GOVERNMENT 310.

001: Introduction to Political Research 8:55-10:10 Monday and Thursday Ward 205
Professor Susan K. Glover Office: Hurst 206P Phone: (202) 885-2674 Email: glover@american.edu Office Hours: 10:30-11:30 am Monday and Thursday, or by appointment
CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE: This course is an introduction to the variety of research methods used by political scientists. While we will be discussing both qualitative and quantitative methods, the main goal of the course is to provide students with the basic tools for conducting research. Upon completion of the class, students will have a working knowledge of research design and the range of quantitative and qualitative methods available to researchers. These and other tools we will explore will lay the groundwork for continuing studies in graduate school and for jobs in the political arena. GRADING Research Designs and Presentation: 65% Homeworks: 25% Attendance and participation: 10% Research Poster Presentation with other 310 classes at the end of the term: Extra Credit Points GRADING SCALE This class uses the following grading scale: 93% - 100% A 77-79 C+ 90-92 A73-76 C 87-89 B+ 70-72 C83-86 B 65-69 D 80-82 B0-64 F RESEARCH DESIGNS and PRESENTATIONS Research Designs During the course of the semester students will complete four research designs, each from a different area of political science research (explained below under The Four RD Assignments. Each research design will be approximately 7-11 pages in length. Each RD will first introduce the research question and hypothesis (1-3 pages) and give a brief (3-8 pages) literature review placing the question within the existing literature. From here, each research design will detail the data and methods to be used to answer the questionthis section may be as many pages as it takes, and please note that the page numbers for the other sections are approximate. Your introduction may include information about where you obtained your idea, or other background information, for example. However, as we will discuss in class, you should be able to state your hypothesis itself in only one or two sentences. Each student will choose one of his or her research designs and carry it out to completion as a final project. Each research design is worth 15% of your final grade, except the completed study, which is worth 20%.

The completed study will include a summary and an analysis of the test results. It should also provide conclusions about the validity of the study based on the results and ideas for future research, improving upon or expanding the study. This section will also be as many pages as you need to include all of the relevant information. Every RD should be ready to complete when you hand it in to meyou need to have everything in place to carry out the test of your hypothesis. Your RD is the blueprint for testing your theory, so it should contain exactly what you need to do that next step, the test. You will only be testing only one of your designs for your Final Project, but all four of them should be ready to be tested. If you are doing a poll or survey write up the questions you will ask and attach them in an appendix at the end of the RD. If you are using someone else's results from a poll or survey, append their questions, with proper citation. If you use another research study's data, append that if possible, or give me the exact location of the data. Your RD needs to tell me where you are going to get your information, how you will collect it, etc. Again, each design should be ready to test!! If I pick up your RD, I should be able to do the test myself, given the information you have providedlook at these as blueprints for testing your ideas. They explain what you are doing, why you are doing it, where it fits into the field of study, and HOW to do it. I want the designs to have headings for each section (introduction, literature review, methodology), and to be as clearly laid out as possible. Think blueprint!! The Four RD Assignments 1. Answering a question in American politics. In this assignment, pose a question about American politics. For example, why did the traditionally low turnout of younger voters change during the last presidential election? What effects do campaign ads have on voters? Do Supreme Court justices make decisions based on the party values of the president who appointed them? Do Congress members vote according to their constituency influences or their party influences? Introduce your research question and hypothesis in 1-3 pages. Complete a 3-8 page literature review about existing research on your topic. Then describe your data and methods, in as many pages as you need. For instance, will you utilize roll call votes, survey evidence, court decisions, interviews, etc. as your data source? How will you analyze this source content analysis, statistical analysis, qualitative analysis? What do you expect to find? 2. Answering a question in Comparative Politics. In this assignment, pose a question about Comparative Politics. For instance, what contributes to the survival of democratic government in newly democratizing states? Do proportional electoral systems allow for more minority parties to gain seats? Do peace agreements that bring all sides of a conflict into a transitional government lead to stable post-conflict situations? Do states which have gender-specific quotas for legislative seats see a corresponding increase in female political participation in general? Introduce your research question and hypothesis in 1-3 pages. Complete a 3-8 page literature review about existing research on your topic. Then describe your data and methods in as many pages as you need. For instance, will you use statistical analysis or qualitative analysis? Will you collect your data through field research or survey research, or thick description? What do you expect to find? 3. Answering a question in International Relations. In this assignment, pose a question about International Relations. For instance, do EU banking policies affect the world economy? What causes rivalries between nations to escalate? What creates successful negotiation among world leaders?

