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PS 230 - 1 & 2: The Stud of Politics Winter Trimester 2007 Instructor: Randall D. Smith Office: GDH 211B E-mail: rdsmith@knox.edu Office Phone: (309) 341-7380 Webpage: http://www.oocities.org/randall_d_smith Description: This course seeks to provide an understanding of the variety of ways political scientists study political phenomena. It familiarizes students with the prominent paradigmatic and methodological approaches utilized by political science scholars. PS 230 contains a two-fold purpose. First, it serves as a foundation to understanding political science literature. Second, it provides students with an opportunity to utilize what they have learned through development of a research proposal. After examining the similarities amongst all types of “good” research, the course follows the preeminent concern of rigorous systematic study through an examination of qualitative analyses. This includes discussion of the variety of qualitative techniques utilized (e.g. ethnography, historical/archival, comparative, and elite interviewing). Then, this course explores the quantitative methods of analysis (including both survey research and secondary data analysis). Readings from various political science sub-fields are utilized to demonstrate how these methodological techniques may be employed. SPSS is harnessed for univariate and bivariate analysis of political data. Finally, the principal project allows students to apply what they have learned by designing a rigorous systematic study dedicated to their individual interests. A better understanding of the difficulties and rewards of such a proposal emerge through student application of the techniques learned in a political science subfield of their own interest. Texts: Cozby, Paul C.. 2004. Methods in Behavioral Research, 8th Edition. Boston. McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 0-07-252342-5. (8th Edition Page Numbers in Black, 9th Edition Page Numbers in Red) Salkind, Neil J.. 2004. Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage Publications. ISBN: 0-7619-2776-X. Salkind, Neil J.. 2004. Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics (2nd edition) Data Sets. Available at: http://www.soe.ku.edu/faculty/Salkind/stats_fpwhs/ Various items placed on reserve in the Seymour (Knox College) Library and/or available via the web at JSTOR (available free through the Library). Objectives and Outcomes: 1. To acquaint students with the major paradigmatic approaches to conceiving political interaction. 2. To increase understanding of qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. 3. To offer students the opportunity to apply this knowledge. 4. To impart to students the background necessary for making informed judgments about the quality of the research they read, see, or hear. 5. To encourage students to participate actively as global citizens and researchers. Course Methodology: This course utilizes several different teaching techniques to explain the substantive material: 1. Lecture Session – The instructor shares his knowledge, thoughts, and ideas with you on the various topics, books, and articles. He welcomes your input on this material. 2. Discussion Session – This portion of the course provides students a chance to voice their opinion about the study of politics in a free and open manner, which comprises the participation portion of the students’ grades. 3. Audio-Visual Aids – The instructor utilizes items such as the overhead projector, maps, films, videotapes, computers, musical recordings and other items where appropriate. Examinations and Grading: Your performance determines your course grade in the following manner: 450 points possible = Assignments 200 points possible = Test 150 points possible = Research Proposal 100 points possible = Participation 900 points possible = Total Test Grade: This course involves one non-cumulative examination. This exam covers the textbook readings, the classroom lectures, and class discussions. The exam is closed book, closed note. Research Proposal Grade: This class also requires students to write a research proposal. This assignment essentially combines all that you have learned this term into one final product. You will find further information