• introduce students to behavioral political science, i.e. approaches to political science which focus on the political behavior of individuals and groups;
• convey basic empirical research skills;
• provide a venue to explore the scope of political science.
This course is an introduction to political science and its research methods, but not a statistics class. The goal is to provide students with the tools necessary to construct their own research design and understand analyses carried out by others. Think of this class as an “appetizer sampler” on a restaurant menu: it contains a little bit of most of political science’s specialties, but none of the items on this syllabus are explored in enough detail for you to conduct your own research. Yet you will learn enough to design your own research project. Once you actually embark on filling the research design with life on your own, you will need to take the cues from this class and study the methods of your choice in more detail.
Readings
There are four required texts for this class. Additional readings will be posted on Moodle.
• Baglione, Lisa A. 2006. Writing a Research Paper in Political Science: A Practical Guide to Inquiry, Structure, and Methods. Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education.
• Leftwich, Adrian, ed. 2004. What is Politics? The Activity and its Study. Oxford: Polity.
• Shepsle, Kenneth A., and Mark S. Bonchek. 1997. Analyzing Politics: Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions. New York: W.W. Norton.
• Weber, Max (2004). The Vocation Lectures: Science As a Vocation, Politics As a Vocation. Hackett. ISBN: 0872206653.
Assessment
• Final exam
• Research design
• Class participation
• Occasional problem sets
Research Design
The major assignment in this course is a research design addressing a research question of your choice. This is more or less what a political science junior qualifying exam is. So this course will provide you with an opportunity to write a scaled-down qual under guidance. We will break this process into a few very manageable steps. While this is obviously most helpful for political science and ICPS majors, it is also an important skill in any other empirical (social) science.
The aim of a research design is to sketch out a research project in all its details before actually doing the research. Though it may appear to be unnecessary, this step helps tremendously in clarifying the research question, its theoretical underpinning, and the best methodological approach to addressing this question. You will develop your research design in five steps:
1. Statement, explanation, and justification of the research question (due 3/1).
Carefully select a question you want to write your research design on. Explain why it is important and why you want to study it. What do you expect to find out? What information would you need to find out the answer? Start researching it. Draft a proposal, consisting of the question, its significance, and brief overview of existing research on the topic. No more than two pages, at least three important scholarly political science sources. Submit through Moodle.
2. Annotated bibliography (due 3/9).
Start using the library resources to create an annotated bibliography to guide your literature review. Submit the bibliography by March 9. Your bibliography needs to contain at least 15 relevant items. For each entry include a short abstract (What is this piece about? Why is it relevant to your research?) and also indicate how you found it (database and search terms; bibliography of what other piece; or recommendation by whom).
3. Review of the relevant literature (not submitted individually) .
Scientific discoveries build on previous discoveries. Reviewing the existing literature in the field provides you with a better idea of what others have found out about your topic; how you may want to adapt your question in light of pre-existing scholarship; and which theoretical approaches you may choose. This can be a lengthy research process, start early! Expect to summarize your findings in up to 5 pages.
4. Discussion of the theoretical approach (due 3/30 together with literature review).
According to Popper, “theories are nets cast to catch what we call 'the world': to rationalize, to explain, and to master it.” They provide us with the lenses to focus on the relevant aspects of our data and help us not to get lost in the thicket of research. You need to develop the theoretical framework in which you will address your research question. You may find yourself studying even more literature in your search for the best theoretical approach. This part may also result in up to 5 pages of text.
5. Development of the methodology section (not submitted individually).
The methods section is the heart of your research design. Here you explain your methodological approach, operationalize your variables, and state your hypotheses. Depending on the methodology chosen, this section can vary considerably in length.
There is no set length requirement, but a good research design is concise and detailed at the same time. None of these sections can be dealt with in less than a page, but your complete design should also not exceed 15 pages (double-spaced, Times New Roman (12pt) font, 1” margins).
Please follow the APSA style guide for political science (see for example: http://dept.lamar.edu/polisci/DRURY/drury.html and http://www.csuchico.edu/~kcfount/guides/APSA.pdf).
Your grade will be determined primarily by the content of your paper assignments; nevertheless you are expected to submit well-written work that has been thoroughly proof-read for grammar, punctuation, and style. Sloppy or poorly written work may result in a penalty.
Miscellaneous
This syllabus is subject to change. The most recent version can be found on Moodle. When in doubt, always refer to the one on Moodle.
Please reserve Friday, February 29 for an extended “Research Boot Camp” – please do not plan anything for that day until we have finalized library instruction and research meetings. As compensation, there will be no classes the previous week while I am attending a research conference.
Semester outline
What is politics? In this session we will talk about key characteristics and concepts of politics that inform our study of the subject.
