Syllabus for PSCI 1111:
A Weekly Course Outline.
Week
- Introduction to the Unix/X-Windows computing environment, including SPSS, e-mail and Internet
access.
Introduction to the SSDL (PDF file)
- Logic of (Social) Scientific Inquiry: Research in Political Science and Related Disciplines
- Variables, Variation and Explanation
- Data Collection & Sampling
- Measurement (Conceptualization)
HyperStat Online (an e-Textbook), Chapter 1
Also read material from other sites connected to Chapter 1 (esp. Statsoft - Elementary Concepts, Glass - Measurement Level, Sarle - Measurement Theory)
Revisiting Downs: Theoretical Variables
Click here for Downs model and information about the 1992 National Election Study.
Recommended Readings:
Stephen Jay Gould, The Mismeasure of Man, New York: W.W. Norton. Chapters 1-3.
Eugene Webb et al., Unobtrusive Measures Chicago: Rand McNally
- Measurement (Operationalization)
HyperStat Online (an e-Textbook), Chapter 1
Also read material from other sites connected to Chapter 1 (esp. Statsoft - Elementary Concepts, Glass - Measurement Level, Sarle - Measurement Theory)
Revisiting Downs: Operationalizing Variables.
Click here for ways in which the Downs model can be operationalized using the 1992 National Election Study Setups data file.
- Descriptive Statistics
Rice Virtual Lab in Statistics -- Simulations
Keeping a Lab Notebook: Guidelines
- Crosstabulation Methods for Quantitative Analysis
Reading:
Walter Stone and David Davis, An Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods.Chapter 1 - Bivariate Analysis
Notes:
- Tests of Significance
Readings:
Notes:
- Measures of Association
Readings:
Notes:
- Multivariate Analysis: 3 or More Variables (2 weeks)
Reading:
Walter Stone & David Davis, An Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods. Chapter 2 - Multivariate Analysis
Notes:
- Charting/Graphing Results
- Student Research: Writing a (Social) Scientific Paper (2 weeks)
A sample outline using Downs' Theory as a paper topic: outline.