Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science

Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science
Author: Stephen Van Evera
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2015-04-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0801454441
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Stephen Van Evera greeted new graduate students at MIT with a commonsense introduction to qualitative methods in the social sciences. His helpful hints, always warmly received, grew from a handful of memos to an underground classic primer. That primer evolved into a book of how-to information about graduate study, which is essential reading for graduate students and undergraduates in political science, sociology, anthropology, economics, and history - and for their advisers. -How should we frame, assess, and apply theories in the social sciences? "I am unpersuaded by the view that the prime rules of scientific method should differ between hard science and social science. Science is science." -A section on case studies shows novices the ropes. -Van Evera contends the realm of dissertations is often defined too narrowly "Making and testing theories are not the only games in town.... If everyone makes and tests theories but no one ever uses them, then what are they for?" -In "Helpful Hints on Writing a Political Science Ph.D. Dissertation," Van Evera focuses on presentation, and on broader issues of academic strategy and tactics. -Van Evera asks how political scientists should work together as a community. "All institutions and professions that face weak accountability need inner ethical rudders that define their obligations in order to stay on course."

Writing a Research Paper in Political Science

Writing a Research Paper in Political Science
Author: Lisa A. Baglione
Publisher: CQ Press
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2018-12-31
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1506367437
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Even students capable of writing excellent essays still find their first major political science research paper an intimidating experience. Crafting the right research question, finding good sources, properly summarizing them, operationalizing concepts and designing good tests for their hypotheses, presenting and analyzing quantitative as well as qualitative data are all tough-going without a great deal of guidance and encouragement. Writing a Research Paper in Political Science breaks down the research paper into its constituent parts and shows students what they need to do at each stage to successfully complete each component until the paper is finished. Practical summaries, recipes for success, worksheets, exercises, and a series of handy checklists make this a must-have supplement for any writing-intensive political science course.

The Professor Is In

The Professor Is In
Author: Karen Kelsky
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2015-08-04
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0553419420
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The definitive career guide for grad students, adjuncts, post-docs and anyone else eager to get tenure or turn their Ph.D. into their ideal job Each year tens of thousands of students will, after years of hard work and enormous amounts of money, earn their Ph.D. And each year only a small percentage of them will land a job that justifies and rewards their investment. For every comfortably tenured professor or well-paid former academic, there are countless underpaid and overworked adjuncts, and many more who simply give up in frustration. Those who do make it share an important asset that separates them from the pack: they have a plan. They understand exactly what they need to do to set themselves up for success. They know what really moves the needle in academic job searches, how to avoid the all-too-common mistakes that sink so many of their peers, and how to decide when to point their Ph.D. toward other, non-academic options. Karen Kelsky has made it her mission to help readers join the select few who get the most out of their Ph.D. As a former tenured professor and department head who oversaw numerous academic job searches, she knows from experience exactly what gets an academic applicant a job. And as the creator of the popular and widely respected advice site The Professor is In, she has helped countless Ph.D.’s turn themselves into stronger applicants and land their dream careers. Now, for the first time ever, Karen has poured all her best advice into a single handy guide that addresses the most important issues facing any Ph.D., including: -When, where, and what to publish -Writing a foolproof grant application -Cultivating references and crafting the perfect CV -Acing the job talk and campus interview -Avoiding the adjunct trap -Making the leap to nonacademic work, when the time is right The Professor Is In addresses all of these issues, and many more.

