PS170: Research Methods in Political Science

Political Science 170:

Research Methods in Political Science

Fall 2017

Mondays Wednesdays 2:25-3:15

Van Hise 104

PS170: Research Methods in Political Science

Instructor: Hannah S. Chapman

Office: North Hall, Room 411

Office Hours:Mondays 12-2pm

Teaching Assistant: Caileigh Glenn

Office:TBD

Office Hours:TBD

PS170: Research Methods in Political Science

Overview

This course will introduce you to the various ways in which political scientists (and other social scientists) study political and social phenomena. We will consider a variety of research methods, including historical case study research, field research, quantitative analysis, survey research, experimental techniques, and more. Whatever the research method, the central objectives of the course are for students to come away with a clear understanding of how to evaluate what causes what in the political and social world and to gain the tools necessary to evaluate political claims.By the end of the semester, students will be able to competently evaluate existing research and to create appropriate research designs to study political phenomena.

In learning about these tools, we will supplement readings with a variety of real-world applications and expert talks, to be determined in part by your own interests. Past examples that we have studied are gender in politics, the effects of gun control on crime, elections, and many more. We are excited to tailor those applications to your interests.

Course Format& Deliverables

Class Format:Lectures are a key component of the course and will contain material that is not found in the readings. Unlike many lecture courses, the lecture sessions will be interactive—I will ask for your opinions, and we will also sometimes do class exercises to explore ideas from the lectures and reading. During lectures, we will cover material not discussed in the readings. Furthermore, the lectures will go beyond the lecture slides, so it is imperative that you attend all lectures to do well in the course.

Guest Lectures: In place of a regular lecture, I will occasionally invite scholars with expertise in a particular method to give a guest talk. This is a great opportunity to see how scholars use the method in their research and apply conceptual material to real-world problems and questions. The materials covered in the guest lectures will be on the exams and no lecture slides will be provided.

Discussion Section: 25% of your grade is based on weekly discussion sections led by the Teaching Assistant. Your section grade will be based on attendance, participation, and short weekly assignments. You will also be required to complete two out-of-class labs over the course of the semester. You are allowed one unexcused absence. After that, your participation grade will be affected if you miss section for a non-approved reason.

Pop Quizzes: Over the course of the semester there will be five pop quizzes to test you on the readings for that class. These pop quizzes will be one question each and are each worth one percent of your final grade. No make-up quizzes will be permitted.

Exams: You will have three cumulativemidterm exams throughout the semester.The exams will be based on the course readings, lectures, guest lectures, and labs.

Group Project: Your final written assignment will be an 8-10-page research design. For this assignment, you will work with a small group of 4-5 people to come up with a research question and design a way to study this question.You will not be expected to carry out the actual research. Over the course of the semester, you will submit to Learn@UW your research question and literature review.You MUST meet with either the lecturer or TA as a group before November 3 to discuss your project. During the final weeks of the semester, you will present your research design to the class. Final papers should be submitted to Learn@UW on December 5.

Research Question & Theory (DUE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 @ 5PM)

Operationalization & Tentative Design(DUE FRIDAY, November 3 @ 5PM)

Final Paper (DUE SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5 @ 5PM)

Individual Contribution Evaluation (DUE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15 @ 5PM)

Course Information

Grading: Your final grade is comprised of the following:

Discussion Section: 25%

Pop Quizzes: 5% (5 x 1%)

Midterms: 45% (3 x 15%)

Paper: 25%

PS170: Research Methods in Political Science

Question & theory: 10pt
Operationalization: 10pt
Final paper: 40pt
Individual contribution: 25pt
Presentation: 15pt

PS170: Research Methods in Political Science

We will use the following scale for translating exam grades into final letter grades:

PS170: Research Methods in Political Science

A = 93+

AB = 87-92

B = 83-86

BC = 77-82

C = 73-77

etc.

PS170: Research Methods in Political Science

There will be no make-up exams. If you have a university-excused reason to miss an exam, contact me well in advance. I also understand that emergencies happen. In a genuine emergency, I am very willing to work with you, but require documentation of emergencies—notes from doctors, emergency room personnel, etc.—in all instances.

Re-grades: You must wait at least 48 hours (but not longer than 2 weeks) before contesting a grade. Contestation must take the form of a short (1-3 paragraph) memo explaining why you deserve a better grade. The entire exam/paper/assignment will then be re-graded by the instructor. Your grade can go either up or down upon review.

Readings: The course has one required textbook, which is posted on Learn@UW and should be available in the student bookstore and via various online vendors.

Dixon, Singleton, and Bruce C. Straits. 2016. The Process of Social Research, 1st Edition [Referred to as DSS in syllabus]

All other readings are either available on the course’s Learn@UW website (those readings are denoted with a “*”), or are available to the public on the internet (URL provided).

Note: the amount of reading for this course is not excessive, but it is very dense. Sometimes you will want to read a chapter twice in order to absorb all of the terms and concepts, so give yourself plenty of time.

