Course Syllabus
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PLS 209 Syllabus
PLS 209
bradley.edu)
POLITICAL RESEARCH METHODS
Fall 2013
9-12
Dr. Aspin (aspin at
488 Bradley Hall (677-2496)
Office Hours: MWF 10-11; TT
PURPOSE
The purpose of this course is threefold: first, it will introduce you to the standards, steps,
and methods of scientific research; second, it will enable you to use some of these
research methods with confidence; and third, it will make you a critical consumer of
research. By the end of the course you will be able to structure a research problem,
select the appropriate tools, and then conduct and report upon your research.
CONTENT
At the most general level, the course focus is on what constitutes sound and acceptable
empirical research by those who use the scientific approach to the analysis of political
phenomena. As the first course in the scientific approach it must provide you an overall
framework and knowledge of the fundamentals. Thus, three elements of the scientific
approach receive the most attention: criteria of admissibility, the research process for
hypothesis testing, and research methods. First, criteria of admissibility are the
standards used to determine whether or not something is true. Some of these
standards are covered in the early discussion of methodology. Other standards will be
covered later in the course (e.g., the requirements for causal inference are covered in
the section on research design). Second, while there are many uses for the scientific
approach, the research process used in hypothesis testing forms the backbone of the
course. Each step or stage in the process is a topic heading in the course outline.
Once you have mastered the basic steps and tools used in hypothesis testing, you can
easily use them for other types of basic and applied research. Third, at each step in the
hypothesis testing process we first examine the overall task and then examine the
fundamental quantitative research tools available to complete the task. For example,
empirical testing requires measurement of concepts, thus we focus on the basic
techniques used in scale and index construction. Even when we are focusing on
specific methods such as index construction, there is always the concern for what
constitutes proper usage.
Although helpful, no prior knowledge about the logic of science or research methods is
assumed. However, the nature of both the material and of this course make it
extremely important that all assignments are completed on time. Failure to do so will
greatly reduce what you gain from the course.
MATERIALS
(A) BOOKS
The following Books are available at the book store:
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(Required) (1) Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias, Research Methods in the Social
Sciences w/Data Bank CD , 7th edition This is the core text for the
course.
The only required readings are those from the required text. Often the way a particular
author presents a topic does not lead to automatic comprehension by all who read it. If
you have trouble with a particular topic it may thus be helpful to read a different
treatment of that topic. The following are some of the alternative texts which cover the
same or very similar topics:
(1) E. Babbie, The Practice of Social Research
(2) K. Eckhardt & D. Ermann, Social Research Methods
(3) J. Johnson & H. Reynolds Political Science Research Methods
(4) P. Pollock III, The Essentials of Political Analysis
(5) J. Williamson, et al., The Research Craft
(6) E. Tufte, Data Analysis for Politics and Policy
(7) W. Trochim, The Research Methods Knowledge Base (the 1st edition may still
be online)
Links to online texts are on the PLS 209 home page.
(B) STORAGE DEVICE
Some homework exercises in the course (and your research project) will involve the use
of the statistical package SPSS. You will not purchase SPSS, but rather use the
version installed on university computers. Since you will be creating and modifying files
that you will want to save, you need a portable storage device. If you do not already
have one, you will find a portable USB memory stick very useful. Whatever storage
device you use, BACK IT UP REGULARLY!!!
(C) OTHER COURSE MATERIALS
There are numerous documents for the course ranging from instructions for working
with SPSS to files transfers. These documents are available only on the WWW home
page for this course.
http://hilltop/~aspin/209www/209homepage.htm
or http://hilltop.bradley.edu/~aspin/209www/209homepage.htm
The home page contains all class handouts, all homework assignments, available
electronic codebooks, and all lecture material from the statistical analysis portion of the
course (Note taking in the last weeks of the course will be easier if you down load the
lecture material and bring it to class).
FORMAL REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES
Your final grade for the course will be based on three major areas according to the
following percentages:
60% Exams
1st Hourly 20% Wednesday October 2
2nd Hourly 20% Wednesday November 6
3rd Hourly 20% During final exam period (Section 1 Dec 17, Section 2 Dec 13)
25% Research Project
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15% Homework
Your course grade is a weighted average of the grades you receive for each of the four
requirements with the following exception: In order to pass the course you must
complete the research project and all exams and receive a grade of D or better in at
least three of the five requirements.
(A) EXAMS
There will be three exams each covering approximately one-third of the material and
each constituting 20% of the total course grade. Make-up exams will be given only in
the cases of unavoidable major obligations or serious illness. In all cases (1) it is the
instructor’s decision on whether or not a make-up will be given, and (2) requests for a
make-up exam must be made at least 24 hours in advance of the regular exam. There
will be no early exams given for the final. If you have a documented disability and
require special arrangements, contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester.