A Field Guide to Grad School

A Field Guide to Grad School
Author: Jessica McCrory Calarco
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2020-08-25
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0691201102
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An essential handbook to the unwritten and often unspoken knowledge and skills you need to succeed in grad school Some of the most important things you need to know in order to succeed in graduate school—like how to choose a good advisor, how to get funding for your work, and whether to celebrate or cry when a journal tells you to revise and resubmit an article—won’t be covered in any class. They are part of a hidden curriculum that you are just expected to know or somehow learn on your own—or else. In this comprehensive survival guide for grad school, Jessica McCrory Calarco walks you through the secret knowledge and skills that are essential for navigating every critical stage of the postgraduate experience, from deciding whether to go to grad school in the first place to finishing your degree and landing a job. An invaluable resource for every prospective and current grad student in any discipline, A Field Guide to Grad School will save you grief—and help you thrive—in school and beyond. Provides invaluable advice about how to: Choose and apply to a graduate program Stay on track in your program Publish and promote your work Get the most out of conferences Navigate the job market Balance teaching, research, service, and life

Thinking Like a Political Scientist

Thinking Like a Political Scientist
Author: Christopher Howard
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2017-03-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 022632754X
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There are a plethora of books that aim to teach the research methods needed for political science. Thinking Like a Political Scientist stands out from them in its conviction that students are better served by learning a handful of core lessons well rather than trying to memorize hundreds of often statistical definitions. Short and concise, the book has two main parts, Asking Good Questions and Generating Good Answers. In the first section, one chapter each is devoted to the three fundamental questions in political science: who cares?, what happened?, and why?. These take up, among many other topics, crafting a literature review, creating hypotheses, measuring concepts, and the difference between correlation and causation. The second section of the book has chapters about choosing a research design, choosing cases, working with written documents, and working with numbers. All of these are essential skills for undergraduates to have when reading published work and conducting their own research. Every chapter ends with several exercises where students can read examples from published work and develop their own skills as researchers. Finally, unlike most research methods books, Christopher Howard s sprinkles humor and surprising analogies throughout."

Writing in Political Science

Writing in Political Science
Author: Diane E. Schmidt
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 546
Release: 2019-01-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1351252828
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A complete, professional resource for writing an effective paper in all subfields of political science, Diane Schmidt’s 25th anniversary edition provides students with a practical, easy-to-follow guide for writing about political ideas, events, policies, passions, agendas, and processes. It offers additional formats and guidelines focusing on the growing use of social media and the need for professional communication in blogs, tweets, forums, media sites, lectures on demand, and postings on websites. A collection of student papers shows students how to write well for better grades. After reading Writing in Political Science students will know how to: choose and narrow a research topic; formulate a research agenda; quickly locate reputable information online; execute a study and write up findings; use the vocabulary of political science discourse; follow the criteria used to evaluate student assignments when writing; apply writing skills to an internship, civic engagement project, or grant proposal; and manage and preserve achievements for career development. New to the Fifth Edition Locating Research Materials: Updated links to all sources, expansion of appropriate sources to include mobile sources available through tweets, blogs, forums, and other informal communication; expansion of tools to include database searching; use of smart phone technology; and evaluation of source reliability to include commercial sources, Wikipedia, media sites, social media, and lectures on demand. Creating Evidence: Evaluating data sources on the web including government databases, non-profits, and special interest/commercial data; and using collaborative forms of data collection. Includes a new section on Memorandums of Conversations (MEMCON), essential in recent political controversies. Manuscript Formatting and Reference Styles: Updated examples of citing internet sites, blogs, forums, lectures on demand, and YouTube. Format/Examples: Updated exam-writing treatment to include on-line, e-learning, open-book exams, media applications examples using YouTube and online media; restored legal briefs treatment; revised proposal examples; revised PowerPoint instructions to include diversity considerations; expanded formula for standard research papers to include wider disciplinary treatment, expanded communication techniques, format and examples of appropriate posting for social media and organizational websites, expanded internship treatment, inclusion of needs-assessment format and examples. Career Development: Restoration of 3rd edition chapter and expansion of professional portfolio building including vitae, resume, cover letters, letters of intent, statement of purpose, and skills/competency discussions. Updated citations for changes in The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition, 2017 and The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 8th Edition, 2016.