Course Website: Our course website is available via Learn@UW. Please check the course website frequently for announcements, information about assignments, and to access non-textbook readings and other materials.

Office Hours: We encourage you to see us during office hours with any questions. Please see above for weekly office hours. I answer emails during regular business hours and will not answer emails regarding exams within 24 hours of the exam.

Accommodation for Disabilities: For anyone who needs accommodations for a documented disability, please let the TA know right away. I am happy to work through the McBurney Disability Resource Center (905 University Avenue, 608-263-2741).

Religious Observance:I have tried to schedule exams to avoid conflict with religious holidays. If, despite my efforts, it should happen that an exam conflicts with your observance of a religious holiday, please let me know during the first two weeks of the semester so we can work on an accommodation.

Academic Integrity: You are expected to treat both yourself and your classmates with respect throughout this course. Please do not disrupt the class, and respect the views of others at all times. If you fail to adhere to these policies you may be asked to leave the classroom. This is your only warning regarding academic misconduct.

I take the issue of plagiarism and cheating very seriously.If you are caught plagiarizing or cheating on any assignment or exam, you will receive a failing grade for the class. In addition, the matter will then be referred to the Dean of Students for a formal hearing.The University’s policy and description of academic misconduct is fully described at the University’s webpage on Academic Integrity.

Course Schedule

This schedule is tentative and subject to change. I will inform you of any deviations to the schedule in class and the most current syllabus will be available on Learn@UW.

Monday / Wednesday
*Week 1
9/6 / Introduction and course overview
Week 2
9/11-13 / What is social science and why is it useful? / Formulating social scientific research questions and developing theories and hypotheses
Week 3
9/18-20 / Choosing a research design / Challenges to establishing causal relationships
Week 4
9/25-27 / Measuring concepts / Sampling
Week 5
10/2-4 / Introduction to quantitative research / Surveys1
*Week 6
10/9-11 / Surveys 2 / Exam 1
Week 7
10/16-18 / Experiments 1 / Experiments 2
Week 8
10/23-25 / Large-N data 1 / Large-n data 2
Week 9
10/30-11/1 / Guest lecture: Survey Research Center / Introduction to qualitative research
*Week 10
11/6-8 / Lab: Harvard’s Project Implicit / Exam 2
Week 11
11/13-15 / Process tracing / Comparative case studies
*Week 12
11/20-22 / Ethics / Lab: IRB training
Week 13
11/27-29 / Guest lecture: Field research and interviews / Guest lecture: Archival research
Week 14
12/4-6 / Threats to inference / Group Presentations
*Week 15
12/11-13 / Group Presentations / Exam 3

*Weeks with an asterisk (*) will not have discussion sections.

September 6: Introduction and Course Overview

September 11: What is Social Science and Why is It Valuable?

DSS Ch. 1

DSS Ch. 2

September 13: Formulating Social Science Research Questions and Developing Theories and Hypotheses

*Leanne Powner, Empirical Research and Writing, pp. 21-28 and 41-48

September 18: Choosing a Research Design

DSS Ch. 4

September 20: Challenges to Establishing Causal Relationships

*Kellstedt & Whitten, “Evaluating Causal Relationships”

September 25: Measuring Concepts

DSS Ch. 5

DSS pp. 330-top of 337

September 27: Sampling

DSS Ch. 6

October 2: Introduction to Quantitative Research

John Oliver, Science

Spurious correlations website

October 4: Survey Research I

DSS Ch. 8

October 9: Survey Research II

Nate Silver’s Ted Talk

October 11: EXAM 1

October 16: Experiments I

DSS Ch. 7

*Kellstedt & Whitten, “Research Design”

October 18: Experiments II

“Experimentation in Political Science” (2009), Rebecca B. Morton and Kenneth C. Williams, Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology, pp. 339-356.

October 23: Large-N Data I

*ERW Chapter 7: Quantitative Data Collection and Management

October 25: Large-N Data II

*Michael Ross. 2006. “Oil, Islam, and Women.” American Political Science Review.

October 30: Survey Research Center (Guest Lecture)

Readings TBD

November 1: Introduction to Qualitative Research

*Powner, pp. 109-132

November 6: Harvard’s Project Implicit (Lab)

November 8: EXAM 2

November 13: Process Tracing

*Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of Silver Blaze”

*David Collier, “Understanding Process Tracing”

November 15: Comparative Case Studies

John Gerring, What Is a Case Study and What is It Good for?

November 20: Ethics

DSS Ch. 3

November 22: IRB Training (Lab)

November 27: Field Research and Interviews (Guest Lecture)

DSS Ch. 9

November 29: Archival Research (Guest Lecture)

“A Survival Guide for Archival Research”

“Using Archives: A Practical Guide for Researchers” (skim read)

December 6: Threats to inference

“We Can Never Do Merely One Thing”

Chris Mooney, What is Motivated Reasoning? How Does It Work? Dan Kahan Answers

“Doubt It” by NPR’s On the Media (first 30 minutes only)

December 8: Final Group Presentations

December 11: Final Group Presentations

December 13: EXAM 3