(B) RESEARCH PROJECT
Specific details will be given in class, but in general you must conduct a systematic
empirical test of (1) at least one bivariate hypothesis (2) while controlling for at least one
other causal variable. While the hypothesis you test need not be an original hypothesis,
the empirical test must be original. Simply reporting the empirical analysis done by
others is an automatic grade of F. While there is no specific length for the paper,
certain components, to be elaborated in lecture, are required.
The project will occur in several stages, but two need to be noted here. After your
project has been approved, you will draft the paper up to the presentation of the results
section. This draft paper will (1) review the literature, (2) indicate what the hypothesis
is, (3) discuss its significance, (4) indicate how you conceptually and operationally
define the variables, (5) specify the sample and data source(s) to be used, and (6)
indicate the statistical analysis to be employed. I will critique this portion and return it.
WHILE I WILL NOT ASSIGN A LETTER GRADE TO THIS PORTION OF THE
PAPER, THERE WILL BE A FULL LETTER GRADE DEDUCTION ON THE FINAL
PAPER IF YOU FAIL TO SUBMIT THIS FIRST DRAFT. You will then revise to correct
flaws, carry out the data analysis, and then add the data analysis and your conclusions
to the paper. Dates for submission of the basic hypothesis, the draft of the first 2/3, and
the final draft are listed below. No late papers will be accepted.
(1) Basic Hypothesis
(2 copies) October 18
(2) First 2/3 of the paper ( 1 copy) November 15
(3) Final Draft
(2 copies--one hard copy [returned] & one electronic
copy [archived]) Tuesday December 10, 5:00 PM
Since the first 2/3 draft is not officially graded, some students are tempted to skip this
stage. If you value your GPA, resist this temptation. In addition to the automatic one
grade penalty, almost without exception, papers that have been handed in without the
benefit of review contained serious errors resulting in a low letter grade.
(C) HOMEWORK
Through the course of the semester you will be given several homework assignments.
To receive full credit, homework assignments must be turned in on time. No credit will
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be given for any assignment submitted 3 days past its due date. LEARN the
fundamentals--you will see similar problems on the exams.
(D) CLASS ATTENDANCE
While attendance is not officially required, in reality it is required. The quickest way to
failure is to begin missing classes. Because the topics are so interrelated and the
course is cumulative, skipping classes diminishes your comprehension. In addition to
substantive losses, there can also be important procedural losses. For example, the
rest of the semester will be more frustrating and time consuming than it need be if you
skip the day we review Bradley computing systems. A special note to late risers----the
class starts on time with announcements, which are not repeated in the middle or at the
end of class.
(F) ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS
All students are expected to meet the standards for this course as set forth herein.
However, students with documented learning disabilities who need accommodations
should discuss options with the professor during the first 2 weeks of class and provide
documentation and verification of need.
COURSE OUTLINE AND READINGS
I. An Overview
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Research Methods in the Social Sciences, Preface
Homework: None
II. The "logic of scientific discovery," or "what is knowledge?"
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Ch. 1
Homework: NONE
III. Defining and Formulating Research Problems
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Chs. 2; 3; 4
2. PowerPoint Presentation on Creating and Testing a Bivariate Scientific Hypothesis
Homework:
#1 Concepts and Hypotheses
#2 SPSS Introduction
IV. Research Design in Experimental and Ex Post Facto Research
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Ch. 5; 6
2. PowerPoint Presentation on Controlling Causal Variables when Testing a
Bivariate Scientific Hypothesis
First Hourly Exam
(Usually the middle of the 6th week)
V. Measurement
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Ch. 7, p. 138-148; Ch. 18
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Homework:
#3 Levels of Measurement
VI. Construction of Reliable and Valid Measures
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Ch. 7, pp. 148-157
Homework:
#4 Download Data from ICPSR and Generating Contingency Tables with SPSS
VII. Sampling
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Ch. 15 p. 339-347, Ch. 8
Homework:
#5 Areas Under the Normal Curve Normal Curve
#6 Confidence Interval for the Mean
VIII. Data Storage and Processing
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Ch. 14, Appendix A
Homework:
#7 Creating a Data Set in SPSS
IX. Univariate Descriptive Statistics
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Ch. 15
Homework:
#8 Univariate Descriptive Statistics
Second Hourly Exam
(Usually the middle of the 11th week)
X. Bivariate Descriptive Statistics
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Ch. 16
Homework:
#9 Contingency Table
#10 Correlation and Regression
XI. Multivariate Statistics
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Ch. 17
Homework:
#11 Partial Contingency Tables
#12 Regression and Partial Corr Multivariate
XII. Measuring Risk: Inferential Statistics
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Ch. 19
Homework: NONE
XIII. Modes of Observation
A. Survey
Readings:
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1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Chs. 10, 11
Homework: NONE
B. Direct
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Ch. 9
Homework: NONE
C. Secondary Data Analysis
Readings:
1. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, Ch. 13
Homework: NONE
Return to PLS 209 Home Page
Larry Aspin aspin at bradley.edu
Dept of Political Science
Bradley University
http://hilltop.bradley.edu/~aspin/209www/syllabus.htm
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