Political Science 3500 -- Political Analysis
Professor David R. Jones
Section ETRA (TTh 2:30-3:45), VC 6165
Spring 2011
Office: VC 5-278; 646-312-4418
Hours: TTh 12:30-1:30
e-mail: David.Jones@baruch.cuny.edu
Learning Goals for this Course
This is an introductory course in political data analysis. Students will learn about the goals of political analysis.
They will learn how to formulate and articulate research questions. They will learn how to develop hypotheses and
empirically test these hypotheses. To help accomplish these goals, students will learn to use PASW/SPSS statistical
software as a tool for analysis and for creating tabular and graphic presentations of results.
Course Requirements
1. Attendance is mandatory and you must be on time. Students who are consistently late or have excessive
unexcused absences will be dropped from the course.
2. Arrive prepared. Complete the readings (listed below) before the class for which they are assigned.
3. Be respectful in class. Do not have any private conversations once class begins. Turn off all mobile phones and
texting devices. Classroom computers are only to be used for class activities. No email or internet use is allowed
during class.
4. Check the course’s Blackboard site regularly for updated class notices and assignments.
Assignments and Grading
Class participation and pop-quizzes on the readings will count for as much as 10% of your grade. The remainder of
your grade consists of several homeworks (20%), a midterm exam (25%), a final exam (20%), and a research paper
which will be presented in class (25%). Homework assignments will be announced in class and posted on
Blackboard. All homework assignments must be typed and submitted electronically on Blackboard using your last
name as the beginning of the file name. Late homeworks will not be accepted and you will receive a zero. The exams
will be closed book and will cover readings, lectures, and classroom discussions. If you miss an exam you will fail
the course. Makeup exams will not be given, unless approved before the exam. Specifics regarding the final paper
will be discussed in class and posted on the Blackboard website. No “extra credit” assignments will be available. If
you have any disabilities that need to be accommodated, you must contact Disability Services: 646.312.4590.
Academic Honesty
Baruch College’s policy on Academic Honesty is rigorously enforced in this class. For details on what constitutes
academic dishonesty—including cheating and plagiarism—see the school website:
www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html. If questions remain, ask me. Ignorance is not an
acceptable excuse. My policy is to give a failing grade for the entire course if you plagiarize any assignment or cheat
on any exam. In addition, I am required by College policy to submit a report of suspected academic dishonesty to
the Dean of Students office. This report becomes part of your permanent file, and you may be expelled from Baruch.
Computer Lab
Our classes will be held in a computer lab. Absolutely no food, drink, or gum is allowed in the computer lab. No
paper is provided, so you must bring your own paper in order to print out any work done in class. During class time,
computers are only to be used for the purposes of this class, as per my instructions. For the second half of the course,
you will need to purchase a small capacity flash drive to bring to every class to save and store your computer work.
The SPSS statistical software we will use is loaded onto most computers at Baruch labs, where you can use it for
free. It is somewhat expensive to buy, but that is not necessary to do for this course.
Course Readings
Johnson, Janet and H. T. Reynolds. 2007. Political Science Research Methods. 6th Edition. CQ Press.
This is the specific edition that your syllabus is based on. Earlier editions are likely to be very similar
enough to be sufficient, but I cannot guarantee they will be the same. Copies of this text are available for sale at the
campus bookstore and online. You can purchase the e-book version if you like. Additional readings will be
announced in class and posted on Blackboard. You are not required to buy any study guide. Note that the text has a
free online study guide and other resources at: http://psrm.cqpress.com
Blackboard Contents
On our Blackboard site you will find many materials useful to you in this class. These include:
 A copy of the course syllabus
 Updates regarding the course schedule and relevant due dates (“Announcements”)
 Advice for note taking and studying for this class (“Course Documents”)
 Grades posted after each assignment and exam
 Additional required and recommended readings for each topic (“Course Documents”)
 Homeworks, after they are assigned (“Assignments”)
Questions
I welcome all of your questions related to the class and to American politics in general. Please feel free to raise your
hand with a question during class, visit me in my office, email me during the week, or speak with me briefly before
or after class.
Course Schedule (All dates are subject to change.)
Part 1: Research Methods
8/30
Introduction: What is political analysis?
Readings:
ch. 1
9/1
Scientific method and the role of theory
Readings:
ch. 2
9/6
Hypotheses and variables
Readings:
ch. 3
Homework #1 assigned
9/8
Operationalization and measurement
Readings:
in ch. 4, pp. 88-104
9/13
Research design: experiments
Readings:
in ch. 5, pp. 122-146
9/15
Research design: non-experimental methods
Readings:
in ch. 5, pp. 147-181
9/20
Sampling
Readings:
ch. 7
9/22
Data collection: surveys—methods of contact
Readings:
in ch. 10, pp. 297-318
Homework #2 assigned
9/27
Data collection: surveys—questionnaire construction
Readings:
in ch. 10, pp. 319-350
10/6
Data collection: observational; research ethics
Readings:
ch. 8
10/11
Data collection: secondary data analysis
Readings:
ch. 9
10/13
Finish part 1 / review
10/18
Midterm exam
Part 2: Data analysis
10/20
Data preparation (coding, organization) / Intro to SPSS (open, adding data, labeling, saving)
Readings:
pp. 104-113, pp. 351-354
Homework #3 assigned
10/25
Univariate analysis: frequencies (tables, bar charts, output)
Readings:
in ch. 11, pp. 355-359, 386-387
10/27
Univariate analysis: measures of central tendency (descriptives, recoding)
Readings:
in ch. 11, pp. 361-367
Homework #4 assigned
11/1
Univariate analysis: measures of spread and skewness (histograms)
Readings:
in ch. 11, pp. 368-392
11/3
Bivariate analysis—nominal level (crosstabs)
Readings:
in ch. 12, pp. 426-454
Homework #5 assigned
11/8
Bivariate analysis—nominal with interval level (difference in means)
Readings:
in ch. 12, pp. 462-472
11/10
Bivariate analysis—interval level (scatterplots)
Readings:
in ch. 12, pp. 477-502
11/15
Multivariate analysis—controls
Readings:
in ch. 13, pp. 503-514
Homework #6 assigned
11/17
Multivariate analysis—controls and editing
Readings:
see Blackboard
11/22
Literature reviews / Writing a political science data analysis paper / presentation
Readings:
ch. 14, ch. 6
Paper & presentation assigned
11/29
Statistical significance for crosstabs / In-class feedback on papers
Readings:
in ch 11, pp. 393-405; in ch. 12, pp. 454-460
12/1
Student presentations
12/6
Student presentations
12/8
Student presentations
12/13
Papers due / Review / Evaluations
12/20
FINAL EXAM 3:30-5:30