Class Schedule

• Unit I: Elements of Social Science (1/28 to 2/11)
• Unit II: Quantitative Analysis in Political Science
  • Part I: Description (2/14 to 3/10)
  • Part II: Inference (3/14 to 3/20)
• Unit III: Other Approaches to Analysis in Political Science (3/31 to 5/5)

Unit I: Elements of Social Science

Monday 1/28: Why is this class important?

Thursday 1/31: Questions, Theories, and Hypotheses

• Developing Your Own Questions
  
• Theories and Hypotheses, especially Testable Hypotheses (unit of analysis)
• Different approaches to answering questions
  • Normative v. Positive Analysis
  • Causal v. Non-Causal Research
• READINGS:
  • FAIR, CHAPTERS 1-4
• OPTIONAL READING:
  • POLLOCK CHAPTER 2
    
• HAND OUT RESEARCH PROPOSAL ASSIGNMENT
  

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Monday 2/4: Data, Variables, and Measures

• Experimental v. Observational Studies
• Figuring out what data you need and where/how to collect that data (Unit of analysis, Different types of data, Measurement reliability and validity)
• Moving from Hypotheses to Concepts to Variables
• READING:
  • Fair, Chapters 5-8
• OPTIONAL READING
  • POLLOCK CHAPTER 1

Thursday 2/7: Individual Meetings

• Bring ideas for research project, in addition to any relevant literature and/or datasets

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Monday 2/11: Introduction to SPSS

• Cases and Variables, Importing Data, Manipulating variables in SPSS
• READING
  • David Brooks, "Organization Kid": Abbreviated version (required); Full version (optional)
• OPTIONAL READING:
  • POLLOCK COMPANION, CHAPTER 1 AND PP. 59-71

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Unit II: Quantitative Analysis in Political Science

PART I: DESCRIPTION

Thursday, 2/14: How can I describe one variable?

• Univariate Description with Normally Distributed Data; Univariate Description with Skewed Data
• READING FOR DISCUSSION:
  • Levitt & Dubner "A Roshanda By Any Other Name"
• OPTIONAL READING:
• Pollock, pp. 51-61
• Pollock Companion, pp. 15-23
• RESEARCH PROPOSALS DUE
• HAND OUT PROBLEM SET #1
  

Thursday 2/21 and Monday 2/25: How can I describe two variables?

• Bivariate Description with non-continuous variables: crosstabs, graphs, and tables
• Bivariate Description with Continuous Variables: Correlation and Bivariate Regression
• READING FOR DISCUSSION:
  • Dubner and Levitt, "What the Bagel Man Saw" (2/21)
  • Malcolm Gladwell, "The Art of Failure" (2/25)
• OPTIONAL READING:
  • Pollock, pp. 154-165
  • Pollock Companion, pp. 133-141
• PROBLEM SET #1 DUE (2/21)
• HAND OUT PROBLEM SET #2 (2/21)

Thursday 2/28: Scale Construction

• Constructing scales to measure variables
• READING FOR DISCUSSION
  • (skip the introduction and ONLY READ CHAPTER 3!!) LEVITT AND DUBNER: INTRODUCTION & DRUG DEALERS LIVING WITH THEIR MOMS
• PROBLEM SET #2 DUE
• HAND OUT PROBLEM SET #3
  

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Monday 3/3: Regression: Describing more than two variables

• Multivariate Regression
• READING FOR DISCUSSION:
  • Christopher Farrell, "On the Payoff to Attending an Elite College" (Available at: http://www.nber.org/digest/dec99/w7322.html)
• OPTIONAL READING:
• Pollock, pp. 77-100, 168-170
• Pollock Companion, pp. 141-148

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Thursday 3/6: Special Topics in Regression

• Dummy Variables and Interaction Terms
• READING FOR DISCUSSION:
  • Atul Gawande "The Bell Curve"
  OPTIONAL READING (Dummy Variables):
  • Pollock, pp. 165-168
  • Pollock Companion, pp. 155-160
• OPTIONAL READING (Interaction Terms):
• Pollock, pp. 170-175
• Pollock Companion, pp. 160-165
• PROBLEM SET #3 DUE; HAND OUT PROBLEM SET #4

