This course introduces students to advanced methodological debates and research design in political science. Students will learn research skills to interpret and explain political processes, learning from scholarly literature on case selection and research methodologies and from research papers where various methodologies are applied. They will apply these skills to design their own research projects and present their research design papers at the end of the course.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. develop research questions and puzzles;
2. define and measure political science concepts;
3. critically analyse political arguments;
4. evaluate advantages and disadvantages of different methodological approaches and identify threats to valid causal inference; and
5. design research strategies for case and method selection to answer research questions.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Why research design in Political Science?
2	How do we ask good questions?
3	Concepts and measures
4	Theory & modeling	Concepts and measures essay
5	Causality & causal Inference
6	Experiments & quasi-experiments
7	Quantitative observational design
8	Qualitative observational design	Causal analysis essay
9	Mixed-methods designs
10	Data collection & scientific standards
11	Student presentations & discussion
12	Wrap up & discussion. Next steps in learning research methods	Research Design paper

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Concepts and Measures Essay	15 %	21/08/2020	04/09/2020	2
Causal Analysis Essay	20 %	02/10/2020	16/10/2020	3,4
Research Design Presentations	15 %	*	*	1,2,3,4,5
Research Design Paper	40 %	30/10/2020	13/11/2020	1,2,3,4,5
Participation	10 %	*	*	1,2,3,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Integrity . In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Concepts and Measures Essay

Choose a political science concept of interest to you. Begin with a concept of value to your subfield such as “representation”, “terrorism”, “corruption”, etc. Find the concept in at least two published studies (either qualitative or quantitative), examine the way the concept is defines and operationalized and then come up with a plan for improved definition and operationalization. In other words, critique how others are using the concept in practice and, as part of your critique, offer some suggestions for how the concept could be employed to greater effect. 

Assessment Task 2

Causal Analysis Essay

Identify a scholarly article of interest and critique it with an emphasis on threats to valid causal inference. The article can be any one of your choosing, so long as it explicitly identifies a research question and conducts empirical or qualitative analysis to test that question.

In your assignment, please begin with the full citation to the article so that I can find it easily. You should begin by summarising the article (1–2 paragraphs max), explicitly discussing the research question, what concept is to be explained, what concept provides the primary explanation, causal mechanisms, research design, and results. After the citation and summary, you may structure the critique in any way that you would like so long as you discuss which aspects of the article promote valid causal inference and which aspects of the design may suffer from threats to valid causal inference. 

Assessment Task 3

Research Design Presentations

Students will present their research design papers. The presentation should be 10 min in length and should introduce the research question, situate it within the existing literature and discuss the proposed hypothesis. This should be followed by the discussion of the research design strategy chosen to answer the question. The presentation will be followed by a 10 min Q&A session and discussion. The presentations will give students an opportunity to receive feedback and help develop their skills of providing and responding to constructive criticism and incorporating comments and suggestions into their final papers. 

Assessment Task 4

Research Design Paper

The paper should clearly identify a research question, situate the question within existing literature and develop testable hypotheses. Next, please develop a research design to test the hypothesis. Particular attention should be paid to the case selection and method selection. Please justify your choices with the reference to the material learned in class. The measure of how strong the particular case selection/analysis strategy depends crucially on the research question at hand and you should discuss with an eye towards providing the most defensible substantive answer to your research question. Please note, this is a research design paper only, you do not have to collect data or conduct any actual analyses. The paper can build on the first two essays submitted for this class.

The paper will give students the opportunity to apply the research skills they learned in class and experience first-hand how methodological choices and research design impact research in political science. 

Assessment Task 5

Participation

Students will be graded on the quality of their participation in seminar discussions. In particular, it will test their command of substantive and theoretical material covered in the course as well as help develop their ability to communicate and debate it orally.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.
• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students