University of
Southern California
Political
Science 500
Introduction to
Political Science Research Methods
Fall 1997
Professor Matthew Cahn Office:
VKC
Wednesday 10:00 am - 12:50 pm
Office Hours: 1:00 - 2:00 by appointment (818)
677-4797
Classroom: VKC 104 email:
mcahn@csun.edu
Philosophers have sought to understand
the world... the point, however, is to change it... (Karl Marx)
Anybody can make the simple
complicated... creativity is making the
complicated simple... (Charlie Mingus)
Seminar Description: As a social science, political science
endeavors to apply social scientific methodologies to social and political
problems facing our society. This
seminar introduces students to the various methods of data collection and
analysis. Emphasis is placed on the
procedures for conceptualizing research projects, designing the research
approach, and implementing the data acquisition and analysis. Specific data collection methodologies
reviewed will include experimental, survey, observation, content analysis, case
study, and evaluation. In addition,
both qualitative and statistical methods of analysis will be reviewed. Finally, the seminar will introduce students
to handling complex data files with available statistical packages (e.g.,
SPSS).
Required
Reading
Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions, 2nd edition
(University of
Chicago Press, 1970)
Earl Babbie: The Practice of Social Research, 7th or 8th edition
(Belmont,
CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 1995, 1997)
Ethridge: The Political Research
Experience: Readings and Analysis
(Dushkin
Publishing 1994, 2nd ed.)
APSA: Style Guide for Political Science, (if available)
(Washington,
DC: APSA, 1992)
USC: The
Primer: The USC Guide to Network Tools & Resources
In addition, several articles from the
disciplinary literature are assigned.
These materials
are available in the bound journals and
stacks in our library.
Course Requirements: Seminar
Participation
10%
Exercises 40%
Research Design 50%
Participation: Participation means active and intelligent
participation in seminar readings, discussion, and activities.
Exercises: Several exercises have been designed to help
you develop skills in complex research areas.
The exercises should assist you in understanding the different elements
in the research process, and in conceptualizing and building your Research
Design. The exercises are not simply
pedagogic puzzles, they correspond to specific components of your project. Collectively, the exercises are worth 40% of
your final grade.
The
Research Design: The Research Design
is the central focus of the course. It
functions as the foundation of the research process. The Research Design allows the researcher to conceptualize the
project, assess the state of the disciplinary literature, and design the most
appropriate methodology for data acquisition and analysis. There are three central components of the
Research Design: A clear and concise
research question establishing the focus of the study; A critical review of the
relevant disciplinary literature establishing what other scholars have offered
on the research topic, and explaining how your study will make a further
contribution to the discipline; A clear blueprint establishing a logical and
appropriate methodology for acquiring data, and reaching useful analytic
conclusions.
The
Research Design should be written as an integrated paper utilizing the
appropriate disciplinary protocols as outlined in the APSA Style Manual. We will discuss this further in class. The Research Design is worth 50% of your
final grade.
Semester Outline:
Please note that reading assignments are
in bold and (parentheses). Readings
must be
done prior to
class assigned. Exercises are in **
bold **, and will be discussed in class.
Ethridge
Reading will be announced as we move through the semester.
Week I (8/27): The
Nature of Political Inquiry
- Plan of Semester
- The Nature of Political Inquiry
! Epistemology
! Normative Concerns
- Internet Issues
** Get Unix Account: Email me at mcahn@csun.edu
**
Week II (9/3): The Scientific Method
(Kuhn: all; Babbie 1-2)
- The Nature of Science and of Scientific
Revolutions
- The Scientific Method
! Hypotheses & Variables
! Identifying Meaningful Relationships
** Essay: Discuss the role of social
scientific inquiry
in knowledge building (3 pages; worth 5%;
due 9/10) **
Week III (9/10): Conceptualizing the Study
(Babbie 3,5,6)
- Conceptualization
! What are you trying to discover?
