POLS 306: Political Science Methods of Inquiry Fall 2009
|
Instructor:
John Kennedy Classroom:
Dole HDC 2092 Time:
MW Office:
314 Blake Office
hours: MW 3-5 pm or by appointment Office
number: 864-9030 E-mail:
kennedy1@ku.edu |
Teaching
Assistant: Kellee Kirkpatrick Lab/Computer
Room: 4074 Wescoe Office:
Blake 524 Office
Hours: Office number: 864-9052 E-mail: kellee@ku.edu |
Scope
and Purpose:
ü
Why
do some political or religious groups choose to employ violent methods and
terrorism to get their point across while most groups choose more peaceful and
non-violent methods?
ü
What
can political polls (surveys) tell us about support (or lack of support) for
Health Care Reform in 2009?
ü
Why
do some Americans vote while others stay at home on Election Day?
ü
Why
did President Bush’s approval rating leap to over 80% during the first days of
the US/Iraq war? Why did it slowly come
down afterward?
The
above questions are some examples of questions that social scientists ask and
try to answer. This course will
introduce students to a variety of methods that political scientists employ to
answer these questions. In this class,
we will cover the basics of social science research focusing on theory,
research design, surveys and analysis of information (data). The goal of this course is to introduce
students to general research methods, to prepare students to conduct research
in advanced courses and to better evaluate the “popular” statistics presented
in newspapers and reports.
Grading: Grading is based on two
mid-terms, discussion section (lab) assignments, one research paper and a
final—study guides will be provided for the mid-term and final
|
Discussion
/ Lab Assignments Mid-Term
#1 (9/23) Mid-Term
#2 (10/26) |
20% Paper (due 11/30) 15% Final (12/15)
15% |
30% 20% |
--Laurence
F. Jones and Edward C. Olson, Researching
the Polity, Second Edition, (
--Laurence
F. Jones and Edward C. Olson, Workbook
for Researching the Polity, Second Edition, (
*Assigned
readings should be completed before each class.
Class
Participation:
Students are encouraged to ask questions and participate during lectures.
Discussion
sections:
Attendance in discussion sections/lab is required. In most of the lab sessions, you will use
Excel and SPSS (statistical software).
Assignments will be made and discussed in these sessions, so they should
not be missed. Various lab assignments and projects will be announced as the
term goes on. Each lab assignment will
be due within one week in the following discussion section. The lab assignments are designed to help you
construct your research paper over the course of the semester. Lab
assignments will not be accepted after due date. This means that you cannot turn in 10 late
assignments on the last day of class. *Remember to bring a RW-CD or USB device and
save all the work you do in the computer lab. Also see Section Syllabus.
Paper: The paper is research
design/analysis. This paper will use information from existing data sets that
you will use in the computer lab/sections.
The data files we will be using include the U.S. Supreme Court, Nations
of the World, U.S. Presidents, U.S. Senators of the 107th Congress,
U.S. States and the 2000 General Social Survey.
An “A” paper will incorporate all the concepts introduced in the class
such as a clear theory, research question, hypotheses, measures and variables
as well as a test of statistical significance.
There will be a paper outline (handout), and we will go over the paper
assignment in detail in class and discussion sections. The paper is due December 1st.
Make-up
Exams:
Students with a valid reason such as illness and documentation that satisfies
the instructor can schedule a make up exam.
The make-up exam will be different from the one given in class. No make up exams after the final.
Disabilities:
Any student
who has a disability that may influence class participation or test taking
should contact the instructor at the earliest possible date so that
accommodations can be made.
Sports or University Competitions: Any student who is
on a sports team or academic team, such as the debate team, that may influence
class participation or test taking should contact the instructor at the
earliest possible date so accommodations can be made.
Class
Conduct: Turn off all cell phones: Each time a
cell phone rings during class, everyone will lose one point from their final grade, but if the professor’s cell
phone rings then everyone will receive an extra two points on their final
grade. The reason for the cell phone
rule is that in-class disturbances waste your classmates’ time and money
(tuition). Also, please do not read the
newspaper, use class time to sleep, do work for other classes, listen to music or
check e-mail/surf the web during class. Sleeping
or conducting other business within the 50 minute time period is disruptive and
disrespectful to the whole class. Therefore, if you are observed sleeping or
surfing the web, then I have to stop the lecture to wake you up or ask you to
please stop.