Reading: Adrian Leftwich (2004): Thinking Politically: On the politics of Politics. In: Adrian Leftwich (ed.). What is Politics? The Activity and Its Study. Cambridge: Polity (on Blackboard).
Guiding question: What is political? What is not? What is the proper definition of politics? What is politics all about?
Science as a Vocation. This is the first of two sessions in which we will take our cues from Max Weber whom many consider to be one of the founders of European political science. His vocation lectures were given at Munich University in Germany in t1917 and 1919 to educate students about the differences of conducting politics as a professional and analyzing politics as an academic. The first one deals with academic life. It is a true classic – quite dated, but nevertheless still relevant and insightful.
Reading: Weber, Science as a Vocation
Guiding question: Do you really want to go to grad school? What are the problems with academia?
Politics as a Vocation. This is Weber’s second vocation lecture. The second one addressed what it means to be a professional politicians or bureaucrat. Pay also close attention to Weber’s discussion of legitimacy. This classic is usually cited with reference to Weber’s typology of legitimate rule.
Reading: Weber, Politics as a profession.
Guiding question: What are the characteristics of a good politician? Which qualities should we expect of a professional bureaucrat?
Analyzing Politics: What is Scientific about Political Science? Now that we have established what it means to do politics and to study it, an important question is still open: what makes the study of politics scientific?
Reading: Shepsle and Boncheck, ch 1:It Isn’t Rocket Science, but …, p. 5-14.
Alan Issaak (1975): Scope and Methods of Political Science, chs. 1-2, p. 3-30 (on Moodle).
Guiding question: How can the study of society and government be scientific?
Research Design: The study of Politics, Polity, Policy.
Reading: Ellen Grigsby (2005): Analyzing Politics - An Introduction to Political Science. Belmont: Wadsworth. Chapter 2: Political Science and Scientific Methods in Studying Political Science (on Moodle).
Guiding question (again): How can the study of society and government be scientific?
Perspectives: Political Philosophy
Reading: Swift, Political Philosophy and Politics, in Leftwich, p. 153-146.
Analyzing Politics: Rationality. Rational choice is an approach imported from economics that allows us to model political processes based on the rational behavior of individuals.
Reading: Shepsle and Boncheck, ch. 2: Rationality: The Model of Choice, p. 15-35
Research Design: Finding a Good Research Question
Reading: Baglione, ch. 1-2, p. 1-30.
Laurence F. Jones and Edward C. Olson (1996): Political Science Research: A Handbook of Scope and Methods. Chapter 2: The Problem: Essence of the Research Project, p.22-29 (on Moodle).
Assignment: Pick a causal research question for your research design. Start researching it. Draft a proposal, consisting of the question, its significance, and brief overview of existing research on the topic. No more than two pages, at least three important scholarly political science sources. Due by March 1. Submit through Moodle.
Perspectives: Collective Action
Reading: Weale, Politics as Collective Choice, in Leftwich, p. 86-99.
Library research session
Research Boot-Camp: library research, literature review. A review of the existing literature is a key component of a research paper. Researching the literature shows you what has already been written on the subject and provides you with an idea of the theoretical and methodological approaches taken by other researchers.
Dena Hutto will show us how to make best use of the library’s resources, including research in databases.
Reading: Baglione, ch. 3: Adressing the Scholarly Debate: The Literature Review, p.31-58
John W. Cresswell (2003): Research Design - Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, Second Edition. Chapter 2: Review of the Literature, p. 27-48 (on Moodle).
Laurence F. Jones and Edward C. Olson (1996): Political Science Research: A Handbook of Scope and Methods. Chapter 2: The Problem: Essence of the Research Project, p.22-29 (on Moodle).
Janet Buttolph Johnson and H. T. Reynolds (2004): Political Science Research Methods, 5th Edition, CQ Press. Chapter 5. Conducting a Literature Review (on Moodle).
Assignment: Start using the library resources to create an annotated bibliography to guide your literature review. Submit the bibliography by March 9. Your bibliography needs to contain at least 15 relevant items. For each entry include a short abstract (what is this piece about, why is it relevant to your research) and also indicate how you found it (database and search terms; bibliography of what other piece; or recommendation by whom).
Analyzing Politics: Social Choice I
Reading: Shepsle and Boncheck, ch. 3-4: Group Choice, p. 39-81.
Analyzing Politics: Social Choice II
Reading: Shepsle and Boncheck, ch. 3-4: Group Choice, p. 39-81.
Research Design: Hypothesis, Falsification, and Theory. When we try to learn from real world observations it is very important to do so in a way that will yield reliable results. Any theory can only be as good as the methodology that leads to its establishment.