regarding this paper attached to this syllabus. The150 points for papers are further sub-divided in this manner: 25 points = Introduction, 25 points = Literature Review, 75 points = Methodology, 25 points = Findings. Participation Grade: The determination of the participation portion of your grade first involves attendance. The necessity of attending every class session thus reflects in this portion of your grade. This participation portion also involves your active contribution to class discussions. Class participation provides the opportunity of receiving an “A” in this course. Therefore, I establish some guidelines for discussion. Concern your comments with the topics of researching politics. An open manner conducts this discussion. Feel free to disagree with me, the readings, the institutions and campaigns discussed, and with your classmates. However, this discussion reflects the collegiate atmosphere in that it unfolds in an intelligent manner and you must support your opinion with facts (that may mean research). Interruption, use of slurs and making fun of other students encounters strict prohibition. |
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PS 230 - 1 & 2: The Study of Politics Winter Trimester 2007 |
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| All work requires standard grammatical English and prompt attention to due dates. I cannot grade what I cannot read. If I cannot read an assignment I ask you once to rewrite it, and after that first warning you either receive a reduced grade or no credit. Cheating and plagiarism also encounter strict prohibition and require that I deal with them according to Knox College policy and procedure. |
| Course and Topic Outline:
Wednesday, 1/3/07 Introduction Friday, 1/5/07 The Basics Are All the Same: We Need Rigor Read: Cozby, Chapters 1-3. Monday, 1/8/07 Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to My Right, and I’m Stuck in the Middle With Behavior Read: Cozby, Chapter 4; Read also: King, Gary. 1993. “The Methodology of Presidential Research.” In George C.Edwards III, John H. Kessel, and Bert A. Rockman (eds.). Researching the Presidency. Pittsburgh. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 387-412. (On Reserve). Wednesday, 1/10/07 Yardsticks v. Metersticks in the Social Sciences Read: Cozby, Chapter 5; See also: Salkind, Chapter16 (Some of this is “stats stuff,” don’t worry about how to calculate these things right now, just try and get an understanding of the concepts). Assignment #1 Due: Bring in at least two articles from JSTOR on an interesting political science topic. (20 pts.) Friday, 1/12/07 How We Observe: The Qualitative v. Quantitative Fork in the Road Read: Cozby, Chapter 6; Read also: Fenno, Richard F., Jr.. 1978. “Introduction” & “Appendix.” in Home Style: House Members in Their Districts. Boston. Little, Brown & Company. pp. xi-xvi & 249-295. (On Reserve). Monday, 1/15/07 Designing and Conducting Experiments Read: Cozby, Chapters 8 & 9. (Pay special attention to “Research Proposals,” pp. 171-172). Wednesday, 1/17/07 The World is Rarely as Simple as A --> B, or How to Increase Explanatory Power Read: Cozby, Chapter 10; Read also: Simpson, Dick. 2001. “Prologue” in Rogues, Rebels, and Rubber Stamps: The Politics of the Chicago City Council, from 1863 to the Present. Boulder. Westview Press. pp. 1-11. (On Reserve). Assignment #2 Due: Critique of Student Evaluations – 3 Critical Observations (30 pts.) Friday, 1/19/07 Why Can’t Everything Else Remain the Same, or the Need for Quasi-Experiments Read: Cozby, Chapter 11; Read also: Almond, Gabriel A., Russel J. Dalton, G. Bingham Powell, Jr., and Kaare Strom. “Chapter 2: Comparing Political Systems” in Comparative Politics Today: A World View, Update Edition. 