POL 415: Political Science Junior Seminar

Syllabus updated 2015-01-25; Total Pages: 944

Prof. Alex Montgomery

ahm@reed.edu

(503) 517-7395

Class

Office
M 6:10-7:30

Tu 2:00-5:00 or by appointment
Vollum 110

Vollum 241
https://moodle.reed.edu/course/view.php?id=2662

http://alexmontgomery.com

Course Description and Goals

Half-credit course for one semester. This course is intended for second semester juniors in political science. The course prepares students to complete the initial steps required for a year-long project: asking a research question, reviewing prior literature on the subject, and proposing a research design. Conference.

The schedule of the course mirrors closely the political science junior qualifying examination. The materials covered in this course are independent of the qual, and none of your qual work will be used to satisfy the requirements for this course. However, the tools and techniques that you will learn in this course should help you complete the qual and prepare you for your senior thesis.

The course focuses on the tools and techniques of political science research. We will review many of the major research approaches in political science, particularly those reflecting the main areas of scholarship covered by faculty at Reed College. Much of the work in the class will involve reading, analyzing, and critiquing existing political science research with an eye to identifying the questions asked, methodology chosen, and how answers were reached.

Finally, there is an important and enjoyable team-building exercise to this class: comparative cooking! Each week, the department will support a student or set of students who will cook for the class. Please try to keep the expenditures approximately $35 per week. Dining and discussion are a great way to meet your fellow students.

Requirements

Class Participation

Students are required to actively participate in the class; they will have the opportunity to do so both during and outside of classroom hours. Many of the exercises will be conducted in groups inside and outside of class; some of these will involve peer review.

Readings

Readings for the course are E-Readings, which can be downloaded from the Moodle links using Endnote or Zotero, both of which are supported by the library. Students are expected to bring a copy of the readings to class every day for reference. Laptops may be used in class, but will be banned if abused. Readings marked “Further” on the syllabus are other relevant articles or books; they are not required for class. Students who have a particular interest in the topics in question are encouraged to read these pieces and to incorporate them into their assignments.

If you are unfamiliar with JStor or other political science article databases, please let me know the first day of class; similarly, if you are not already using Zotero or Endnote, you should start now. There is a library session for qualifiers on Tuesday of Week 4 that you will all be required to attend that can assist you with these as well.

Two developments in recent years have created a rich set of resources for the budding researcher in political science. First, a number of publishers have created handbooks for political science (as well as other disciplines). We draw heavily on the Oxford University Press handbook series below. These have the additional advantage of being available as electronic resources at Reed.

Useful Oxford University Press Handbooks

  • Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, Henry E. Brady and David Collier, editors (2008) The Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology.  1st edition. Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780199286546
  • John S. Dryzek, Bonnie Honig and Anne Phillips, editors (2008) The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory.  1st edition. Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780199548439
  • Robert E. Goodin, editor (2009) The Oxford Handbook of Political Science. Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780191619793

Second, as an outgrowth of methodological debates in the discipline, some excellent guides to qualitative research have appeared. These are particularly valuable to Reed students since some variant of case study research is used in most theses.

Qualitative Research Guides

  • Gary King, Robert O. Keohane, and Sidney Verba (1994) Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton University Press, ISBN 0691034710
  • Stephen Van Evera (1997) Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press <http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/37043858>, ISBN 080148457X
  • Barbara Geddes (2003) Paradigms and Sandcastles: Theory Building and Research Design in Comparative Politics. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press <http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51607439>, ISBN 0472068350
  • Henry E. Brady and David Collier, editors (2004) Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, ISBN 0742511251
  • Alexander L. George and Andrew Bennett (2005) Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, ISBN 0262572222
  • Gary Goertz (2006) Social Science Concepts: A User’s Guide. Princeton: Princeton University Press <http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58831523>, ISBN 0691124108
  • Paul Kellstedt and Guy Whitten (2013) The Fundamentals of Political Science Research. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9781107621664

Every student should also have a copy of the Political Science Department Junior Qual Handbook <http://academic.reed.edu/poli˙sci/resources/juniorqualhandbook.htm> and Thesis Handbook <http://academic.reed.edu/poli˙sci/resources/seniorthesishandbook.htm>. Pay particular attention to the more extended list of research resources that are made available in those documents.

Institutional Resources

The Interuniversity Consortium on Political and Social Research (ICPSR) <http://icpsr.umich.edu> is the worlds largest archive of social science data. There are datasets and resources applicable to almost every area of research. Even if you are not quantitatively inclined, there may be something there that could provide a numerical lens on your research question. The ICPSR runs a Summer Quantitative Research Institute in Ann Arbor, MI that may be of interest to select students.

