The final project will be due during finals week on the day of our scheduled final, recall that the final research design is in place of a final exam. This page is meant to be a resource for you, there is a lot here so feel free to come back to this page to look at the different sections.
Title (5 points)
Titles are descriptive, let the reader/audience know what the paper is about
Titles can be clever, humorous, eye-catching
Introduction (10 points, 1-2 paragraphs)
What is this project about?
Why is this project important OR who might want to know the answer to this question?
How is this project related to politics (local, state, federal, or international)?
The introduction will include the broad research question
The introduction will include the specific hypothesis
The introduction will provide any necessary context
(Very Concise) Literature Review (20 points, 2-4 paragraphs)
What sort of academic literature* already exists on your topic? (you should discuss 6-8 pieces)
What variables (DV, IV, or controls) have been examined, how were they operationalized?
What case studies/individuals/institutions have been looked at already?
What are the general findings in this academic literature?
How does your project fit into these pre-existing studies?
What question does your study answer that hasn’t been addressed so far?
*What is “academic literature”? This refers to peer reviewed academic literature, accessed through the school library databases like JSTOR or EBSCO Host, you can also use Google Scholar to search for and access academic articles
**Can I use things from popular press, such as the Atlantic, NY Times, Washington Post, Economist, or 538? Yes, if they are used in conjunction with the academic sources
***Can I cite white papers and policy briefs from government sources? Yes, these can also be used in conjunction with academic sources
Methodology Data Collection (40 points, 2-4 pages)
What is your research question, restated
What is your specific hypothesis?
What is your dependent variable (the outcome)?
Must be operationalized so that someone could go out and measure it just as you describe here
Is the variable nominal, ordinal, interval?
If nominal, what are the categories?
If ordinal, what are the levels?
If interval, what is the range?
Operationalization would include a time period
Why is this the correct dependent variable, and not something else?
What is your independent variable (the cause)?
Must be operationalized so that someone could go out and measure it just as you describe here
Is the variable nominal, ordinal, interval?
If nominal, what are the categories?
If ordinal, what are the levels?
If interval, what is the range?
Operationalization would include a time period
Why is this the correct independent variable, and not something else?
What are your control variables (must include two control variables)
Must be operationalized so that someone could go out and measure it just as you describe here
Are the variables nominal, ordinal, interval?
If nominal, what are the categories?
If ordinal, what are the levels?
If interval, what is the range?
Operationalization would include a time period
Why did you choose these as controls?
What is the unit of analysis?
If this data already exists, where is it? How would the person access the data? What form is it in?
If this data does not already exist, how would they gather it? Survey? Experiment? Case study analysis? Process tracing? Interviews? Focus groups?
Would any additional work, such as creating an additive index, or creating dichotomous variables, or any other coding need to be done prior to analysis? If so, describe it here.
Methodology Analysis (25 points, 1-2 pages)
Now that we have the variables and we know how to measure them, we need to tell the reader what to do with the data
How will they analyze the data?
What sort of summary statistics will they be using and why? (Frequency? Mean? Median? Mode? Percentage?)
Comparing groups/individuals/institutions? Which ones?
Comparing over time? What is the time period?
Looking for interactions between the IV and the controls?
What sorts of issues should the reader look at for? What might be some potential problems?
Given your work with the bivariate feasibility test (Memo 2), what should they expect to see once they begin to analyze your data?
What are the potential limitations of your study?
What would a completed project look like?
What might be the political impact of a study like this?
Works Cited/References
Any citation style as long as you are consistent
No endnotes, use footnotes
Additional commentary and things I look for in a great research design:
The final research design should be written in an essay format, not as an outline or with bullet points
If you can think of another creative way to write it up, I am happy to see it
Citations needed throughout
Title page? Not necessary, but you do you
Good transitions from one section to another-I love good transitions
Please utilize your spell check and grammar check, China the country ¹ china the dining plates
Page numbers, sure!
Should I use examples, yes I love examples
Can I use a data visualization(s) in my introduction, literature review, methods sections? YES!
Can I use a table to organize my variables or anything else? YES!
Can I have more than two control variables? Yes, of course.
Can I have more than one DV or IV, because I have two hypotheses? Yes, of course.
Can I slightly change my project now that I have completed Memo 2 and I have a slightly better idea? Yes, of course.
What if I see a really cool research design in the literature and I want to “copy” it for my research design but I am making it slightly different with new variables or new hypothesis, or new case studies? Yes, cite the original paper and describe where/how your design is different from the one you are citing—this is very common in research.
“I don’t know what I am doing, help”—email me and we will set up a chat on Zoom
Rubric
Final Project
Final Project
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Project Title
Project has a compelling, descriptive title.
5 pts
Full Marks
Great title, descriptive, catchy, unit(s) of analysis are included.
3.75 pts
Pretty Good
Good title, pretty sure what project is about.
2.5 pts
It’s okay
Project has a title, unclear what the project is about.
0 pts
No Marks
How come there is no title?