Reading: Stephen VanEvera (1997): A Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science, ch. 1: Hypotheses, Laws, and Theories: A User’s Guide, p. 7-48 (on Moodle).
Baglione, ch. 4: Effectively Distilling the Argument: The Thesis or the Model and Hypothesis, p. 59-75.
Optional background reading on the philosophical basis: Karl R. Popper (1968): The Logic of Scientific Discovery. New York: Harper & Row. Chapter 1: A Survey of some Fundamental Problems (on Moodle).
Guiding questions: How are theories and observations related? What comes first – data or theory?
Analyzing Politics: Spatial Modeling
Reading: Shepsle and Boncheck, ch. 5: Spatial Modeling, p. 82-114 only.
Skim: Lalman, Oppenheimer, and Swistak (1993): Formal Rational Choice Theory: A Cumulative Science of Politics. In: Ada W. Finifter (ed.). State of the Discipline II. Washington, DC (on Moodle).
Research Design: Planning your Research
Reading: Baglione, chs. 5-6, p. 76-117
Assignment: Start your research design. Link your research question to theory and existing literature. Generate hypotheses to guide your research. Submit your literature review and theory by March 30.
Perspectives: Green Politics
Reading: Carter, Politics as if Nature Mattered, in Leftwich, p. 182-195
Analyzing Politics: Game Theory
Reading: Shepsle and Boncheck, ch. 8: Cooperation,
Methods: Analysis overview
Reading: Baglione, ch. 7: Evaluating the Argument: The Analysis and Assessment Section, p. 118-148.
Perspectives: Power
Reading: Nicholson, Politics and the Exercise of Force in Leftwich, p. 41-52.
Analyzing Politics: Collective Action
Reading: Shepsle and Boncheck, ch. 9: Collective Action, p. 220-259
Optional classic background reading: Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action, ch. 1, p. 6-52 (on reserve).
Methods: Qualitative Data Analysis
Reading: David McNabb (2004): Research Methods for Political Science: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods, ch. 29: Analysis Methods for Qualitative Data, p. 433-450 (on Moodle).
Perspectives: Behavior
Reading: Leftwich, The Political Approach to Human Behavior: People, Resources and Power, in Leftwich, p. 100-118.
Analyzing Politics: Tragedy of the Commons
Reading: Shepsle and Boncheck, ch. 10: Public Goods, Externalities, and the Commons, p. 260-296.
Hardin, Garrett. 1968. The Tragedy of the Commons. Science 162 (3859):1243-8. (on Moodle)
Methods: Descriptive Statistics
Reading: Perry R. Hinton (1995): Statistics Explained - A Guide for Social Science Students. London: Routledge. Chapter 2: Descriptive Statistics (on Moodle).
Guiding question: What is the purpose of descriptive statistics? What do the various measures describe?
Perspectives: Democratic Rule
Reading: Crick, Politics as a Form of Rule: Politics, Citizenship and Democracy, in Leftwich, p. 67-85.
Analyzing Politics: New Institutionalism – Part I
Reading: Shepsle and Boncheck, chs. 11-13, p. 299-379.
Methods: Chi-Square. This is a very user-friendly and easy to calculate measure – the perfect way to start using statistics.
Reading: Shively, W. Phillips. 2005. The Craft of Political Research. 6th edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson. Chapter 10: Introduction to Statistics, p. 147-63.
Perspectives: Structural Approaches
Reading: Callinicos, Marxism and Politics, in Leftwich, p. 53-66.
Squires, Politics Beyond Boundaries: A Feminist Perspective, in Leftwich, p. 119-135.
Analyzing Politics: New Institutionalism – Part II
Reading:. Lichbach, Mark Irving. 1997. Social Theory and Comparative Politics. In Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure, edited by M. I. Lichbach and A. S. Zuckerman. Cambridge, U.K. ; New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.
March, James G., and Johan P. Olsen. 1984. The New Institutionalism: Organizational Factors in Political Life. American Political Science Review 78 (3):734-49.
Guiding question: What do new institutionalists study? How do they do it?
Methods: Correlation and Regression
Reading: Sally Caldwell (2007): Statistics Unplugged, ch. 12: Correlation and Regression, p. 266-310 (on Moodle).
Guiding question: How do we analyze relationships between variables? What do these measures inform us about? What not? What kind of relationships are captured by these measures?
Perspectives: Governance.
Reading: Peters, Politics is About Governing in Leftwich, p. 23-40.
Analyzing Politics: Leadership and Politics beyond the United States
Reading: Shepsle and Boncheck, chs. 14, 16, 17, p. 380-404, 432-460.
Perspectives: Non-Western Politics
Reading: Ismail, Is there an Islamic Conception of Politics? in Leftwich, p. 147-165.