University of California, Davis Jeff Gill
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Political Science 51: Scientific Studies of Politics
Tuesday and Thursday 8:00-9:50 in Olson 6.
  • Course Description: The course provides an introduction to the theory and method of contemporary political analysis. Emphasis on alternative analytical frameworks, concepts, variables, measurement, and quantitative analysis of political data. This course is fundamentally about how to conduct research in political science. This process includes: how to formulate research questions and subsequent hypotheses, how to design a research plan, determining what methodologies are appropriate, and performing the specified analysis. This is not a course that is restricted to purely quantitative or qualitative approaches, rather the focus is on determining appropriate methodologies given specific research areas of interest.

  • Course Requirements:
    • Regular Attendance, Reading Prior to Class, Active Class Participation.
      Attendance is essential. While this component is not graded, experience shows that it is highly correlated with exam performance. Some lecture topics will be in addition to material in the texts, and some material in the texts will be omitted from the course. All students are expected do the readings in advance of the class, be prepared to discuss the material, and participate in the classroom exercises. Questions that one should think about while reading are: what are the main points, how does this help me understand the research process in political science, what could be explained better, and how do the readings fit together.

      Starting the second week of the semester we will be reading primary source articles (see below). All of the articles in the reading are available to you online (using a UCD machine) at: www.jstor.org
    • Annotated Bibliography: 10%.
      Due Thursday, February 10 (week 6). This is a bibliographic listing of (at least 20) books and articles in an area of interest to you. The annotations should be about 3-4 sentences only, briefly summarizing the main point in the work. You will then use this to create the literature review (see below).
    • Literature Review: 20%.
      Due Tuesday, March 8 (week 10) . This is a literature of some political science topic of your choosing. The literature review must be concise, correct, and thorough. You need to include both the seminal works in your area as well as recent contributions of note. WARNING: this assignment requires you to visit the library. Your review needs to be 10-15 pages, double-spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 point font. Here is an example.
    • Exam 1: 35%.
      On Thursday, February 3 we will have the first in-class exam concerning the readings up until that point. The format will be short answer questions.
    • Exam 2: 35%.
      On Thursday, March 10 we will have the second (non-cumulative) in-class exam concerning the readings up until that point. The format will be short answer questions.

  • General Policies:
    • All exams must be taken and assignments turned in at the date and time prescribed in the syllabus unless authorized by the instructor in advance. The only exceptions are personal or medical emergencies, in which case the student must provide written documentation signed by a doctor, parent, or university official. Absolutely no exceptions, whatsoever. My experience is that a lot of grandparents expire during weeks in which exams are given or papers are due. In fact, most university faculty have observed this unusual phenomenon, which apparently has no basis in demographics (I've checked). Should this actually be the case, I require ironclad proof with a copy to Jeri Kemp.
    • Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated. See the UC Davis Code of Academic Conduct.
    • We will start right on time. See www.time.gov for details.
    • Accommodations for students with disabilities. Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.
    • Ringing cell-phones count 10% against class grade.

  • Office Hours: Monday 8:00-11:00, and by appointment.

  • Teaching Assistant: TBA .

  • Text:
    1. Title: Political Science Conduct of Inquiry, Fifth Edition
      Authors: Johnson and Reynolds
      Publisher: CQ Press
      ISBN: 1568028741
      Required.

  • Course Content:
    1. WEEK 1 (January 6): Introduction, Vocabulary, Basics. The Science of Political Science.
      Background Reading: Johnson and Reynolds: Chapters 1-2.
    2. WEEK 2 (January 11, 13): Causation and Causal Inference.
      Background Reading: Johnson and Reynolds: Chapter 3.
      Article Reading: James E. Campbell. "Candidates: A Causal Analysis." American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 27, No. 2, May 1983, p.284-293.
      Terence P. Thornberry, R. L. Christenson. "Unemployment and Criminal Involvement: An Investigation of Reciprocal Causal Structures." American Sociological Review, Vol. 49, No. 3, June 1984, p.398-411.
    3. WEEK 3 (January 18, 20): Describing Political Phenomenon and Constructing a Literature Review.
      Background Reading: Johnson and Reynolds: Chapter 5.
      Article Reading: Kjell Goldmann. "East-West Tension in Europe, 1946-1970: A Conceptual Analysis and a Quantitative Description (in Research Notes)." World Politics, Vol. 26, No. 1, October 1973, p.106-125.
      Barbara J. Nelson. "The Role of Sex and Gender in Comparative Political Analysis: Individuals, Institutions, and Regimes (in Book Review Essay)" American Political Science Review, Vol. 86, No. 2, June 1992, p.491-495.
    4. WEEK 4 (January 25, 27): Research Design, Conceptualization, Measurement.
      Background Reading: Johnson and Reynolds: Chapters 4, 6.
      Article Reading: Richard G. Niemi, Stephen C. Craig, and Franco Mattei. "Measuring Internal Political Efficacy in the 1988 National Election Study." American Political Science Review, December 1991, p.1407-1413.
    5. WEEK 5 (February 1, 3): Comparative Methodology.
      Article Reading: Arend Lijphart. "Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method." American Political Science Review, September 1971, 682-693.
      Exam 1 on Thursday.
    6. WEEK 6 (February 8, 10): Determining What Phenomenon to Observe, Sampling, Selection.
      Background Reading: Johnson and Reynolds: Chapters 7, 9.
      Article Reading: Richard Fenno. "U.S. House Members in Their Constituencies: An Exploration." American Political Science Review, September 1977, p.883-917.
      Political Science, November 1982, p.834-855.
      Charles R. Pruitt; James Q. Wilson. "A Longitudinal Study of the Effect of Race on Sentencing." Law & Society Review, Vol. 17, No. 4. (1983), pp. 613-636. Annotated Bibliography Due Thursday.
    7. WEEK 7 (February 15, 17): Collecting and Organizing Observations, Document and Archive Analysis.
      Background Reading: Johnson and Reynolds: Chapters 8. Article Reading: John Seidler. "On Using Informants: A Technique for Collecting Quantitative Data and Controlling Measurement Error in Organization Analysis." American Sociological Review, Vol. 39, No. 6, December 1974, p.816-831.
      David M. Barrett "Doing "Tuesday Lunch" at Lyndon Johnson's White House: New Archival Evidence on Vietnam Decisionmaking." PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 24, No. 4. 1991, p.676-679.
    8. WEEK 8 (February 22, 24): Hypothesis Testing.
      Background Reading: Handout.
      Article Reading: Gabriel A. Almond and Stephen J. Genco. "Clouds, Clocksand and the Study of Politics." World Politics, July 1977, p.489-582.
      Hypothesis Testing Group Exercise Thursday.
    9. WEEK 9 (March 1, 3): Survey Research Principles.
      Background Reading: Johnson and Reynolds: Chapter 10.
      Article Reading: Martin R. Frankel, Lester R. Frankel. "Fifty Years of Survey Sampling in the United States." Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 51, part 2: Supplement: 50th Anniversary Issue. (1987), p.S127-S138.
      Jim Hanson. "On How to Live with Survey Research (in Counterpoint)" Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 8, No. 5, September 1979, p.677-679.
    10. WEEK 10 (March 8, 10): Formal Models of Politics
      Article Reading: Morris Fiorina. "Formal Models of Political Science." American Journal of Political Science, February 1975, p.133-159.
      John H. Aldrich. "Rational Choice and Turnout." American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 37, No. 1. (Feb., 1993), p. 246-278.
    11. WEEK 11 (March 15): Last Week of Classes
      Exam 2 on Tuesday . Literature Review Due Tuesday (same day). NO EXCEPTIONS.