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Teaching Research Methods in Political Science
Teaching Research Methods in Political Science brings together experienced instructors to offer a range of perspectives on how to teach courses in political science. It focuses on numerous topics, including identifying good research questions, measuring key concepts, writing literature reviews and developing information literacy skills.
More Information
Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
More Information
Teaching Research Methods in Political Science brings together experienced instructors to offer a range of perspectives on how to teach courses in political science. It focuses on numerous topics, including identifying good research questions, measuring key concepts, writing literature reviews and developing information literacy skills.
Illustrating the ways in which research methods courses connect with wider topics in political science, contributors discuss how methodological considerations can result in recognition of previously silenced voices, and consider the civic education mission of research methods in political science. Chapters outline quantitative and qualitative methods, feminist methodologies and techniques for studying African-American politics, to review and demonstrate the many avenues that instructors of research methods courses might take.
This crucial guide to teaching will benefit instructors of courses in research methods in political science, as well as faculty leaders instituting new courses in political science. Its theoretical insights into civic education will also be useful to scholars of education more broadly.
Illustrating the ways in which research methods courses connect with wider topics in political science, contributors discuss how methodological considerations can result in recognition of previously silenced voices, and consider the civic education mission of research methods in political science. Chapters outline quantitative and qualitative methods, feminist methodologies and techniques for studying African-American politics, to review and demonstrate the many avenues that instructors of research methods courses might take.
This crucial guide to teaching will benefit instructors of courses in research methods in political science, as well as faculty leaders instituting new courses in political science. Its theoretical insights into civic education will also be useful to scholars of education more broadly.
Critical Acclaim
‘This book provides thoughtful and practical explorations of accessible pedagogical tools and approaches which can vastly improve any political science program. Bernstein and his contributors effectively make an argument for how the methods course is fundamental to achieving our discipline’s goals of developing active citizens who can evaluate information and evidence regarding problems which our democracies face in the 21st century. It should be required reading for every PhD candidate, methods course instructor, and department chair.’
– Alison Rios Millett McCartney, Towson University, US
‘This book is a very valuable resource for those teaching research methods in political science – often to students who do not start with any interest in methods. The different chapters provide very useful lessons for educators to effectively teach the “how“ and “why“ of research methods to our students.’
– Victor Asal, University at Albany, SUNY, US
– Alison Rios Millett McCartney, Towson University, US
‘This book is a very valuable resource for those teaching research methods in political science – often to students who do not start with any interest in methods. The different chapters provide very useful lessons for educators to effectively teach the “how“ and “why“ of research methods to our students.’
– Victor Asal, University at Albany, SUNY, US
Contributors
Contributors: Johan Adriaensen, Michael A. Bailey, Kelly Bauer, Jeffrey L. Bernstein, Patrick Bijsmans, William D. Blake, Kelly A. Clancy, Jason Enia, Carolyn Forestiere, Afke Groen, Claire Haeg, Alexis Leanna Henshaw, Matthew C. Ingram, Jonathan B. Isacoff, Kristin Makszin, Harwood K. McClerking, Shane Nordyke, Zsolt Nyiri, Robert Postic, Amanda M. Rosen, Amanda Shannon, Vaughn Shannon, Christi Siver, Peter Yacobucci
Contents
Contents:
Introduction: the citizenship imperative and the Political Science
Research Methods course 1
Jeffrey L. Bernstein
PART I GUIDANCE FOR TEACHING THE
RESEARCH METHODS COURSE
1 Getting the basics right: finding the right research question 13
Zsolt Nyiri
2 Incorporating information literacy in political science
research design 28
Amanda Shannon and Vaughn Shannon
3 Beyond the annotated bibliography: improving student
literature reviews through structured heuristics 43
Shane Nordyke and Peter Yacobucci
4 Promoting course coherence by teaching with an invisible
pet and other case studies 58
Kristin Makszin
5 Effectively teaching research methods as a series of
simulation exercises 69
Jason Enia
6 Political methodology without the politics: reshaping the
methods course to focus on real-world content and skill building 82
Amanda M. Rosen
7 Engaged statistics: building statistical skills by focusing on
answering interesting and important questions 96
Michael A. Bailey
8 Teaching transparency: principles and practical
considerations with illustrations in Stata and R 114
Matthew C. Ingram
9 Effectively teaching research methods in an online course 131
Robert Postic
PART II FITTING RESEARCH METHODS WITHIN
THE BROADER CURRICULUM AND DISCIPLINE
10 Designing and implementing methods curricula 146
Johan Adriaensen, Patrick Bijsmans and Afke Groen
11 Scaffolding research methods across the curriculum: an
exploration of embedded curricular design 161
Kelly A. Clancy and Kelly Bauer
12 Incorporating and assessing methods across the political
science curriculum 177
Christi Siver and Claire Haeg
13 Are students failing research methods or are research
methods failing students? 194
William D. Blake and Carolyn Forestiere
14 What the traditional critiques from marginalized groups
bring to comprehending political science research today 208
Harwood K. McClerking
15 Mainstreaming gender in research methods 222
Alexis Leanna Henshaw
16 A Deweyan pragmatist view on political science methods 238
Jonathan B. Isacoff
Index
Introduction: the citizenship imperative and the Political Science
Research Methods course 1
Jeffrey L. Bernstein
PART I GUIDANCE FOR TEACHING THE
RESEARCH METHODS COURSE
1 Getting the basics right: finding the right research question 13
Zsolt Nyiri
2 Incorporating information literacy in political science
research design 28
Amanda Shannon and Vaughn Shannon
3 Beyond the annotated bibliography: improving student
literature reviews through structured heuristics 43
Shane Nordyke and Peter Yacobucci
4 Promoting course coherence by teaching with an invisible
pet and other case studies 58
Kristin Makszin
5 Effectively teaching research methods as a series of
simulation exercises 69
Jason Enia
6 Political methodology without the politics: reshaping the
methods course to focus on real-world content and skill building 82
Amanda M. Rosen
7 Engaged statistics: building statistical skills by focusing on
answering interesting and important questions 96
Michael A. Bailey
8 Teaching transparency: principles and practical
considerations with illustrations in Stata and R 114
Matthew C. Ingram
9 Effectively teaching research methods in an online course 131
Robert Postic
PART II FITTING RESEARCH METHODS WITHIN
THE BROADER CURRICULUM AND DISCIPLINE
10 Designing and implementing methods curricula 146
Johan Adriaensen, Patrick Bijsmans and Afke Groen
11 Scaffolding research methods across the curriculum: an
exploration of embedded curricular design 161
Kelly A. Clancy and Kelly Bauer
12 Incorporating and assessing methods across the political
science curriculum 177
Christi Siver and Claire Haeg
13 Are students failing research methods or are research
methods failing students? 194
William D. Blake and Carolyn Forestiere
14 What the traditional critiques from marginalized groups
bring to comprehending political science research today 208
Harwood K. McClerking
15 Mainstreaming gender in research methods 222
Alexis Leanna Henshaw
16 A Deweyan pragmatist view on political science methods 238
Jonathan B. Isacoff
Index