E-Mail: I will communicate with you
through e-mail to answer questions regarding class assignments and exams. However, all e-mail will receive a response
within 24 hours. Regarding exams, we (the GTA and I) will not give exact answers
for possible exam questions, but rather we will provide information to help you
find the answers. Finally,
professional e-mail communication is an important skill that will last beyond
the class and college experience. Keep
in mind how you want to present yourself through e-mail. For more information about professional
e-mails see http://www.albion.com/netiquette/.
Blackboard:
This course
will use Blackboard (https://courseware.ku.edu/). I will post the lecture out lines, study
guides and lab assignments on Blackboard.
If you are not familiar with this web site or you need more information
please see the attached student information sheet in this syllabus.
Week 1: What is social
science research?
8/24 Lecture 1: Introduction
No
8/26 Lecture 2: General Inquiry
Discussion
(Lab): Introduction to SPSS and EXCEL
Week 2 Theory
8/31
Lecture 3: Theory and Variables
9/2 Lecture
4: Theory, Research Question and Hypotheses
Discussion (Lab): Theory and
Research Question
Week 3: Types of Theory
9/7 No
Class (Labor Day)
9/9
Lecture 5: Types of Theories (Deductive versus Inductive) and Literature Review
Discussion
(Lab): Literature Reviews, Theories and Research Questions
Guest Speaker: Subject Specialist Political Science KU Libraries:
Assignment #1 Theory and Research Question
Week 4: Levels of
Measurement, Graphs and Charts
9/14
Lecture 6: Concepts and Measures
9/16
Lecture 7: Nominal, Ordinal and Ratio Measures; Reliability and Validity
Discussion
(Lab): Assignment #1 Due; Assignment #2—Question ®Hypothesis ®Concept
®Measure
*Week 5: Mid-Term1—
Univariate Statistics
9/21
Lecture 8: Types of Charts and Graphs
9/23 Mid-Term I
Discussion
(Lab): Assignment #3— Histograms, Plots and Charts (Assignment #2 due)
Week 6: Distributions and
Tables
9/28
Lecture 9: Mean, median and mode
9/30
Lecture 10: Distributions
Discussion
(Lab): Assignment #4—Mean, Median & Mode (Assignment #3 due)
Week 7: Research Analysis I
10/5
Lecture 11: Tables
10/7
Lecture 12: Chi-Square and Significance
Discussion
(Lab): Assignment #5—Bivariate Analysis and Table Construction using Word (Assignment
#4 due)
Week 8: Research Analysis
II
10/12
Lecture 13: Correlation
10/14
Lecture 14: Regression
Discussion
(Lab): No Lab Fall Break
Week 9: Causation and Paper
Example
10/19
Lecture 15: Time, Causation and Unit of Analysis
10/21
Lecture 16: Evaluation and In-Class Example
Discussion
(Lab): Assignment #6 Multivariate Analysis (Assignment #5 due)
**Week 10: Mid-term II—
Experiments and Design
10/26
Mid-Term II
10/28
Lecture 17: Research Design and Ongoing Research (inside and outside the class)
No
Discussion
(Lab): Assignment #7(Assignment #6 Due)—Write a Paper Outline
Week 11: Surveys and
Questionnaires
11/2
Lecture 18: Type of Surveys
11/4
Lecture 19: Questionnaire construction
Discussion
(Lab): Assignment #8— (Assignment #7 due)
Week 12: Sampling
11/9
Lecture 20: Types of Sampling
11/11
Lecture 21: Sampling Theory
Discussion
(Lab): Assignment #9—Survey Analysis (Assignment #8 due)
Week 13: Geographic
Information Systems
11/16
Lecture 22: Introduction to GIS
11/18
Lecture 23: Introduction to Arcview (Mapping software)
Discussion
(Lab): Assignment #10—Working with Arcview (Assignment #9 due)
Week 14: Ethics and Research
11/23
Lecture 24: In Class Movie—Stanley Milgram’s “Obedience”
11/25
No Class (Thanksgiving Break)
Discussion
(Lab): No Lab Assignment
**Week 15: Ethics and
Research, Paper Due 11/30:
11/30
Lecture 25: Focus groups, Ethics and Human Subjects Reports
12/2
Lecture 26: Qualitative Methods—Interviews
Discussion
(Lab): Assignment #11—Ethical problems and Human Subjects report (Assignment
#10 due)
Week 16: Case Studies and
Overview
12/7
Lecture 27: Qualitative Methods—Case Studies
12/9
Lecture 28: Final Overview (Assignment #11 due)
No
Discussion (Lab)
**Extra
office hours will be posted between 12/7 and 12/11
12/15 Final Exam (Tuseday)
Time:
Same Room