Introduce your research question and hypothesis in 1-3 pages. Complete a 2-5 page literature review, and then explain your data and methods in as many pages as you need. Will you collect data from historical records, interviews, or data sources like the World Bank? Will you use statistical analysis or game theory in your analysis? What do you expect to find? 4. Answering a question in Political Theory. In this assignment, pose a question about political theory. For instance, what do Madisons arguments in the Federalist tell us about representation? Does Tocquevilles analysis of American life inform our understanding of American ideals of equality? What do the Constitutional convention debates tell us about the various concepts of political sovereignty held by the Framers? Introduce your research question and hypothesis in 1-3 pages. Complete your 2-5 page literature review, and then explain your data and methods in as many pages as you need. Will you collect data from first-hand historical sources or secondary translations? Will you use contextual analysis, and if so from which texts? What do you expect to find? Presentations At the end of the term, each student will do a short presentation, 5-8 minutes, of his or her completed study. The three designs, the fourth design that becomes a completed study, and the presentation are together worth 60% of your grade. Before you start: PLAN AHEAD! Determine the KEY POINT(S) of your work. 1. Preparing your presentation Your presentation should cover the KEY POINTS of your work It should have examplesyour theory needs to be backed up with empirical evidence Have in mind the audiencesome things you will need to explain, others are obviously known to your peers Use Power Point, Posters or Overheads The pages/films should be easy to read If possible and appropriate, use graphical/pictorial material as well as text 2. Outlining your project Organize in sections: Title, Name Abstract (a short paragraph that summarizes your project- four or five sentences, ideally.) Theory Methods and Data Results Conclusions 3. Contents: Double-space Use an easy to read font and a large size Do not use too many colors EDIT!! Remove all non-essential information Use a minimal amount of textthink about presentations that you have seen that are useful, and ones that are cluttered, boring, or confusing due to the layout. 5. Have an answer for the following questions: What is your research problem (in a few sentences)? This is where an abstract will help. Was there anything already known about your problem in the literature? What is your contribution to the problem? Are there holes in the lit that you think you will help fill, or are

you adding your evidence to an existing body? What tools and background were needed to solve the problems you worked on? Is the investigation complete or are there still results that have not been established? What are the relevant open questions? Can you suggest an approach to solve them? Research Poster Presentation At the end of the term we will take part in an extra credit poster presentation with other 310 classes. This is an excellent opportunity to display your work and become comfortable discussing it with other peers and scholars in a low-key environment. Plus, there is always free food and drink, as well as extra credit from me. More details will be forthcoming as the end of the term nears. HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS Most days will have associated homework questions assigned to them, covering the reading. You are responsible for completing each one and bringing it to class the day it is due. On the syllabus, the homework number is posted with the title of each days subject, and is due on that date. There are 20 homeworks in all. The questions will be posted in Assignments on Blackboard. ATTENDANCE and PARTICIPATION Attendance and participation together are worth 10% of your final grade. Therefore, you must be in class consistently to do well in the course, and you need to speak up and participate in the discussion on a regular basis. The quality of your participation is more important than quantity, in that interesting insights, questions, ideas, and criticisms every few days are much better than inane comments every class. The bottom line is that if I dont know you by the end of class, the chances are good that you never said much. If you are pathologically shy or feel nervous about speaking up in class, please come talk to me about it and we will discuss it. I do not mind people using their laptops to take notes, but I really do not enjoy watching students dork around on the internet during class. I actually do notice it when it happens, and find it distracting and rude. Your education is in your hands, so if you cannot pay attention for 75 minutes without needing to email or text or chat with your friends please do not bother coming to my classor be prepared to have me publicly call you out on it. I take attendance every day, so if you know in advance you absolutely cannot make it to a class, you must talk to me about it beforehand. If you dont make it to class one day, it isnt a big deal, but if you regularly skip class, it will drastically affect your grade. If you have particular problems or extra stresses, please come talk to me early on in the semester and we can discuss how to deal with these issues. Final note: You may have perfect attendance and excellent written work but if you do not participate you will not earn an A. To reiterateif you hand in everything and get As on it, and you come to class every day BUT you do not participate: you will not get an A as your final grade. LATE POLICY Late work will be accepted until the end of the next class period after the due date, with a reduction of 25% in the assignment grade, and will not be accepted after that. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Standards of academic conduct are set forth in the University's Academic Integrity Code. By registering, you have acknowledged your awareness of the Academic Integrity Code, and you are obliged to become familiar with your rights and responsibilities as defined by the Code. Students who do not follow these guidelines in their work will be penalized. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade. Please see me if you have questions about this set of policies.

