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RESEARCH METHODS FOR POLITICAL SCIENCE

Ms. Sumeera Hassan Forman Christian College,

Visiting Faculty Undergraduate
ECTS: 3 Political Science
Office Hours: Decide by Email. Fall 2016

Introduction and Basic Concepts

The main idea of this course is to give students deep knowledge on core issues, concepts,
and techniques of research methods for political science. The course analyze and discuss
various instruments (e.g., models, narratives) used in the social sciences, provides basic
instruction on selected research methods, and discusses the design and implementation of
research. The course particularly focuses on underlying principles of analysis and critical
thinking. It also equips students with necessary knowledge and skills to understand and
conduct program evaluation and analyze public policies. This course is considered
mandatory for the undergraduate students. Due to the specific nature of the subject, the
course Research Methods is multidisciplinary and essential to acquire basic knowledge of
research, be it in academic or practical field.

Aims and Learning Outcomes

Academic Aims

The academic aims of the course are to expand and deepen students’ knowledge of the
methodologies, theories, and practices of the social science as well as provide them with
the ability to critically read the sophisticated literature of the discipline and understand its
methodology.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course the students will be able to:
- formulate good research questions and design appropriate research;
- to be able to collect own data using a variety of methods;
- analyze both qualitative and quantitative data;
- critically evaluate own research and that of other social scientists;

Teaching Methodology

Since the course consists of theoretical and practical materials, it will be taught through
lectures, discussions, case studies and the one or two lab sessions. The course will
employ student-and learning centered approach. Discussions based on student
contributions add a vital and dynamic element to the class. The classes will be held twice
a week and ready for discussion. As a rule of thumb, everyone should come to class
with comments or questions from the core readings.
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Structure of the Course

The course is organized in four teaching parts. The first block will introduce students to
the nature of human inquiry and science; paradigms and theories of social research as
well as ethics and politics of social research. In the first part the students will also get
familiarized with various search tools and engines for collection of literature and data.
The second section of the course will concentrate on structuring of inquiry. Here we are
particular interested in understanding and comprehending the research design;
conceptualization, operationalisation and measurement. Furthermore, in this section the
students will learn on logic of sampling, indexes and scales for successful analysis of
various literatures. Third part will focus on modes of observation: quantitative and
qualitative type of research. Here we will talk about experiment, survey research,
unobtrusive research as well as evaluation research. The last but one of the most
important parts of the course will concentrate on data analysis. At this section the
students will learn on making qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Here we will
spend significant amount of time on statistical analysis. The last couple of classes will be
dedicated to reading and writing social research. Beside the core readings from textbook,
student will be responsible for reading additional articles and materials which will be
provided by the instructor.

Course Content and Assigned Readings

Weeks Topic(s) Aims and Content Readings

1 Syllabus Introduction. Introduction of syllabus and explanation of learning
Why do we need outcomes of the course.
research methods?

Class 2: Human Inquiry Overview of some of the basic variations in social Babbie - Chapter 1. Any
and Science research. additional material TBD.

2 Search Engines and To learn using the search engines: JSTOR; Proquest;; Lab 1. Bring your Laptops
Data Collection- An WDI; Statistical Committee of Pakistan; US Census or Devices.
Introductory Overview Bureau; World Indicators. Explain how search engines
can be used to search web sites. Provide advice for
assessing data found on web sites .

Class 4: Paradigm, List the three functions of theory for research; Define Babbie - Chapter 3
Theory and Social paradigm. Provide synopses for each of the following
Research paradigms: early positivism, social Darwinism,
conflict, symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology,
structural-functionalism, feminist, and critical race
theory. Differentiate theory from paradigm. Define
hypothesis testing. Differentiate inductive logic from
deductive reasoning by definition and example.
Outline the steps in deductive theory construction.
Summarize the links between theory and research.

3 The Ethics and Politics Discuss why ethical issues are frequently not apparent Babbie: Chapter 2
of Social Research. to the researcher. Describe and illustrate the ethical Additional Material TBD.
issues involved involuntary participation, no harm to
subjects, anonymity and confidentiality, the

