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PS 230 - 1 & 2: The Stud of Politics Winter Trimester 2007 Topic: Any political phenomena you find interesting. Final Length: 6-8 Pages (standard fonts and margins) General Concept: In political science, just like all the other sciences, research drives the discipline. Without new and innovative research any discipline becomes static. Research allows us to test new theories, and expand what we understand about politics, or simply to refine old theories, and deepen our understanding. Probably the most important step in the process of conducting research is the development of a research proposal. Its importance is not a reflection of its difficulty. In fact, once you understand the general formula of a research proposal, they are rather easy to compose. The importance of a research proposal stems from its utility. A research proposal is an incredibly useful tool employed by all students of political science. Those who can harness this tool stand to make a great deal of money no matter what profession they pursue. The essence of a research proposal is the expression of an idea/theory and how you will test that idea/theory. The first way that we can use this tool is to “bounce” the idea off of our colleagues. They can tell us if our theory seems plausible, if it is worth pursuing, or if we missed some important piece of the literature which already tested the theory. They can also offer suggestions how to better improve our investigation or other factors we should consider, thereby strengthening the quality of the proposal itself. If it passes this test, the second way that we use a research proposal is to gain approval from those higher up on the food chain (i.e. a student seeking approval of a required academic project, a professor requesting sabbatical from the administration, a think-tank employee explaining their continued usefulness to the endeavor, or a member of a campaign soliciting the candidate’s authorization). A third use of the research proposal is to gain funding for the research itself. In each of these three situations the feedback that we receive allows us to refine the proposal and make the research stronger (i.e. more reliable, valid, thorough, and methodologically sound). The quintessence of a research proposal is to sell your idea/theory. And, there is a highly successful and fairly well formulated manner for doing this. I detail the formula of a research proposal below. For the purposes of this course, the topic of the proposal is based on your interests. The only stipulation is that it must be relevant to political science, but the sub-field you choose is up to you. There are four basic steps to a research proposal. First, state your theory within the context of the literature (tell us what is missing, what has been overlooked, or what we have yet to discover). This allows you to explain why your research question is not only interesting to you, but also to political science as a discipline. It also allows you to translate your theory into a set of testable hypotheses. Second, delve into the literature of this subfield. Explain how you arrived at this theory by carefully walking the reader through the relevant research. This allows you to draw a literary map that demonstrates your previous contextual placement of your theory. Third, present the manner in which you will test the hypotheses you have developed. This allows you to build an approach that answers your research question in a reliable and valid manner. Finally, detail what you expect to find and why you expect to find this based in the literature you have covered. This allows you to close the deal and reassert the importance of doing your research. Breaking it Down into Manageable Pieces (Use these Headings): Introduction (25 points possible): Begin selling your proposal from the start. This section must encourage the reader to continue reading. Here you should briefly explain what “hole” in the literature makes this research important. Answer the question, “So What?” Why would/should anyone care about this thing that you find interesting? Then, state your theory. Plug this literary hole with your brilliant idea. Tell us about the ripple effect this will have on politics as we know it. Finally, translate your theory to hypotheses you will test with your research. Remember these should be directional (A à B). Explain why you expect this relationship, and reassert your mastery of your corner of political science. Literature Review (25 points possible): Most people are skeptical and curious at the same time. This section should convince us that you know what you are talking about and further encourage us to continue reading. Here you should walk the reader through a logical progression of the current literature on your topic. Present the debate, the divide, the oversight, the miscalculations, etc. of the literature. You do not need direct quotes in every instance. Normally you can group similar thoughts about the subject together with your own words and cite those professing these thoughts at the end of a sentence. The result should be that the reader completes reading this section by saying, “Well of course. I wonder why no one has studied this before. …” Lead us logically to your research. The literature review is like a treasure map, with your theory at the “X.” Methodology (75 points possible): This section will explain how you will test the treasure to see if it is gold or just lead. Here you should outline the plan that you will follow and explain what you will do in order to answer your research question by testing your hypotheses. Essentially describe what you will do to test your hypotheses so well that one of your classmates could do it for you. Why not? If your theory is solid gold, you can pay someone else to count it. First, remove their doubt that you have not considered alternate approaches. Briefly discuss different ways you might approach answering the question at hand. Then, explain why your way is the best approach. Second, now that you have narrowed down the alternatives, begin explaining your approach in detail. Tell them the design of your study. Will you use a survey, case studies, gather the data yourself, or are you utilizing secondary source data? Take great care in explaining the data-gathering procedure. If they are going to do this study because your now extremely wealthy and you can pay them to do your social inquiry for you, you want to make sure they do it right. Tell them who the subjects will be. Who will answer the survey and what sort of sampling procedures will you use, what cases will you look at, how will you gather the data, or where will you gather the data from? They also need to know what type of instrument you plan to use. What type of survey is it (provide an attached example)? What sort of questions might you ask important elites involved in the case? Have you invented a new instrument of measurement (like a new scale of BS)? Has someone else developed a system that you will employ (and what is it)? Third, you must again work at removing the doubts of your peers. Explain why these measures are both reliable and valid. Fourth, detail the process for gathering your data. Explain how you will do it, how long it will take and where you will get it. Must they really go to Asia or Africa to measure neck rings and compare them with the height of high heels in New York as an indicator of socio-political status, or can this be done through inter-library loan? Fifth, explain how you will analyze the data. Be explicit and exact. You do not want to spend all this money to have one of your classmates do a t-test for dependent samples when they should have done it for independent samples. So, you must explain: What are the dependent and independent variables? Which questions on the survey will be analyzed? What is the method of comparison between cases? What relationships do you want to examine in the data you have gathered and how do you want it examined? How can you provide something new and useful from data that someone else has gathered? You have seen some of your classmates at their worst. Leave nothing to chance, and be sure that you get the full value of every dime you spend. Findings (25 points possible): Of course, you have not done this research yet, but it is useful to explain what you expect to find. This section should relate your best guess at what testing your hypotheses will reveal. Base this estimation in the existing literature. Have we gotten it all wrong? Are we not conceptualizing this political phenomenon correctly? Do we simply need to shift our understanding slightly? Tell us what rejecting or failing to reject your hypotheses might mean. Again, use this speculation to explain the value of your research. The sale is not complete until the deal is sealed. Citation: You may utilize whichever (APA or MLA) citation style is preferred by your major. Just make sure that it is done completely and correctly. Remember, all numbers, direct quotations, and the general “gist” of other peoples’ words must be cited. If you are in doubt, cite it just to be safe. Keep a copy of all internet citations. The web moves fast and articles come and go literally at the speed of light. This ensures that you can support your citations if I have any questions. Where to begin your Research: The following internet cites should be of great interest and provide you with a good start on your research. Of course, a trip to the library to visit dead trees is also a good idea. JSTOR (www.jstor.com) - Access available through Seymour Library to thousands of journal articles. PSLINKS (www.oocities.org/randall_d_smith/pslinks) - My own compilation of research links. |
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PS 230 - 1 & 2: The Study of Politics Research Proposal Assignment 2007 Winter Trimester |