REQUIRED TEXTS There are no books to buyall readings are available through e-reserves on Blackboard, or accessed on the internet, using the link provided in the syllabus for that reading. Be sure to check the syllabus for a link if you are not finding the reading on Blackboard! Please let me know right away if any of the links do not work. In front of the title for each reading is the notation E-reserves or Link. SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS: August 29 General introduction to the course I. Research basics September 1 Fundamentals of the design of research (HW 1) E-reserves: Shively, W. Philip. Causal Thinking and the Design of Research, in The Craft of Political Research, chapter 6. NO CLASS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH: LABOR DAY September 8 Care and feeding of the Literature Review (HW 2) Link: http://www.library.american.edu/Help/tutorials/lit_review/index.html (please complete this tutorial for your homework questions) September 12 Using the library for sources and reference informationLibrarian Clement Ho II. American politics and quantitative methods September 15 Collection and analysis of dataterms and definitions September 19 Collection and analysis of datathe importance of interpretation (HW 3) E-reserves: Clinton, Jackman and Rivers, The Most Liberal Senator? Analyzing and Interpreting Congressional Roll Calls, PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Oct., 2004), pp. 805-811 September 22 Perceptions vs. facts? Measuring public opinion (HW 4) E-reserves: Althaus and Largio, When Osama became Saddam: Origins and Consequences of the Change in Americas Public Enemy #1, PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Oct., 2004), pp.795-799 Link: Zaller, Monica Lewinskys Contribution to Political Science, PS: Political Science and Politics, 31, 2 (Jun, 1998), pp 182-189, www.uvm.edu/~dguber/POLS234/articles/zaller.pdf September 26 Measuring political behavior with polls and surveys (HW 5) E-reserves: D. Sunshine Hillygus and Todd G. Shields, Moral Issues and Voter Decision Making in the 2004 Presidential Election, PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr., 2005), pp. 201-209 September 29 Experiments I (HW 6) E-reserves: Iyengar and Kinder. 1989. News that Matters. Chicago: U of Chicago Press, Chapter 2 October 3 Experiments II (HW 7) E-reserves: Iyengar and Kinder. 1989. News that Matters. Chicago: U of Chicago Press, Chapter 4 III. Comparative politics October 6 Quantitative versus qualitative methodsthe arguments (HW 8) E-reserves: Laitin, Review: Disciplining Political Science, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 89, No. 2 (Jun., 1995), pp. 454-456 E-reserves: Caporaso, Review: Research Design, Falsification, and the Qualitative-Quantitative Divide, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 89, No. 2 (Jun., 1995), 457-460

