughout the semester. Research Presentation Final presentations will take place on April 11, April 16, April 18, and April 23. Each presentation should be about 15 minutes (10 minutes to discuss your research and 5 minutes for Q&A). 4

5 Lecture/Event Responses Students are required to attend three lectures/events outside of class and to submit a half-page response to EACH event/lecture linking the topic to a class topic. The lectures/events (subject to instructor approval) will be announced in class and posted in OAKS. The William V. Moore Student Research Conference is an excellent place to complete some, or potentially even all, of this requirement. The Moore Conference will take place on April 12. Lecture/Event response papers should be uploaded in OAKS. Attendance and Participation Class attendance and participation represent 10% of your grade in this course. The easiest way to participate is to attend class. Therefore, roll will be taken in each class. Beyond attendance, students will be expected to have read the assigned readings prior to each class session and to come to class prepared to critically discuss the scheduled topics. 5

6 POLI 205: DOING RESEARCH IN POLITICS COURSE SCHEDULE SPRING 2019 Reading assignments must be completed prior to class. Be sure to consider the key questions before class meetings. These are not the only questions to consider but are included to jump start your thinking on the topic. Reading assignments and topics may be changed and reorganized. DATE TOPIC, READINGS, AND KEY QUESTIONS 1/8 Topic: Course Introduction Readings: None Key Questions: What are the expectations for this course? What book will be used? Where are the supplemental readings? 1/10 Topic: SPSS Basics Readings: None Key Questions: What is SPSS? How can it be used to analyze data? How is it similar to and different from Microsoft Excel? 1/15 Topic: Studying Politics Scientifically I Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter 1-2 Key Questions: What types of questions do political scientists try to answer using research? What is empirical research? What is theory and why is it important? 1/17 Topic: Studying Politics Scientifically II Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter 3 Key Questions: What is a literature review and why is it important? How do political scientists use hypotheses? Can the research methods of natural scientists work when studying people and institutions? 1/22 Topic: Research Design I Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapters 4 Key Questions: Why is research design important? What are some common types of research designs? What are the pros and cons of 6

7 quantitative and qualitative research? 1/24 Topic: Research Design II Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter 4 continued Key Questions: What is internal validity? How do you evaluate a study s internal validity? What is external validity? How do you evaluate a study s external validity? Assignment 1 Due (submit in OAKS by 11:59 p.m.) 1/29 Topic: Measurement I Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter 5 Key Questions: What are some common levels of measurement? Why is measurement important? 1/31 Topic: Measurement II Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter 5 continued Key Questions: What is reliability and why it is important? What is operational validity? How can you assess a measure s reliability and operational validity? 2/5 Topic: Sampling Readings: Pew Research Center, Sampling Key Questions: Why do social scientists make the decision to sample? What are some of the common types of sampling? Assignment 2 Due (submit in OAKS by 11:59 p.m.) 2/7 Topic: Survey Research Readings: Qualtrics, Introduction to Survey Research Key Questions: Why does survey research play such an important role in the social sciences? What are the advantages and disadvantages of survey research? 2/12 Topic: Exam I Review 7

8 Readings: None Key Questions: What is the format of the exam? What topics will be included on the exam? 2/14 Exam I 2/19 Topic: Making Empirical Observations Readings: None Key Questions: What is the difference between direct and indirect observation? 2/21 Topic: Content Analysis Readings: Cooper, Knotts and Haspel 2008 Key Questions: What is content analysis? What are the pros and cons to this type of research approach? 2/26 Topic: Descriptive Statistics I Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter 6 Key Questions: What are some common measures of central tendency? What are some common measures of dispersion? When would you use measures of central tendency and/or measures of dispersion? 2/28 Topic: Descriptive Statistics II Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter 6 continued Key Questions: What are some basic types of graphs and figures that can be used to describe data? 3/5 Topic: Statistical Significance I Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter 7 Key Questions: What does it mean to have statistically significant findings? What is the null hypothesis? Research Paper Topic Due (submit in OAKS by 11:59 p.m.) 3/7 Topic: Statistical Significance II Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter 8 8

9 Key Questions: What is a confidence interval? How do you read a table with statistical results? What is a crosstab and how is it interpreted? 3/12 Topic: Measures of Association Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter 8 continued Key Questions: What are some common measures of association and when would you use them in research? What is a direct relationship and what is an indirect relationship? Assignment 3 Due (submit in OAKS by 11:59 p.m.) 3/14 Topic: Regression I Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter 9 Key Questions: What is regression? Why is it such a popular statistical technique? 3/26 Topic: Regression II Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter Key Questions: What is multivariate regression? How do you interpret a regression coefficient? Assignment 4 Due (submit in OAKS by 11:59 p.m.) 3/28 Topic: Regression III and Exam II Review Readings: Kellstedt and Whitten, Chapter 12 Key Questions: What is multivariate regression? How do you interpret a regression coefficient? 4/2 Exam II 4/4 Topic: Research Paper Basics and Open Lab to Work on Research Papers Readings: None Key Questions: What are the required sections of your research paper? How long should the paper be? What types of tables and figures should I include? 4/9 Topic: Research Presentation Basics and Open Lab to Work on Research Papers 9

10 Readings: None Key Questions: What information should be included in my research presentation? How long should my presentation be? What are some strategies for handling questions? 4/11 Research Presentations 4/16 Research Presentations 4/18 Research Presentation 4/23 Research Presentations 4/25 Research Paper Due in OAKS Dropbox, 11:59 p.m. 10

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