PADM6060, Analytical Methods
Course Schedule and Readings
(Total number of pages 897)
Session 1. Research Matters (9/10 In class)
(Reading: 27 pages)
Singleton and Straits. 2005. Ch. 2, pp. 14-40.
Assignment:
Hand out: Reflections on Research in PA
Session 2. Nature of Applied Research (9/17 Online)
(Reading 93 pages)
Singleton and Straits. 2005. Ch. 3, pp. 43-75.
Gaventa, John. 1993. “The Powerful, the Powerless, and the Experts: Knowledge Struggles in an Information Age.” In Peter Park, Mary Brydon-Miller, Budd Hall, and Ted Jackson (Eds.), Voices of Change: Participatory Research in the United States and Canada. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey, pp. 21-40.
Hedrick, Terry, Leonard Bickman and Debra Rog. 1993. Applied Research Design: A Practical Guide (Applied Social Research Methods Series: 32), Newbury Park, Sage. Ch 1, “The Nature of Applied Research,” pp 1-14.
Weiss, Carol and Michael Bucuvalas. 1980. Social Science Research and Decision-Making. New York: Columbia University Press. Ch. 1, “Definitions of the Problem,” pp. 1-26.
Assignment:
Hand out: Problem Statement
Due: Reflections on research in public administration
Session 3. Concepts and Questions (9/24 Online)
(Reading 81 pages)
Hedrick, Terry, Leonard Bickman and Debra Rog. 1993. Applied Research Design: A Practical Guide (Applied Social Research Methods Series: 32), Newbury Park, Sage. Ch 2, “Defining the Focus of the Research,” pp 15-37.
Johnson, Janet, Richard Joslyn, and H.T. Reynolds. 2001. Political Science Research Methods. Washington, DC: CQ Press. Ch. 3, “The Building Blocks of Social Scientific Research: Hypothesis, Concepts, and Variables,” pp. 45-71.
Leedy, Paul and Jeane Ormrod. 2005. Practical Research: Planning and Design. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Ch. 3, “The Problem: The Heart of the Research Process?,” pp. 43-63
Wagle, Udaya. 2002. “Rethinking Poverty: Definition and Measurement.” International Social Science Journal, 54(171), 155-65.
Assignment:
Due: Problem Statement
Hand out: Literature Review and Conceptual Framework
Session 4. Literature Review (10/01 In class)
(Reading 46 pages)
Creswell, John W. 2009. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd Edition). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Ch. 2, "Review of the Literature," pp. 23-47.
Leedy, Paul and Jeane Ormrod. 2005. Practical Research: Planning and Design. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Ch. 4, “Review of the Related Literature,” pp. 64-84.
Library Orientation: Searching and accessing materials online
Sessison 5. Operationalization: Variables, Measurement, and Relationships (10/08 Online)
(Reading: 80 pages)
Singleton and Straits. 2005. Ch 4, pp. 76-110.
Shively, W. Phillips. 2004. The Craft of Political Research. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Ch. 6 "Causal Thinking and the Design of Research," pp. 74-96.
Wagle, Udaya. 2008. “Multidimensional Poverty: An Alternative Measurement Approach for the United States?” Social Science Research. 37(2), 559-80.
Session 6. Research Design I: Experimental and Quasi-experimental Approaches (10/15 Online)
(Reading 64 pages)
Singleton and Straits. 2005. Chs. 6 and 7, pp. 155-218.
Assignment:
Journal Article Methodology Critique
Due: Literature Review and Conceptual Framework
Session 7. Research Design II: Survey Research (10/22 Online)
(Reading 135 pages)
Singleton and Straits. 2005. Ch. 5, pp. 111-158; Ch. 8 and Ch. 9, pp. 219-305.
Session 8. Research Design III: Qualitative Approaches (Case Study Research, Field Research, Historical Research, Content Analysis, and Key Informant Interview) (10/29 In class)
(Reading 113 pages)
Singleton and Straits. 2005. Ch. 10 pp. 306-344 and Ch. 11 (part) pp. 364-380.
Creswell, John W. 2009. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd Edition). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Ch. 9, "Qualitative Procedures," pp. 173-202.
Yin, Robert. 2009. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Chs. 1 and 2, “Introduction” and “Designing Case Studies,” pp. 1-66.
Assignment:
Session 9. Research Design IV: Secondary Research and Mixed Methods (11/05 Online)
(Reading: 103 pages)
Singleton and Straits. 2005. Ch. 11 (part), pp. 345-64 and Ch. 12, pp. 381-408.
Creswell, John W. 2009. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd Edition). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Ch. 10, "Mixed Methods Procedures," pp. 203-225.
Stewart, David and Michael Kamins. 1993. Secondary Research: Information Sources and Methods (2nd Edition). Newbury Park: Sage. Chs. 1 and 2, “Introduction” and “Evaluating Secondary Sources,” pp. 1-32.
Hand out: Peer Review of Research Design Proposal
Due: Research Design Proposal due to peer reviewers
U.S. Census Bureau Home Page: http://www.census.gov
Current Population Survey: http://www.census.gov/cps/
General Social Survey and other Datasets: http://sda.berkeley.edu/archive.htm
Data compiled by various US government agencies. http://www.fedstats.gov.
State Politics and Policy Data Resources: http://www.ipsr.ku.edu/SPPQ/research.shtml
Inter-University Consortium of Political and Social Research (ICPSR) providing access to extensive datasets from various sources: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/
Statistical Abstract of the U.S.: http://www.census.gov/statab/www/
FBI Uniform Crime Reports: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm
Centre for Applied Social Surveys out of UK: http://www.socstats.soton.ac.uk/CASS
Freedom House Rakings of Political and Economic Freedom: http://www.freedomhouse.org
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Voter turnout related data for 140 countries: http://www.idea.int/vt/index.cfm
United Nations Development Program, Human Development Indicators starting with the 1960s (Web, CD-ROM or Print): http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/
World Bank, World Development Indicators. Starting with the 1960s (Web, CD-ROM, or Print) http://econ.worldbank.org/
World Resources Institute, Natural resource and climate data: http://www.wri.org
Session 10. Ethical Issues (11/12 Online)
(Reading: 83 pages)
Creswell, John W. 2009. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd Edition). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Ch. 4, "Writing Strategies and Ethical Considerations," pp. 73-94.
Lafollette, Marcel. 1996. Stealing into Print: Fraud, Plagiarism, and Misconduct in Scientific Publishing. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. Ch. 2, “Classifying Violations,” pp. 32-67.
Hand out: Presentation
Session 11. Writing Research Proposals and Reports (11/19 Online)
(Reading 72 pages)
Singleton and Straits. 2005. Ch. 18, pp. 540-556.
Leedy, Paul and Jeane Ormrod. 2005. Practical Research: Planning and Design. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Ch. 6, “Writing the Research Proposal,” pp. 115-132.
Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb and Joseph M Williams, 2003. Craft of Research, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Ch. 7, “Making Good Arguments,” Ch. 8, “Claims,” and Ch. 9, “Reasons and Evidence,” pp. 114-150.
Session 12. Student Presentations (12/03 In class)