Syllabus
PSCI 200: Research Skills in Political Science
Course description
This course will introduce students to the tools political scientists use to study politics. The course begins with the basic elements of research, including how to develop a research question, variable types, measurement, and sampling, and then moves to a discussion of different research approaches (qualitative and quantitative).
Learning outcomes
- Generate well-worded social science research questions and construct testable hypotheses;
- Evaluate the quality of information sources including scholarly articles, news sources, websites, and blogs;
- Write a literature review as part of a research project;
- Understand the ethical considerations of conducting research;
- Critically appraise and interpret quantitative and qualitative research;
- Identify the tradeoffs between using different social science methods;
- Conduct and interpret a basic research project using one of the course methods.
Grading Criteria and Requirements
| Percentage | Component | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 20% | Participation | Students will engage in hands-on exercises (such as quizzes, forum discussions, and case studies) related to the day’s readings. When possible, these activities will help develop parts of the final paper project during class time. |
| 30% | Midterm (Paper Prospectus) | Students will write a 3-page (double-spaced, font TNR 12pt) paper prospectus on a topic of their choosing, using one of the methods discussed in the course. The prospectus should introduce a research question and set out a plan for how you will answer it (prospective literature and methods). You should propose a hypothesis and explain the significance of your question and case. The prospectus should also include an annotated bibliography (at least 5 sources). Please make an appointment with me to discuss your idea before you start working on it. |
| 30% | Final Paper | Building on the feedback received on the paper prospectus, students will write an 8 to 10-page (double-spaced, font TNR 12pt) final paper. The final paper should include an introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion section. |
| 20% | Presentation | Students will make a 5 to10-minute presentation on their paper projects. I will provide a guideline for how to create the slide presentation. |
Extra credit
Writing Center: You can receive up to 5 points of extra credit by taking drafts of the final paper to Queens College Writing Center. Each visit to the Writing Center to workshop the final paper will grant 2.5 points of extra credit. Please ask for a “Visit Confirmation Slip” and send it to me (by email) to receive the extra credit points.
Grading Scale
I will use the official Queens College scale when grading: A+=97-100, A=93-96, A-=90-92, B+ =87-89, B=83-86, B-=80-82, C+=77-79, C=73-76, C-=70-72, D+=67-69, D=60-66, F=0-59.
Required readings
This is a Zero Textbook Cost course, and we will rely on open educational resource (OER) materials. You can find the Readings on the Schedule menu.
Special needs
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should register immediately with the Special Services Office by emailing [email protected]. For more information about services available to Queens College students, visit the Office of Special Services website. Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Academic integrity
All individual assignments, assessments, and activities you submit in this course must be the product of your own work and produced exclusively for this course. Giving answers to individual assignments or tests to other students and using AI to generate text to answer class assignments is a serious violation of academic integrity, as is plagiarizing answers from others. You can check CUNY Academic Integrity Policy for more information.
