SYLLABUS: Undergraduate Research in Political Science
The American Institutions and Methodology (AIM) Lab
Laboratory Director Professor Janet Box-Steffensmeier Email address: [email protected]
Course Description The course is designed to develop undergraduate students’ research and data science skills through participation in the American Institutions and Methodology (AIM) Lab. The lab is a collaborative research endeavor with the mission to advance and produce high-quality social science research that addresses the challenges facing democracy and governmental institutions. The student will work with the lab director on a specific research project. This experience is intended for students who wish to deepen their knowledge of political science research. Work will be conducted in a lab setting overseen by the Lab Director, Professor Janet Box-Steffensmeier. Because this is a lab setting, several teams may be working on different projects simultaneously, but all lab members will regularly meet together to discuss progress.
Lab Handbook A handbook and other important materials can be found here.
Acknowledgements This syllabus and the lab handbook are patterned in part on materials created by Dr. Aaron Sparks and Dr. Laura Roselle for the Sparks Lab of Elon University; I thank them both for generosity in sharing their work.
Course Goals The goals for this course and laboratory are to allow the student to do the following:
*Understand and practice how to develop questions in political science research. *Gain political science research skills, including: Literature review Methodology Data Collection Data Analysis Writing as a Political Scientist *Gain experience in presenting political science research, including: Attending and presenting research at academic conferences Responding to and providing constructive feedback
Student Responsibilities The student will be responsible for the following:
*Attending weekly AIM Lab meetings in Derby Hall (time and place TBD) with occasional zoom option as needed *Attending biweekly one-on-one meetings with the AIM Lab Director *Writing two reflective assignments, one at the midterm and one at the end of the semester (see details below) *Completing at least two of the following as part of collaborative efforts toward the completion of an article-length manuscript: Literature review Research design or proposal Theory building Coding of data Analysis of data Research paper
Assessment and Course Grade Your grade will be determined by assessing your participation in the lab and your fulfillment of the responsibilities outlined above.
Your final grade will be determined by assessing the following: *Attendance and preparation at weekly meetings: 30% *Completion of assigned work: 30% *Reflection assignments: 40%
Grading Policy Grades correspond to the quality of student work. The grade policy is as follows. For pass/fail, students must have acceptable or above work: A: student has done truly exceptional work B: very good work C: acceptable work D: poor work The instructor will provide regular feedback on the quality of work via email and at biweekly one-on-one meetings.
Reflective Assignments Reflection is the cornerstone of experiential learning and is a vital skill for researchers. As such, students will have both a midterm and end-of-semester assignment that connects the research with learning goals. These assignments also provide the opportunity for you to receive feedback from the Lab Director.
Midterm reflective assignments will focus on the scientific principles to which the lab is committed:
Rigor indicates our commitment to precise theorizing, measurement, statistical analysis, and hypothesis testing. Transparency: The lab will practice transparency by making all data and replication code available via the open science framework. We also welcome other researchers to test our analysis, and where applicable, we will pre-register our analysis plans.
Ethical Research: We will conduct ethical research by not inventing new hypotheses to test when prior hypotheses are not supported. Additionally, guidelines for human subjects research will always be strictly adhered to in the research process.
End of semester reflective assignments will focus on the individual’s scope of work and will include discussion of obstacles, progress, next steps, and goals for the project as well as a personal accomplishments and long-term goals.
Each reflective assignment should take the form of an essay of approximately (3 to 5 pages) focusing on the themes discussed above. Due dates for each assignment are determined by consultation with the director and student.
Academic Integrity It is the responsibility of the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigate or establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct. The term “academic misconduct” includes all forms of student academic misconduct wherever committed; illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee (Faculty Rule 3335-5-487). For additional information, see the Code of Student Conduct.
If I suspect that a student has committed academic misconduct in this course, I am obligated by university rules to report my suspicions to the Committee on Academic Misconduct. If COAM determines that you have violated the university’s Code of Student Conduct (i.e., committed academic misconduct), the sanctions for the misconduct could include a failing grade in this course and suspension or dismissal from the university.
If you have any questions about the above policy or what constitutes academic misconduct in this course, please contact me.
Other sources of information on academic misconduct (integrity) to which you can refer include: Committee on Academic Misconduct web page (go.osu.edu/coam) Ten Suggestions for Preserving Academic Integrity (go.osu.edu/ten-suggestions)
Readings The below readings are assigned as examples of political science research, as well as to increase familiarity with concepts such as research design, hypothesis formulation and testing, and measurement validity. The Lab Director will assign additional readings based on the student's interests and the current research projects.
Adcock, Robert, and David Collier. "Measurement validity: A shared standard for qualitative and quantitative research." American Political Science Review 95, no. 3 (2001): 529-546.
Box‐Steffensmeier, Janet M., Dino P. Christenson, and Alison W. Craig. "Cue‐taking in congress: Interest group signals from dear colleague letters." American Journal of Political Science 63, no. 1 (2019): 163-180.
Fouirnaies, Alexander, and Andrew B. Hall. "How do electoral incentives affect legislator behavior? Evidence from US state legislatures." American Political Science Review 116, no. 2 (2022): 662-676.
Osmundsen, Mathias, Alexander Bor, Peter Bjerregaard Vahlstrup, Anja Bechmann, and Michael Bang Petersen. "Partisan polarization is the primary psychological motivation behind political fake news sharing on Twitter." American Political Science Review 115, no. 3 (2021): 999-1015.
Putnam, Robert. 1995. “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital,” Journal of Democracy 6(1):65-78.
Copyright for instructional materials The materials used in connection with this course may be subject to copyright protection and are only for the use of students officially enrolled in the course for the educational purposes associated with the course. Copyright law must be considered before copying, retaining, or disseminating materials outside the course.
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