5 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Introduction
The introduction sets the stage for the entire paper at least one of the following should be clearly addressed, the reader should feel this question is compelling and they must know how you are going to answer it:
1. What is the important question that you are trying to provide an answer to?
2. Why is it important to answer this question?
3. How does answering this question move us forward?
4. Who would want to know the answer to this question?
5. Sometimes this section would contain a “hook” or a “puzzle” for the reader
28 pts
Full Marks
Clearly written, compelling narrative, situates this question in the broader context of the world/nation/state/city/community. Transitions well into the next section.
22.4 pts
Pretty Good
The introduction is mostly well-written, the question is interesting, it is mostly clear how/where/why this question is being asked/examined.
16.8 pts
It’s okay
The introduction is okay, a question has been presented, it may be a little unclear as to its substance or the reason why the reader should care about this question.
14 pts
What’s happening?
There isn’t a clear question that is being examined, it is not clear the importance of the question.
28 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Theory Section
This section deals with theoretical approaches, previous research, existing research on your topic. You should have thought and written about each of the following points:
You can think of this part of the paper as a mini lit review, don’t get bogged down in this part (please, don’t get bogged down here) instead think about-
1. What is THE most important literature on your topic that the reader would HAVE to know about?
2. How does this research support the hypothesis you have developed?
3. How has the existing research operationalized or studied these variables?
4. How does your research fit within the existing literature (adds to it, disproves something, new case study, supports existing studies, new time period, etc)
5. This section usually end with a statement of the research question and a formal statement of your hypothesis (hypotheses)
35 pts
Full Marks
The section is well-organized and clearly written. There is a brief overview of the existing literature on your topic. Your research question fits in this research tradition, or challenges the existing findings or approaches in this literature. The variables you have chosen, the way you are measuring them, the units of analysis have clear connections to existing literature in the field. The research question and hypothesis, or hypotheses, are clearly stated.
28 pts
Pretty good
This section is organized and mostly clearly written. The existing literature is summarized and the research question is linked to the existing research. The research question and hypothesis are clearly stated.
22.75 pts
It’s okay
There is some mention of preexisting literature, perhaps not clearly organized or supporting of the research question. There is a hypothesis and research question but could be issues with how they are stated/unclear what the variables are, or how they might be measured.
15.75 pts
What’s happening?
Brief mention to some literature, but no connection to project. Research question and hypothesis are missing or are unclear.
35 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Methods
Methods, what you are going to do [this section is the most important for this class] Consider each of the points below:
1. This is a place for you to describe what you are going to do in the study
a. Describe things–like the data you are using (who collected it, where does it exist, what does it look like), the variables, the unit of analysis, what years are you looking at
–The DV, what is it, how did you operationalize the variable, how is it measured (literally-carefully explain how it will be measured, is this a new way to measure it/old existing way?)
–The IV, what is it, how did you operationalize the variable, how is it measured (literally-carefully explain how it will be measured)
–The Controls, what are they, how did you operationalize the variables, how will they be measured?
b. Describe the model, what goes into the model (controls too)
c. Given how you are operationalizing and measuring the variables, what are the limitations of the study, methodologically? (there are always limitations to a study, do not say “none”)–for example are there limitations on the data? Years missing? Data not collected?
45 pts
Full Marks
All variables are carefully described. The variables match the hypothesis. The measurement of the variables makes logical or intuitive sense. There is variation on the variables under the years proposed. There are control variables.
36 pts
Pretty Good
All variables are described. The variables mostly match the hypothesis. The measurement of the variables mostly makes logical or intuitive sense. There is variation on the variables under the years proposed. There are control variables proposed.
27 pts
It’s okay
There is a DV, IV and there were attempts to describe, but measurement is unclear. The variables are related to the hypothesis, but are different Measurement of the variables is unclear, how it would work in the real world? The variables don’t always vary under the time period. There are control variables, not well-described.
18 pts
What’s happening
The DV and IV are mixed up. Variables are not described. Variables are different than hypothesis Measurement of variables does not make sense, is not related. There is no variation on the variables under the years proposed. There are no control variables.
45 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Discussion
When thinking about a discussion section we might think about the following:
1. What do we think (or already know) we are going to find?
2. What are our preliminary results (from those of you who have them)?
3. What might the limitations of our study be? What might the impact of this study be?
4. What would be our next steps?
12 pts
Full Marks
Well-organized discussion section, thoughtful analysis about what this study might accomplish and what the limitations might be. Well-situated in the existing literature.
9.6 pts
Pretty Good
Nicely written discussion section, good points made about what this study might accomplish and what the limitations might be. Ties to existing literature.
7.2 pts
It’s okay
Some discussion of what this study might accomplish, what the limitations might be. Not really tied to the existing work/research.
3.6 pts
What’s happening
No discussion of what this might mean for the field of literature it is drawn from. No discussion of limitations. No ties to existing work.
0 pts
No Marks
12 pts
Total Points: 125
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