Political Behavior (POS 312)

Here are the details of your research project for POS 312

Research project (400 points) The primary assignment is a semester-long research project on a topic related political behavior. (Student choice of the topic and thesis requires instructor approval.) Each product at the first five stages will include: title page, content, and reference page. Only APA citation style is accepted. Appendices are acceptable, but should be labeled and numbered correctly, and placed after the reference page. Grading criteria include: clarity, content, organization, and writing. Grading criteria are described below. Questions regarding the basic research process, including construction and development of a major political science research paper, are addressed in both of the two supplementary texts listed above. Students are highly encouraged to review one or both of these texts. The instructor will also provide assistance as necessary. The project is divided into six stages:

1. Research question (20 points):* Development of research question or hypothesis, including appropriate background of topic, brief history and theory. Questions to consider when research and writing this stage: What is the importance of this question to the overall understanding of political behavior? What new information is being unearthed? Or, what previously formed information is being re-examined differently? Page length: approximately 3 pages, double spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1” margins, with page number bottom middle, beginning on page two.
2. Methodology (30 points):* Description of methodology used, whether qualitative or quantitative. Student will explain how he will gather data, and provide explanation of the methodology applied to the data. Questions to consider: What is the main type of data used to address your research question? Where will you find it? How will you access it? How will you interpret and understand the data? What methodological tools will you use and why? Page length: approximately 4 pages, double spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1” margins, with page number bottom middle, beginning on page two.
3. Literature review (50 points):* Overview of the literature. At this stage the student will provide an annotation of the primary and secondary sources used that relate to, describe, or help explain the basic topic, history, theory, specific research question, methodology, etc. of the research project. An annotation of sources are not all expected to be included in the final paper. This is the student’s opportunity to present the basic primary and secondary sources that apply directly or indirectly to his research topic. Strictly speaking an annotation is not a literature review, but it is an important first step for the beginning undergraduate political science student. It will assist him in organizing the literature and help him consider how the literature fits together. Only legitimate sources are acceptable, including books, monographs, peer-reviewed academic articles, articles from legitimate non-academic, but intellectual, sources, survey data, newspapers, personal interviews, on-site observation, etc. Great care must be used with use of websites. Encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. are not acceptable for inclusion. Questions to consider: What has been written on this topic before? How does it support my thesis/hypothesis? How does it counter my thesis/hypothesis? What can I learn from this particular source? Page length: approximately 10 pages, double spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1” margins, with page number bottom middle, beginning on page two.
4. Rough draft (100 points):* Student will produce a complete rough draft of the paper. The draft should be of suitable length and detail to address the research question posed. Approximately 15-20 pages. After reading the paper the instructor will meet with each student individually, go over instructor comments and recommendations for improvement.
   1. Title page;
   2. Abstract;
   3. Body of paper, with the following elements: introduction, overview of the problem, methodology explained, review of the literature, data collection, analysis, and results, and conclusion and recommendation
   4. Reference page;
   5. Appendix (if necessary)
5. Final draft (150 points):* Final draft is due at the end of the semester. It must meet all minimum expectations contained in the rough draft; in addition, however, it should include all necessary changes, enhancements, and other improvements discussed between faculty and student. Professional and presentable quality is expected.
6. Oral presentation (50 points):* Student will provide 20 minute oral presentation of paper. The presentation will be given during the final exam period. Visual aid can be used, but student is expected present overview of project in a clear, concise, and well organized fashion.

*For exact due dates please refer to your course syllabus