4 Research Design
5 Conceptualization,
Operationsalisation and
Measurement
6 Indexes, Scales and
Typologies
7 The logic of sampling.
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researcher's identity, and analysis and reporting.
Summarize the link between objectivity and ideology.
Identify the two major tasks of research design. .Define Babbie: Chapter 4
and illustrate the three basic purposes of research. .List
three reasons for performing exploratory studies. Chapter Excerpts:
Contrast the idiographic and the nomothetic models of Research Designs in
explanation by definition and example. List and Political Science.
illustrate the three prerequisites for establishing
causality in nomothetic explanations. List and explain
the three things that social scientists do not mean when
they speak of causal relationships.
Define and illustrate the ecological fallacy. Define and
illustrate reductionism. Compare cross-sectional and
longitudinal studies in terms of the advantages and
weaknesses of each. .Differentiate among the three
types of longitudinal studies by definition and example.
Link the terms conception, conceptualization, and Babbie: Chapter 6
concepts. Differentiate among the following terms: And Additional Excerpts.
direct observables, indirect observables, constructs, and
concepts. Differentiate the following four levels of
measurement and give an example of each: nominal,
ordinal, interval, and ratio. Differentiate precision from
accuracy by definition and example. Define reliability
and compare these strategies for improving the
reliability of measures: test-retest method, split-half
method, using established measures, and reliability of
research workers. Define validity and compare these
types of validity: face validity, criterion-related
validity, construct validity, and content validity.
Describe the tension between reliability and validity
Differentiate index from scale by definition and Babbie: Chapter 7
example. List two reasons why scales are generally
superior to indexes. Describe two misconceptions Additional: Quantitative
regarding scaling. Describe the rationale and Research Methods and
application for employing bivariate relationships Political Science
among items in index construction. Describe how Excerpts.
items can be scored in index construction. Describe
five strategies for handling missing data in index How to Prepare a
construction. Describe the logic and procedures of the Questionnaire.
Bogardus social distance scale. Describe the logic and
procedures of Thurstone scaling. Describe the logic and
procedures of Likert scaling. Describe the logic and
procedures of Guttman scaling.
Define sampling. Document the historical connection Babbie: Chapter 5
between sampling and political polling.
Describe and illustrate each of the following types of
nonprobability sampling: reliance on available subject
sampling, purposive (judgmental) sampling, quota
sampling, and snowball sampling. List two advantages
of probability sampling over nonprobability sampling.
Define each of the following terms and explain its
relevance for random sampling: element, study
population, random selection, and sampling unit. Using
probability sampling theory, describe the sampling
distribution. Explain how to interpret a standard error
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in terms of the normal distribution using confidence

levels and confidence intervals.
<MID TERM>
9 Survey Research Illustrate how surveys may be used for descriptive, Babbie: Chapter 8
explanatory, and exploratory purposes.
Describe how surveys are sometimes misused. Additional Handouts
List three methods for distributing self-administered Provided.
questionnaires. Present four advantages of interviews
over questionnaires. Describe the several new
technologies available for computer-assisted telephone
interviewing. Describe the advantages of online polling
and offer some advice for successful online polling.
Contrast questionnaires and interviews, and describe
when each is most appropriate. Assess the strengths
and weaknesses of survey design. Give two examples
of secondary analysis and/or data archives, and
summarize the advantages and disadvantages of this
approach.
10 Qualitative Field Define qualitative field research and compare it with Babbie: Chapter 11
Research other methods of observation. Identify the key
strengths of field research. Define and give examples Additional Handouts
of each of the following elements of social life Provided.
appropriate for qualitative field research: practices,
episodes, encounters, roles, relationships, groups,
organizations, settlements, social worlds, and lifestyles
(or subcultures). Give three examples of research
topics particularly appropriate for qualitative field
research. Compare the various roles the field researcher
can assume, ranging from complete participant to
complete observer. Explain how people who are being
studied might modify their behavior if they knew that
they were being studied. Define and illustrate the
following paradigms: naturalism, ethnomethodology,
grounded theory, case studies and extended case
method, institutional ethnography, and participatory
action research. Define and illustrate focus groups.
11 Unobtrusive research Describe and compare the three unobtrusive research Babbie: Chapter 10
designs: content analysis, analysis of existing statistics,
and comparative and historical research. Show how the Additional Handouts
unit of analysis influences sample selection in content Provided.
analysis. Illustrate how a researcher might employ each
of the following sampling techniques in content
analysis: simple random sampling, systematic
sampling, stratified sampling, and cluster sampling.
Present advice for the development of code categories
in content analysis. Explain how analytic induction is
used in qualitative content analysis. Summarize the
difficulties with units of analysis in existing statistics.
List three sources of existing statistics.
15.List three sources of data for comparative and
historical research. Discuss the role of corroboration in
enhancing the quality of existing statistics. Discuss the
role of verstehen and ideal types in the analysis of
existing statistics
12 Evaluation research Identify the purposes of evaluation research. Define Babbie: Chapter 12
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and illustrate needs assessment, cost-benefit, and

