Description and Goals
Why do we call our discipline “political science“? What kinds of research do political scientists do, and how do they communicate that knowledge to one another? How do we know what we think we know? How do we measure political phenomena? How would we know if a new public policy “worked”? How do we analyze data, and what are good data to analyze? Are ethics as hard to define in “political science” as they are in “politics”?
During the course of the semester, we will discuss these issues and others. Our discussions, the readings, various assignments, the midterm and final exams, and the research paper will facilitate your becoming intelligent consumers of political science research, as well as help you become producers of your own research. The skills that you develop in the course will help you understand the literature that you read in substantive courses, enable you to better understand the assumptions behind each research design, introduce you to data management using a popular statistical package, help you find published research and data archives on topics that interest you, and familiarize you with some of the techniques used in individual and aggregate level analysis.
For many students, this will be an entirely different kind of course. Many good undergraduate courses require you to become knowledgeable about a field, such as Comparative Politics, Political Behavior, Public Policy, American Politics, or International Relations. In this course, we are not focused on a particular field, but are more interested in understanding the methods that political scientists in all fields use to understand and build knowledge. Of course, new things can be both exciting and frightening. Any trepidation that you may have is best overcome by “feeling the fear, and doing it anyway.” The excitement will come with the realization that this knowledge is empowering, in that it will enable you to find, read, and understand research on your own. You will also begin to produce this kind of research, which will give you a product of your own labors.
Homework
- Complete occasional assignments. Some assignments are short essays, and others are lab exercises using data. All completed assignments must represent each participant’s own and sole work, unless otherwise directed. Some assignments will be submitted hardcopy in class, but most will be submitted online via Canvas.
- Complete a Midterm Examination.
- Complete a Final Examination. The date and time for the final exam were assigned to this class by the UF Registrar in order to assure that all students have time to prepare for all of their exams and avoid (most) exam conflicts. Plan to be on campus at this time, and do not ask to take the exam early or late, unless you have an exam conflict that is recognized by the UF Registrar. Please advise parents, spouses, fairy godparents, and others who may be making travel plans for you of your final exam schedule.
- Write a Research Paper. Participants may choose to submit a research paper. Papers will be judged on readability, the appropriateness of the research question, the suitability of the design for that question, the interpretation of the analysis, and (if appropriate) the feasibility of extending the analysis in an Honors Thesis. Guidelines for the paper are posted here. OR
- Present a Poster. Participants may choose to present a poster. Posters will be judged on presentation (visual and oral), the appropriateness of the research question, the suitability of the design for that question, and the presentation and interpretation of the analysis. Posters will be presented the week of April 17-19. Guidelines for the poster are here.
Final Grades
| Paper Option | Poster Option | |
| Occasional Assignments | 30% | 30% |
| Midterm Exam | 20% | 25% |
| Final Exam | 20% | 25% |
| Research Paper or Poster | 25% | 15% |
| Attend and Participate | 5% | 5% |
Grading Scale
| B+ | 85.0% | C+ | 75.0% | D+ | 65.0% | |||||
| A | 91.0% | B | 81.0% | C | 71.0% | D | 61.0% | |||
| A- | 88.0% | B- | 78.0% | C- | 68.0% | D- | 58.0% |
Attendance and Late Policy
Every person should come to class prepared to comment on the assigned readings, and help others to understand the concepts presented in the readings and assignments. Research is not a spectator sport, so you should expect me to ask for your contributions on a regular basis. Some time in class will be devoted to lecture, but your participation in this course is expected to be that of an “active learner”. Half of this grade will be based on attendance, and the other half will be evaluated based on this rubric:
| Strong | Needs Development | Unsatisfactory | |
| Listening | Actively and respectfully listens to peers and instructor | Sometimes displays lack of interest in comments of others | Projects lack of interest or disrespect for others (including browsing other materials during class) |
| Preparation | Arrives fully prepared with all assignments completed, and notes on reading, observations, and questions | Sometimes arrives unprepared or with only superficial preparation | Little evidence of having completed or thought about assigned material |
| Quality of contributions | Comments are relevant and reflect understanding of assignments, previous remarks of other students, and insights about assigned material |
Comments sometimes irrelevant, betray lack of preparation, or indicate lack of attention to previous remarks of other students | Comments reflect little understanding of either the assignment or previous remarks in class |
| Impact on class | Comments frequently help move class discussion forward | Comments sometimes advance the conversation, but sometimes do little to move it forward | Comments do not advance the conversation or are actively harmful to it |
| Frequency of participation | Actively participates at appropriate times | Sometimes participates but at other times is “tuned out” | Seldom participates and is generally not engaged or absent |