E-reserves: Collier, Review: Translating Quantitative Methods for Qualitative Researchers: The Case of Selection Bias The American Political Science Review, Vol. 89, No. 2 (Jun., 1995), 461-466 E-reserves: Rogowski, Review: The Role of Theory and Anomaly in Social-Scientific Inference, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 89, No. 2 (Jun., 1995), 467-470 E-reserves: Tarrow, Review: Bridging the Quantitative-Qualitative Divide in Political Science, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 89, No. 2 (Jun., 1995), 471-474 October 10 Quantitative versus qualitative methodsthe defenses (HW 9) E-reserves: King, Keohane and Verba, Review: The Importance of Research Design in Political Science, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 89, No. 2 (Jun., 1995), 475-481 E-reserves: Bates, Area Studies and the Discipline: A Useful Controversy? PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Jun., 1997), pp. 166-169 October 13 Quantitative methodssurveys and voter analysis (HW 10) E-reserves: Clarke and Kornberg, Choosing Canada? The 1995 Quebec Sovereignty Referendum, PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Dec., 1996), pp. 676-682 E-reserves: Zhong, Chen and Scheb, "Political Views from Below: A Survey of Beijing Residents," PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Sep., 1997), pp. 474-482 AMERICAN POLITICS RESEARCH DESIGN DUE IN CLASS, OCTOBER 13th! October 17 Qualitative methodsinterpretation and analysis (HW 11) E-reserves: Geertz, Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture, The Interpretations of Cultures (New York: Basic Books Publishers, 1973), pp. 3-30 October 20 Qualitative methodscase studies and participant observation (HW 12) E-reserves: Gillan and Pickerill, Transnational anti-war activism: Solidarity, diversity and the Internet in Australia, Britain and the United States after 9/11, Australian Journal of Political Science, Volume 43, Issue 1 March 2008 , pages 59 - 78 October 24 Qualitative methodsinterviews (HW 13) E-reserves: Rivera, Kozyreva, Sarovskii, Interviewing Political Elites: Lessons from Russia, PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 35, No. 4 (Dec., 2002), pp. 683-688 IV. International Relations October 27 Introduction and case studies (HW 14) E-reserves: Kacowicz, Case Study Methods in International Security Studies, in Models, Numbers, and Cases : Methods for Studying International Relations, Detlef F. Sprinz and Yael Wolinsky-Nahmias, eds (Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 2004); pp. 107-128 October 31 Quantitative analysis (HW 15) E-reserves: Sprinz, Environment Meets Statistics: Quantitative Analysis of International Environmental Policy, in Models, Numbers, and Cases : Methods for Studying International Relations, Detlef F. Sprinz and Yael Wolinsky-Nahmias, eds (Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 2004); pp. 177-192 November 3 Formal models: rational choicepros and cons (HW 16) E-reserves: Green and Shapiro, Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994); pp. 1-30 E-reserves: Kelley, The Promise and Limitations of Rational Choice Theory, in The Rational Choice Controversy (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996); pp. 95-106 COMPARATIVE POLITICS RESEARCH DESIGN DUE IN CLASS, NOVEMBER 3RD!

November 7 Formal models: game theorypros and cons (HW 17) Link: What is Game Theory? http://faculty.lebow.drexel.edu/McCainR//top/eco/game/game.html Link: The Prisoners Dilemma, http://faculty.lebow.drexel.edu/McCainR//top/eco/game/game.html V. Political Theory November 10 Fact versus reality (HW 18) E-reserves: Miller, Political Philosophy for Earthlings, in Leopold and Stears, eds., Political Theory: Methods and Approaches (Oxford University Press, 2008); pp. 29-48 E-reserves: Swift and White, Political Theory, Social Science and Real Politics, in Leopold and Stears, eds., Political Theory: Methods and Approaches (Oxford University Press, 2008); pp. 49-69 November 14 Interpretation (HW 19) E-reserves: Ball, Reappraising Political Theory, Reappraising Political Theory: Revisionist Studies in the History of Political Thought (Oxford, 1995); pp. 1-38 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS RESEARCH DESIGN DUE IN CLASS, NOVEMBER 14TH! November 17: Useful theory (HW 20) E-reserves: Hartsocks, How Feminist Scholarship could Change Political Science, in Monroe, ed, Contemporary Empirical Political Theory (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1997); pp. 231-248 E-reserves: Ish-Shalom, Theory Gets Real, and the Case for a Normative Ethic: Rostow, Modernization Theory, and the Alliance for Progress, International Studies Quarterly; Jun2006, Vol. 50 Issue 2, p287311 November 21, November 28, December 1, December 5, December 8 Student presentations NO CLASS NOVEMBER 24: THANKGIVING POLITICAL THEORY RESEARCH DESIGN DUE IN CLASS, DECEMBER 1st! FINAL PROJECT DUE DECEMBER 12TH, EMAILED TO ME BY 5 PM