The Consortium on Qualitative Research Methods (CQRM) <http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/programs/cqrm/> at Syracuse University is something of a counterweight to the ICPSR. There are a very rich set of resources at their website, particularly a syllabi database. The also run a summer research institute at Syracuse.

Course Website

Frequent use of the course website will be necessary for success in the class. Supplemental and core readings will be made available there; and assignments will be turned in electronically using the site.

Assignments

Assignments will be due weekly at noon. Weeks in which a substantial part of the qual is due (i.e., weeks 3, 7, 10, 12) will not have additional assignments, but your submissions may be used as part of an exercise those days. Most of the assignments will be short, as they are designed to test mastery of concepts and tools rather than your ability to generate mass quantities of text.

Citation and Plagiarism

A major goal of this course is to encourage good reading, research, and citation habits. Good research requires good documentation of sources and the ability to put one’s own analysis and thoughts into a paper rather than relying on others. When in doubt as to whether you should cite something, always do it. Citations are required for ideas as well as facts, and are imperative even if you are not directly quoting authors. Make sure that you provide as specific a citation as possible; if an author discusses an idea in one section or one page, cite the specific section or page instead of the full article or book. I usually recommend that students use in-text author-date citation with full Chicago Manual of Style citations; see their Citation Quick Guide: <http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools˙citationguide.html>.

However, style is less important than the cites being present. If you use an idea or a fact without attribution, you are plagiarizing someone else’s work. Plagiarism and cheating are violations of academic integrity and thus violations of Reed’s Honor Principle. As specified by Reed’s academic conduct policy, such violations will result in disciplinary actions, including suspension or permanent dismissal from the College. Plagiarism is submitting a piece of work which in part or in whole is not entirely the student’s own work without attributing those same portions to their correct source. For examples of plagiarism and how to avoid it, see <http://www.csub.edu/ssric-trd/howto/plagiarism.htm>. If nothing else, you should avoid “sinister buttocks” syndrome. For more information on Reed’s policies see: <http://www.reed.edu/academic/gbook/comm˙pol/acad˙conduct.html>.

Plagiarism often comes as the result of a student being up against a deadline without being able to meet it. If you are having trouble meeting a deadline for whatever reason, please contact me. It is always better to ask for more time than to plagiarize. When you ask for an extension, you should a)explain what events are causing you to miss the deadline and b)request an amount of time proportional to the interfering events. You may ask for an extension up to, but not exceeding, the amount of time remaining for the assignment, except for cases of emergencies. However, since this course runs on a strict timetable and your fellow students are counting on you, in many cases extensions cannot be granted.

Accommodations

If you’d like to request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disability Support Services. If you have a letter from Student Services, please let me know so we can discuss those accommodations.

26-Jan: 01.1. How to Qual (36 Pages)

2-Feb: 02.1. How to Ask Your Question (89 Pages)

further

Qual Draft Proposal due at noon on Feb 9

Mini Oral Presentations at noon on Feb 10 (Vollum 116) and Feb 11 (Vollum Lounge)

9-Feb: 03.1. How to Answer Your Question (104 Pages)

further

16-Feb: 04.1. Political Theory Methods (28 Pages)

further

16-Feb: 04.2. Political Theory Applications (50 Pages)

Library Session at 4:30 PM on Feb 17 in L17

23-Feb: 05.1. Conceptualization (29 Pages)

23-Feb: 05.2. Democracy: What’s in it? (58 Pages)

further

2-Mar: 06.1. Literature Reviews are Good for You (7 Pages)

2-Mar: 06.2. Proliferation: Deconstructing Reviews (62 Pages)

Qual Draft Annotated Bibliography due at noon on Mar 9

9-Mar: 07.1. Measurement (18 Pages)

9-Mar: 07.2. Measuring Regime Type (41 Pages)

16-Mar: 08.1. Summarizing and Critiquing Prior Quals

23-Mar: 09.1. Spring Break

Qual Draft Outline due at noon on Mar 30

30-Mar: 10.1. Research Design Overview

6-Apr: 11.1. Case Study Research (96 Pages)

further

Qual Draft Research Design due at noon on Apr 13

Mini Oral Presentations at noon on Apr 14 and 15 in Vollum 120

13-Apr: 12.1. Public Policy Approaches (110 Pages)

further

20-Apr: 13.1. Writing I: Sentences (86 Pages)

27-Apr: 14.1. Writing II: Structure (130 Pages)

Qual Final due at noon on May 11