The Political Science Student Writer's Manual and Reader's Guide

The Political Science Student Writer's Manual and Reader's Guide
Author: Gregory M. Scott
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2016-09-22
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1442267119
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The Political Science Student Writer's Manual and Reader's Guide is a practical guide to research, reading, and writing in political science. The Political Science Student Writer’s Manual and Reader’s Guide, Eighth Edition, is a set of instructions and exercises that sequentially develop citizenship, academic, and professional skills while providing students with knowledge about a wide range of political and governmental concepts, phenomena, and information sources. It begins by teaching beginning students to engage newspapers and other political media sources critically and analytically. It focuses on the crafts of writing and scholarship by providing the basics of grammar, style, formats and source citation, and then introduces students to a variety of rich information resources including the Congressional Record, Federal Register, and the Library of Congress. Students actively apply their knowledge and skills by corresponding with their representatives and commenting on pending government regulations. Part 1 concludes with campaign management, policy analysis, legislation assessment, and similar exercises that develop student skilled-observation proficiency. Part 2 prepares students to research, read, write, review, and critique political science scholarship. Finally, Part 3 teaches advanced students how to investigate public opinion; analyze domestic and international public policies; author amicus briefs; and participate in the universal community that deliberates the continuing rich tradition of political philosophy.

Medicare and Medicaid

Medicare and Medicaid
Author: Greg M. Shaw
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2021-01-26
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN:
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Medicare and Medicaid: A Reference Handbook provides an in-depth discussion of these two large government health insurance programs. It additionally addresses such related issues as health care, government spending, and socialized medicine. Many Americans hold conflicting views on how to pay for health care. They fear that government involvement will either undermine the quality of care or cost taxpayers too much. However, over the past half-century, hundreds of millions of Americans have come to rely on government health insurance because they are elderly, low-income, or both. Medicare and Medicaid: A Reference Handbook provides high school and college readers with a one-stop resource on these two government insurance programs. A background and history of the topic are followed by a chapter on problems, controversies, and solutions. Perspectives and profiles speak to current program strengths, political concerns, and problems. There is a strong focus on current program challenges and opportunities. Moreover, most of the government documents referenced in a dedicated resources chapter are produced periodically, with updates accessible online, so the book should enjoy an enduring shelf-life. The volume closes with a glossary and bibliography.

Interview Research in Political Science

Interview Research in Political Science
Author: Maria Elayna Mosley
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2013-05-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0801467969
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Interviews are a frequent and important part of empirical research in political science, but graduate programs rarely offer discipline-specific training in selecting interviewees, conducting interviews, and using the data thus collected. Interview Research in Political Science addresses this vital need, offering hard-won advice for both graduate students and faculty members. The contributors to this book have worked in a variety of field locations and settings and have interviewed a wide array of informants, from government officials to members of rebel movements and victims of wartime violence, from lobbyists and corporate executives to workers and trade unionists. The authors encourage scholars from all subfields of political science to use interviews in their research, and they provide a set of lessons and tools for doing so. The book addresses how to construct a sample of interviewees; how to collect and report interview data; and how to address ethical considerations and the Institutional Review Board process. Other chapters discuss how to link interview-based evidence with causal claims; how to use proxy interviews or an interpreter to improve access; and how to structure interview questions. A useful appendix contains examples of consent documents, semistructured interview prompts, and interview protocols.

Political Science

Political Science
Author: Jeffrey Morton
Publisher: Quickstudy Reference Guides
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018-05
Genre: Political science
ISBN: 9781423238775
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Highly relevant on today's world stage, this succinct guide to systems of government and the analysis of political activity and behavior can support students taking the course and anyone interested in understanding these systems that ultimately determine our way of life. Comprehensive 6 page laminated guide will boost grades and is a fact filled gold mine for political conversations and debates backed by the high qualifications of our coauthors, both professors and honorees in the field of U.S. and international politics. 6 page laminated guide includes: World Governments by Country Theories of World Politics Three Levels of Analysis Modern International System International Law International Political Economy United Nations Arms Control Actors in World Politics War Philosophy of the Social Sciences Major U.S. Foreign Policy Events: 2000-2018 What Kind of Country is the United States? The Three Branches of the Federal Government How a Bill Becomes a Law