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On Thursdays
From 1.30pm to 2.30pm
Or e-mail:
Baris.Gulmez.2009@live.rhul.ac.uk
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Xenophobia against Pakistani immigrants in the
UK?
- Are X’s research findings valid? Why?
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American civil servants’ attitudes towards
internet censorship.
-Are Y’s findings reliable? Why?
- Why did Z receive different answers, in your
opinion?
In evaluating information about the social
world about any particular topic X, it is
helpful to keep 2 questions in mind:
1. "What is meant by X in this research?"
(conceptual definition)
2. "How was X measured?" (operational
definition)
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consider the UK, France, Tunisia, and Iran as
democratic.
Do you agree with their measurement of
democracy? Would you use additional indicators
to measure democracy?
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the level of political dissatisfaction in the
world.
Do you agree with their argument? Why?
Your Hypothesis:
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Poorer countries are more likely to experience
political violence
Select a country(ies)
Suggest different research methods to test
whether your hypothesis is true or not.
Explain how your team will conduct the research
(how long the research will take, the budget
etc…)
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Proper introduction: define the keywords in the
essay question and provides the essay outline.
Be concise 
Proper Conclusion summarizes and highlights
your main argument/answer.
Be convincing 
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show your knowledge of the academic world:
Refer to many academic articles and books!
show your familiarity with world politics: give a
lot of real-world examples
Avoid long and ambiguous sentences!
A good essay is critical and analytical (rather than
descriptive):
 questioning, evaluating, making judgements,
finding connections and categorising (rather than
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simply summarizing what you read and heard)
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Show that you are aware of the counter-arguments
and try to refute them.
Acknowledge the limitations of your own argument.
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Avoid plagiarism (intellectual theft)
Always give the name of the author, the year of
publication, and the number of page.
e.g.
“Charts and graphs illustrate the results of the
research.” (Bogdan and Biklen 1998:4).
or
According to Bogdan and Biklen (1998:4), “Charts
and graphs illustrate the results of the research.”
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Article
Levy, J. S. and Thompson, W. R. (2005)
‘Hegemonic Threats and Great-Power Balancing
in Europe, 1495-1999’, Security Studies 14 (1):
1-33.