monitoring studies. Identify three factors influencing
the growth of evaluation research. Define and illustrate
social intervention. Describe why it is important to
identify the purpose of an intervention. Define and
illustrate the outcome (or response) variable. Give
three examples of experimental contexts that may
influence specific evaluation research studies. Describe
two problems with specifying interventions. Compare
the two options for measuring variables. Provide
advice for operationalizing success or failure of an
intervention. Define quasi-experimental designs.
Define and illustrate time-series designs.
Define and illustrate nonequivalent control group
designs. Define and illustrate multiple time-series
designs. .Define and illustrate cost-benefit analysis.
13 Qualitative Data Define and illustrate qualitative analysis. Compare the Babbie: Chapter 13 and
Analysis connection between data analysis and theory in both 14
qualitative research and quantitative research.
Illustrate these ways of looking for patterns in a
particular research topic: frequencies, magnitudes,
structures, processes, causes, and consequences.
Describe the four stages of the constant Comparative
method used in the grounded theory method. Define
and illustrate semiotics. Define and illustrate
conversation analysis. Show how coding works in
qualitative analysis. Compare these types of memos:
elemental, sorting, and integrating.
Show how computers can be used in qualitative data
analysis. Illustrate how the qualitative analysis of
quantitative data is useful.

Quantitative Data Define quantitative analysis. Describe the coding

Analysis process and compare two approaches to developing
code categories. Offer some advice for coding a set of
data. Identify two functions of codebooks. Present
some of the common elements in codebook formats.
Describe several ways for entering data. Define and
give examples of univariate analysis. Define and
explain the utility of frequency distributions and
marginals.

14 Statistical Analysis Define central tendency. Compare the mode, mean, and Babbie: Chapter 16 and
median in terms of calculation and interpretation. Chapter 17
Describe the information provided by measures of
dispersion. Compare the range, standard deviation, and
interquartile range in terms of calculation and
interpretation. Distinguish continuous variables from
discrete variables by definition and example. Provide
guidelines for balancing the demands of detail versus
manageability of data presentation.
Differentiate the goals of univariate, bivariate, and
multivariate analyses. Identify the goal of subgroup
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comparisons. Explain two techniques for handling the

“don't know” response. Differentiate dependent
variable from independent variable by definition and
example. Describe how bivariate tables are presented
and analyzed.

Writing Up Social Provide advice for reading journal articles. Provide

Research advice for reading research monographs. Identify the
functions of scientific reporting. Explain how the
intended audience affects writing a research report.
Differentiate the following types of research reports:
research notes, working papers, professional papers,
articles, and books. Compare the aims of research
reports. Explain the importance of stating the purpose
and providing an overview in research reports. Explain
the role of reviewing the literature in research reports.
Define plagiarism and provide advice for avoiding
plagiarism. Explain the role of describing the study
design and execution in research reports. Explain the
role of describing the analysis and interpretation in
research reports. Explain the role of the summary and
conclusions in research reports. Provide guidelines for
reporting analyses in research reports.
15 Final Exams

Reading List

Babbie, Earl. (2009). The Practice of Social Research. 12th ed. Bedmont, CA: Wadsworth

Wagner, W. (2009). Using SPSS for Social Statistics and Research Methods. California
State University: CA, Bakersfield

Hedrick, T. (1993). Applied Research Design. A Practical Guide. Sage Publications, CA.

Grading
Attendance 10%
Class Participations [Regular Readings] 10%
Academic Research Paper 15%
Academic Research Paper Presentation 5%
Mid-Term Exam 30%
Final Exam 30%
Total 100%
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How to Read an Academic Book or Article

These are bits of wisdom I wish someone had told me when I started grad school.
Reading an academic article/book is not like reading a newspaper or novel. Following
these guidelines will help keep you from being overwhelmed, and make you better
prepared for discussions & essays.
1. Read actively, not passively.
You read because you are trying to mine the text for insights. You are not reading because
you have to get through it. Take an active posture while reading: you are trying to take
something away from the reading.
2. Before you begin, ask yourself: what is my purpose for reading this?
First ask yourself: What topic is the course covering this week? What are the active issues
and recurrent themes? What sorts of insights do I hope to get out of the reading? The
Reading Questions will help you get a grip.
3. Do not always read from start to finish.
Read the introduction or opening paragraphs. Then skip to the back and read the
conclusion to see where the thing is going. Flip through the article/book and take note of
the section or chapter titles. Read the beginning & end of each section to see what they’re
about. Stop. Think about what this article/book is trying to accomplish and how it will get
there. Get a sense of the overall arguments first, and how the author will develop them.
Then step back, close your eyes and think, what are the most important parts that I must
read? What can I skim over for now?
4. Read selectively.
Do not read every word in the text. Read the most important parts first, and see what else
you need to read as you go. You can always go back. You have my permission to skip the
less important parts – no guilt, really!! But you got to be thoughtful to figure what those
are. *** Better to read the most important parts thoughtfully, than try to get through the
entire thing like a zombie. ***
5. Stop frequently and ask yourself: what did I just learn?
Make notes as you go. Write down questions. Don’t get bogged down in unimportant
detail. If your mind starts to wander, stop and refocus on the big picture: what’s been
happening in the text, and where is it