Monday 3/10: Logit Regressions

• Logit Regressions and Predicted Probabilities
• READING FOR DISCUSSION:
  • Malcolm Gladwell, "Examined Life"
  OPTIONAL READING:
  • Pollock, pp. 179-203
  • Pollock Companion, pp. 171-188

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PART II: INFERENCE

Thursday 3/14: How do I know it's True? Inference (Part I)

• Drawing Inferences from Regression
• Probability, Sampling, the Logic of Hypothesis Testing
• READING FOR DISCUSSION:
  • Michael Lewis, "If I Only had the Nerve" (ESPN Magazine)
  • Charles Forelle, "Torino Grapevine" (Wall Street Journal)
• OPTIONAL READING
  • POLLOCK, PP. 130-151
  • POLLOCK COMPANION, PP. 103-127
• PROBLEM SET #4 DUE; HAND OUT PROBLEM SET #5
  

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Monday 3/17 and Thursday 3/20: How do I know it's True? Inference (Part II)

• Interpreting your results
• Reviewing multiple regression and drawing inferences from regression
• READING FOR DISCUSSION (3/17)
  • Claudia Wallis, "The Case for Staying Home" (Time, 3/22/2004)
• READING FOR DISCUSSION (3/20):
  • Patricia Cohen, "Across the Great Divide: Investigating Links Between Personality and Politics" (New York Times, 12/12/2007)
  • Robert Putnam, "Tuning In, Tuning Out" and Notes on Putnam & Durlauf
  • Steven Durlauf, "Bowling Alone: A Review Essay"
  • Claudine Gay, "Spirals of Trust?" and Notes on Gay
    

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Unit III: Other Approaches to Analysis in Political Science

Monday, 3/31: Individual Meetings

• DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS DUE

Thursday 4/3: Case Studies

• Guest Speaker: Professor Stacie Goddard
• READING FOR DISCUSSION:
  • George, Case Studies and Theory Development, pp. 3-59, pages 8-16 optional
• PROBLEM SET #5 DUE (Email to Professor Han by 1:30 pm on 4/3)
  

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Monday 4/7: Individual Meetings

Thursday 4/10: Interpretive Approaches in Political Science

• READING FOR DISCUSSION:
  • JAMES C. SCOTT (1990) DOMINATION AND THE ARTS OF RESISTANCE, pp. 1-16, 86-90, 96-103, 136-40, 152-54, 156-66, 183-201

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Monday 4/14: Individual Meetings

Thursday 4/17: Other Approaches to Research in Political Science

• Alternative approaches to analysis
• READING FOR DISCUSSION:
  • GERRING, CHAPTER 9 and Notes on Gerring

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Tuesday 4/22: Individual Meetings (Special Schedule)

• HAVE ALL DATA ANALYSIS COMPLETE

Thursday, 4/24: How can I apply these skills to my other political science courses (or to reading the newspaper?)

• Analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative approach
• Reading and critiquing articles in political science
  
• READING FOR DISCUSSION:
  • Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, "Where Have All the Criminals Gone?"
  • Christopher Foote and Christopher Goetz, "Testing Economic Hypotheses with State-Level Data"
  • OPTIONAL: Leanne Powner, "Reading and Understanding Political Science" and "Article Helper: Empirical Articles"
• Workshop: How to present your work (research papers and presentations)

Monday, 4/28: Individual Meetings

• DRAFT OF RUHLMAN PRESENTATION DUE

Wednesday 4/30: What will other people say about my research?

• Public Student Posters at Ruhlman Conference

Thursday 5/1: Reflections on Ruhlman

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Monday 5/5: Can I use these skills in the future?

• The Art of Political Science
• Writing up your Project
• Reading:
• Guidelines for Writing Up Your Project
• Conclusion and Wrap-Up

PROJECT PORTFOLIOS DUE BY NOON on MONDAY, MAY 12, 2007

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Created by: Annie Choi '07 and Adilia James '07
Maintained by: Hahrie C. Han
Date Created: August 4, 2006
Last Modified: March 11, 2008
Expires: August 4, 2007