- Theory Construction
- Causality
- The Research Question
! The importance of focus
- Operationalization
! Putting the Research Question into
Operation
** Frame your Research Question in a
clear and focused
way, providing a context and
justification for the
proposed study (1-2 pages; worth 5%; due
9/17) **
Week IV (9/17): The
Research Design
(Babbie 4; handouts: selections from
Spector,
Research Designs, Sage Paper
#23)
- The Research Design
- Developing the Literature Review
- Components of the Research Design
! Abstract (Executive Summary)
! Introduction
! The Research Question
! Literature Review
! Blueprint for Research Methodology
-statement of hypotheses
-variable list
-discussion of how data will be acquired
! Anticipated Outcomes
! Conclusions & Further Research
! Appendices
! Notes
! References
- Online Data Searching
! Unix Search Vehicles
! Internet Searches
Gopher
FTP
World Wide Web
** Literature Review: Critically review the
disciplinary literature in relation to
your research
focus (5-8 pages; worth 10%; due 10/22)
**
Week V (9/24):
Measurement: Scales and Indexes
(Babbie 7; Peter May (1993),
"Mandate Design and
Implementation: Enhancing Implementation Efforts and
Shaping Regulatory Styles,"
Journal of Policy Analysis
and Management, Vol. 12, No.
4, 634-663.)
- The Need for Measurement
- Scales or Indexes
- Types of Scales
** Measurement Exercise:
(to be discussed in class; worth 5%; due
10/1) **
Week VI (10/1): Sampling
(Babbie Ch. 8)
- Sampling Designs
Week VII (10/8): Data Collection I
(Babbie 9-10; Iyengar, Peters, Kinder,
"Experimental
Demonstrations of the 'Not-so-Minimal'
Consequences of
Television News Programs," American
Political Science
Review, Vol. 76,
848-858. On RESERVE; Selections from
Page & Shapiro, The Rational
Public)
- Experimental Methods
! Research Design
! Artificially Manipulating Dependent
Variables
- Survey Research
! Developing the Questionnaire
! Interviewing
! Coding Data
Week VIII (10/15): Data Collection II
(Babbie 11-12; Jacobson, Selections from
The Politics of Congressional Elections)
- Field Research
! Observational Research
- Unobtrusive Research (Document
Analysis)
! Content Analysis
! Historical Analysis
Week IX (10/22): Data Collection III
** Literature Review Due **
(Babbie 13; Cahn, "Building Models
in Environmental Policy: Evaluating Southern California's Air Quality
Management Plan," APSA 1994, On RESERVE; Mazmanian, "Clear Vision,
Clean Skies: A New Epoch in Air Pollution Control for the Los Angeles
Region," CGS 1995)
-Case Study
! Systematic analysis in real world
problems
-Evaluation Research
! The Role of Applied Research
! The Contexts of Evaluation
! Social Indicators
** Statement of Research Methodology (2-4 pages; worth 5%; due 10/29) **
Week X (10/29): Data Analysis I
(Babbie 16; Edelman, Constructing the Political Spectacle)
-Qualitative Analysis
-Interpretive Analysis
! The Elaboration Model
Week XI (11/5): Data Analysis II
(Babbie 14-15)
-Quantifying Data
-Introductory Social Statistics
-Univariate Analysis
! Frequency Distribution
! Measurements of Central Tendency
! Variance
** Statistics Exercise: (to be discussed in class;
worth 5%; due 11/19) **
Week XII (11/12): Data Analysis III
(Babbie 17, 19; Field, "Determinants
of Abortion Policy
in the Developed Nations," Policy
Studies Journal,
Summer 1979, 771-781 on RESERVE)
-Advanced Social Statistics
- Descriptive Statistics
- Inferential Statistics
- Bivariate Applications
! Crosstabulations
! Measures of Association (Chi-square; t
tests)
! Correlation
Week XIII (11/19): Data Analysis IV
(Lacy, "Political Knowledge of
College Activist Groups:
SDS, YAF, and YD," Journal of
Politics, 33: August,
1971, 840-845.)
- Multivariate Statistics
! Regression
! Factor Analysis
! Analysis of Variance
! Factor Analysis
- The Computer
! Introduction to SPSS
Week XIV (11/26):
Presentations
- Present Research Designs
Week XV (12/3): Final Session
- Final Discussion
** Final Papers Due in Class 12/3 **
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Matthew Cahn
Department of Political Science
California State University Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8254
(818) 677-3488
matthew.cahn@csun.edu