Political Science 604 Professor Patrick Kenney
Polimetrics 2 Office: 6748 Coor Hall
1:40 to 4:30 F Office Hours: by
appointment
Spring 2005 Office Phone:
965-4222
Purpose of the Course
This course follows on the foundation laid in
POS603. The course has two fundamental
goals: to apply a quantitative technique to a research topic and produce a
publishable paper; and to be exposed to additional data analysis techniques
that we did not cover in POS603.
The course assumes a working
knowledge of descriptive statistics, sampling distributions, statistical
inference, hypothesis testing, and multiple regression analysis.
Course Activities
There are four activities
associated with the course. First, I will lecture on different data analysis techniques
that I believe may be helpful for research.
Second, you will present a
completed paper in class. You must
provide me two copies by Noon Friday before your presentation. This is not to be a first draft in terms of
presentation. It must resemble a
completed work although you will be allowed to revise and resubmit the paper on
the last day of class. Your presentation
must be between 15 to 30 minutes in length.
Your presentation is 20 percent
of your grade. I will critique your
paper after your presentation and it is my goal to ask colleagues to also make
comments, especially in areas I am not familiar with.
Third, you will revise and
rewrite the paper making changes by the last day of class. If the paper is ready to be submitted for
publication you will receive an A, the paper is worth 40 percent of your grade.
The papers must be quantitative.
You may select any technique that is appropriate for your topic. All papers must include the following
sections: literature review, guiding theoretical framework, data and measurement,
findings, and implications. The
literature review must present why the topic is important and what you propose
to add to the existing literature. The
theory section must present a framework that guides hypothesis
development. The data and measurement
section must detail what data you are using, how variables are operationalized, and what analytical technique you are using. The findings section should put forth the
results, most likely in a table. The
implications section must state what contributions your work makes to the
existing literature. This section should
not be a restatement of findings.
The final aspect of the
course is a comprehensive final exam that is worth 40 percent of your grade.
The final is open book and open note.
Topic
Assignment
Time-series: Charles Ostrom,
Jr. 1990. Time Series Analysis:
Regression Techniques (second edition).
Gregory
Markus. 1979. Analyzing Panel Data.
Probit and Logit: John H. Aldrich and Forrest D. Nelson.
1984. Linear Probability, Logit, and Probit Models.
Scott
R. Eliason. 1993. Maximum
Likelihood Estimation: Logic and Practice.
Simultaneous equations: William D. Berry.1984. Nonrecursive Causal Models.