Issues in research design and data analysis in political science.
Focus will be on role of theory, hypothesis testing,
measurement, and statistical applications used to address
political research questions. Recommended for majors, especially
those planning to attend graduate school in political science.
Athena Title
Research Methods in Poli Sci H
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in POLS 4150
Prerequisite
(POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101H or POLS 1101S) and permission of Honors
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be introduced to the political research process.
Students will develop an understanding of the relationship between theory and political inquiry.
Students will examine issues in conceptualization and operationalization in political science by examining previous research.
Students will formulate a research question, collect and analyze data to test that question, and write up results.
Students will learn real world data analysis through the development of technical skills.
Students will learn how to program in the statistical computing environment, R.
Topical Outline
Part 1. Introduction & Overview
Role of theory in political research
How to develop testable research questions
How to access secondary data sources and the library
Overview of the deductive model of social science
How to conceptualize/formulate testable hypotheses
Part 2. Empirical Research
Issues of Causation
Assessing the validity and reliability of measures
Secondary data collection
Methods of collecting observations: experiments, surveys, field research, content analysis
Part 3. Addressing Research Questions
Univariate data analysis
Bivariate data analysis - discrete variables
Bivariate data analysis - continuous variables
Multivariate data analysis
How to write up results
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
