Faculty of Social Sciences

Political Studies

Foundations of Research in Political Science

POL2156A00
Emily Wills
2017 Fall Term

Course Hours
Monday 13:00 - 14:30 Wednesday 11:30 - 13:00
Location: DMS1140 Location: DMS1140
Type: Type:

Professor
Wills, Emily (emily.wills@uottawa.ca)
Office Hours
Tuesday 13:30 - 15:30
Location: Room (FSS7065)

Teaching Assistant
Arash, Mohammadreza (maras034@uottawa.ca)

Teaching Assistant
Yao, Sandra (sandra.yao@uottawa.ca)

Course Description
Introduction to the fundamental dimensions of research. Presentation of several epistemological
approaches and the questions they raise. Study of diverse logics of enquiry and their modes of
inference. Introduction to some techniques and methods. Elaboration of a research project covering
all of the required steps.

General and Specific Objectives

The goal of this course is to give you a general introduction to how professional researchers (in
academia and outside it) use systematic methods to learn about the world and draw conclusions
about it. We will focus on foundational issues that underpin all research--such as questions of
meaning, causation, and ethics--and then examine specific research methods in order to understand
how they derive new knowledge about the world. This course will include an introduction to the
broad diversity of political science research approaches, including positivist and interpretivist
methodologies and both qualitative and quantitative methods, and exposure to how those methods
differ across disciplines and approaches.

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Course Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the course, student will be able to :

understand the epistemological and methodological backgrounds to key research methods.

identify what methods are being used in a piece of research and what some of the implications of
that are.

determine what sorts of methods would provide answers to important questions about politics.

Required Material

The majority of course readings will be from Halperin and Heath, Political Research: Methods and
Practical Skills, second edition. Copies have been ordered at Benjamin Books, 122 Osgoode St,
Ottawa, ON. There is a first edition available that is similar in content, though not identical. I highly
recommend purchasing the second edition, but should you end up with the first, you will probably be
OK.

Other readings will be posted on Virtual Campus as PDFs. Both PDF and textbook readings are
equally required, and should be read before class.

Evaluations

Participation

Evaluation Date: Ongoing

Evaluation Percentage: 10%

The participation grade is a combination of attendance (have you come to class for almost all
sessions?) and participation (are you an active participant who contributes meaningfully to the class
conversation?). Student attendance will be measured using Echo360. You MUST sign into
Echo360 every class session via text message, phone, tablet, or computer to be counted as present.
Technical problems will not be accepted as an excuse. (If you do not have any of those devices
available to you, talk to me and we can work out an alternative.) While the base percentage of
attendance will be used as the core of your mark, positive participation will increase your mark,
while being a detriment to the classroom environment may lead to a lowering of it.

Article Analysis

Evaluation Date: Wednesday 11 October, 2017

Evaluation Percentage: 20%

You will choose one of a selection of political science articles (from a set posted to Virtual Campus),
and write a three page essay answering some methodological questions about it, especially about
what types of methods it uses and how it understands questions about epistemology and causality.
Articles will be posted before October 1.

Midterm Exam

Evaluation Date: Wednesday 18 October, 2017

Evaluation Percentage: 30%

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Midterm exam, which will include short answer questions and a short essay, testing concepts from
the material covered up to that point.

Research Proposals

Evaluation Date: Final Exam Period

Evaluation Percentage: 40%

Students will work in groups (assigned by the professor) on a multi-part research proposal. Working
from a single broad political topic (such as "legislatures" or "elections" or "participation" or
"violence,"), each team will create an annotated bibliography of current literature on the subject,
develop three different research questions and write brief plans to research all of them, and then
expand one of those plans into a pilot project, which will including preparing research materials
(identifying a data set, designing a survey, selecting a site for ethnographic research) and laying out
a detailed plan for how you would carry the research project out.

The annotated bibliography will count for 25% of your final mark on this project, and will be due on
November 20. The three proposed pieces of research will be due on December 6, and will be worth
35% of your final mark on the project. The single expanded proposal will be due on December 21st.

General Requirements regarding assessments

Assignments are due during class on the announced date. Assignments turned in between the end
of class and the end of the day will be subject to a 5% lateness penalty. Assignments turned in after
that point will be subject to a 10% per day lateness penalty. It is always better to turn in an
assignment than not to turn it in, regardless of how late it is.

Extensions: Up until 48 hours before an assignment is due, you may ask for an extension for any
reason, and we will negotiate an appropriate due date. After 48 hours, extensions will only be
granted for emergencies.

Instructional Approach

This course will be an interactive lecture, including traditional lecture presentations, multimedia
screenings, and discussion and student interaction. Central to the course's functioning will be
Echo360, a presentation/participation software program that allows students to respond to questions
in real time. My approach to teaching emphasizes the role of the professor as guide to the learning
experience, and of students as active participants in shaping the classroom environment, discussion,
and priorities.

Course Calendar

Date Content / Activity / Event / Evaluation

6 September Why do research methods matter?

Recommended reading: PR 1

11 Epistemology, ontology, methodology

September

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 Reading: PR 2

13 Normative approaches to research

September
Reading: PR 3

18 What is a research question?

September
Reading: PR 4

20 How do we choose our questions?

September
Reading: Ian Shapiro, "Problems, Methods, and Theories in the Study of Politics, or
What's Wrong with Political Science and What to Do about It" (PDF)

25 How do we answer questions?

September
Reading: PR 5

27 How do we design a research project?

September
Reading: PR 6

2 October How can we ensure our research is ethically sound?

Reading: Charlie Carpenter, "You Talk Of Terrible Things So Matter-of- Factly in This
Language of Science: Constructing Human Rights in the Academy" (PDF)

4 October What, exactly, are we analyzing?

Reading: PR 7

11 October Contemporary Debates: Data Access and Research Transparency

Initiative (DA-RT)

Reading: Reading packet on DA-RT (PDF)

Article Analysis due

16 October What is comparison?

Reading: PR 9

18 October
Midterm Exam in class

30 October Guest Lecture, Topic TBA

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 Readings: TBA

1 November Historical Research

Reading: PR 10

6 November Experimental Research

Reading: PR 8

8 November Survey Research

Reading: PR 11

13 November Interviews and Focus Groups

Reading: PR 12

15 November Ethnography and Participant Observation

Reading: PR 13

20 November Textual Analysis

Reading: PR 14
Annotated Bibliography Due

22 November Quantitative Analysis 1: Description

Reading: PR 15

27 November Quantitative Analysis 2: Are These Things Related?

Reading: PR 16

29 November Quantitative Analysis 3: All The Variables!

Reading: PR 17

4 December In-Class Work Day for Final Projects

No Reading

6 December Why research methods matter, part 2

No reading
Three mini-proposals due

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Plagiarism

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Here are some examples of academic fraud:

Plagiarism or cheating of any kind;

Present research data that has been falsified;
Submit a work for which you are not the author, in whole or part;
Submit the same piece of work for more than one course without the written consent of the
professors concerned.

Please consult this webpage: it contains regulations and tool to help you avoid plagiarism.

An individual who commits or attempts to commit academic fraud, or who is an accomplice, will be
penalized. Here are some examples of possible sanctions:

Receive an F for the work or in the course in question;

Imposition of additional requirements (from 3 to 30 credits) to the program of study;
Suspension or expulsion from the Faculty.

You can refer to the regulations on this webpage.

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Last updated: Tuesday 5 September, 2017