8/E. New York. Longman Press. pp. 31-45. (On Reserve). Monday, 1/22/07 Survey Research Read: Cozby, Chapter 7. Wednesday, 1/24/07 TEST Assignment #3 Due: An Abstract of Your Final Project & Bibliography (50 pts.) Friday, 1/26/07 Getting Our Statistical Feet Wet Read: Salkind, Part I; Do a “Computer Sit-Down” with Salkind, “Appendix A: SPSS in Less than 30Minutes,” Thoroughly Read: Salkind, Chapter 20. Monday, 1/29/07 Three Ways to Find the Middle, or Measures of Central Tendency Read: Salkind, Chapter 2; See also: Cozby, “Central Tendency,” p. 218 (pp. 231-232), and “Measures of Central Tendency,” pp. 332-334 (pp. 343-344). Wednesday, 1/31/07 Variance Read: Salkind, Chapter 3; See also: Cozby, “Variability,” p. 218 (p. 232), and “Measures of Variability,” pp. 334-335 (pp. 344-345). Assignment #4 Due: Worksheet A (60 pts.) Friday, 2/2/07 Displaying Results: Figures & Tables, not Graphs and Charts Read: Salkind, Chapter 4; See also: Cozby, “Frequency Distributions,” pp. 216-217 (pp. 229-231), and “Graphing Relationships” p. 219 (pp. 232-233). Monday, 2/5/07 Pearson, Who’s Pearson and Why is He Correlating My Coefficients Read: Salkind, Chapter 5; See also: Cozby, “Correlation Coefficients: Describing the Strength of Relationships,” pp. 219-224 (pp. 233-237). Wednesday, 2/7/07 Hypothesizing (HO, H1, H2, …) Read: Salkind, Chapter 6; See also: Cozby, “Samples and populations,” through, “Null and Research Hypotheses,” pp. 234-236 (pp. 248-250). Assignment #5 Due: Worksheet B (60 pts.) Friday, 2/9/07 Normality (Yeah Right!) Read: Salkind, Chapter 7; See also: Cozby, “Probability and Sampling Distributions,” pp. 236-239 (pp. 250-252). Monday, 2/12/07 Significance & Error (Both Good as Long as it’s not Significant Error) Read: Salkind, Chapter 8; See also: Cozby, Portions of, “Chapter 12 & 13,” including, “Statistical Significance,” pp. 225-226 (p. 239), and pp. 243-End (pp. 257-End). Wednesday, 2/14/07 t-Test for Independent Samples (Boston Harbor and Lipton) Read: Salkind, Chapter 9. Assignment #6 Due: Worksheet C (60 pts.) Friday, 2/16/07 t-Test for Dependent Samples (Boston Harbor and the East India Company) Read: Salkind, Chapter 10; See also: Cozby, “t Test,” pp. 239-242 (pp. 253-256); Read also: Singer, J. David. 1972. “The ‘Correlates of War’ Project: Interim Report and Rationale.” World Politics. Vol. 24, No. 2. pp. 243-270. (Through JSTOR). Monday, 2/19/07 ANOVA, Not a Classic ’69 Nova, but ANOVA Nonetheless Read: Salkind, Chapter 11; See also: Cozby, “F Test,” p. 242 (p.256), and, “Statistical Significance Tests: Analysis of Variance (F Test) – Analysis of Variance: Conclusion”, pp. 338- 350 (pp. 349-360). Wednesday, 2/21/07 Factorial ANOVA, No they Don’t Build Cars Here, Not Even in Mexico Read: Salkind, Chapter 12 Assignment #7 Due: Worksheet D (60 pts.) Friday, 2/23/07 Significant Correlations and How to Tell Off a Statistician Read: Salkind, Chapter 13; See also; Cozby, “Effect Size,” pp. 224-225 (pp. 238-239), and, “Correlation and Effect Size: Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient,” pp. 351-353 (pp. 360-363). Monday, 2/26/07 Basic Linear Regression, or Statisticians in the Outfield Read: Salkind, Chapter 14; See also: Cozby, “Regression Equations,” p.226 (pp. 239-240). Read also: Baum, Lawrence. 1980. “Responses of Federal District Judges to Court of Appeals Policies: An Exploration.” The Western Political Quarterly. Vol. 33, No. 2. pp. 217-224. (Through JSTOR). Wednesday, 2/28/07 Who’s Normal Again, and How Could We Tell if They Aren’t? Read: Salkind, Chapter 15; See also: Cozby, “Statistical Significance Tests: Chi-Square (?2),” pp. 335-338 (pp. 346-348). Assignment #8 Due: Worksheet E (60 pts.) Friday, 3/2/07 Multiple Regression, or the Advanced Statisticians in the Outfield Read: Salkind, Chapter 17; See also Cozby, “Multiple Correlation,” through “Structural Models,” pp. 226-230 (pp. 240-244). Read also: Ragsdale, Lyn and Jerrold G. Rusk. 1995. “Candidates, Issues and Participation in Senate Elections.” Legislative Studies Quarterly. Vol. 20, No. 3.pp. 305-327. (Through JSTOR). Monday, 3/5/07 Is that Generally the Case, or Are You Using Stats to Lie to Me? Read Cozby, Chapter 14. Assignment #10 Due: Worksheet F (50 pts.) Wednesday, 3/7/07 Reading Day Thursday – Saturday, 3/8-10/07 Final Examination Period Research Proposal Due at Scheduled Final Exam Time |
| This syllabus remains subject to change at the instructor’s discretion, without prior notice.
Students with disabilities who require accommodations for access and participation in this course must be registered with the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Please contact CTL at (309) 341-7151. Please also inform the instructor so that appropriate accommodations may be made. |
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