Spring 2004

GOV 339L • Research Methods in Government

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to the methods used in political science research. After learning about the basic structure of causal analysis, we will examine four research strategies: experiments, large N or quantitative studies (aka statistics), small N studies that use qualitative reasoning, and formal modeling. The goals of the course are to 1) provide students with the analytic tools to critically evaluate social science research and causal arguments found in everyday life, and 2) improve sutdents ability to pose and answer research questions on their own. This course presumes no prior knowledge of research methods or statistics.

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