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PS 4464 - Political Analysis
Spring 2024
Dr. Stephen D. Shaffer
Classroom: Bowen 270
Class Time: 12:30-1:45 Monday, Wednesday
Lab Time: 2:00-3:15 Monday
Professor's Office: 198 Bowen
Office Hours: 10-11 MWF, or just e-mail me for an agreed upon time
Prof's e-mail: kauai@pspa.msstate.edu
Class Website: http://sds17.pspa.msstate.edu/classes/analysis/analysis.html

This course in Political Analysis shall focus on the methods used by political analysts and observers to understand the political world. Political figures often cite facts and figures to defend their arguments, and we shall examine the reliability and validity of such indicators. Public opinion polls are used more and more in politics and government, and we shall study all phases of designing, conducting, and analyzing polls. The course will also examine research designs, experimental designs, statistical analyses, and dimensional analyses.

We shall examine various statistical techniques, including descriptive statistics, which help to describe the characteristics of the political world and its people. We shall emphasize the study of bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques, which help to explain why people behave as they do in the political world and why political events occur. The course examines such topics as the sources of public support for governmental programs, what causes people to become politically active and to vote for particular candidates, and other subjects with these techniques.

Students shall also learn how to analyze previous statewide Mississippi telephone surveys or a national survey, and shall research for themselves what influences the attitudes that Mississippians or Americans generally hold on various political issues. Students will learn how to read and interpret the output of a computerized statistical package, SPSS, a valuable job-relevant skill.

READINGS:

There is no assigned textbook for this class. There is considerable material available from my class notes, which are on-line on the website at the top left of this page, plus you should try to attend every class period for additional class information. Plus, you will do a lot of independent reading for the literature review of your research paper.

METHOD OF EVALUATION:

There will be five grading opportunities, each of which will count one-fifth of your course grade. Three of them will be essay exams, one of which will be a non-cumulative final exam. Other grading opportunities shall be: a research paper, written in three stages, based on the computer analysis of public opinion data; and this combined, final, rewritten research paper.

CAUTION: There are significant penalties for lateness in completing these grading requirements.

WARNING: Because this class constitutes the department's junior-senior level writing requirement, any grade below a C on the rewritten research paper presumably results in an automatic failure grade in the course.

Graduate students will be required to write an additional research paper. They should see me at the end of the first class period for instructions.

You are strongly encouraged to attend class, and attendance will be taken. This is a very difficult course that builds on each class period, and each class contributes to learning how to write a complex research paper. Students who fail to attend nearly every class tend to do poorly on tests and on the paper, and risk having to retake the course. Also, make sure that you attend the first class, since we have an important lecture for that entire class period. Finally, I suggest that you bring your laptop computer (or any device which has internet access) to every class, as we begin to work on your research paper or other projects (and in case the classroom computers are deficient in any way) in the class.

There are no prerequisites for this course, and no knowledge of mathematics, statistics, or computers is required. You will learn how to interpret the SPSS computer program output during class.

The course delivery method is a face-to-face class, so you are expected to attend class whenever possible. If you do have to miss for any reason, send me an e-mail indicating when you are missing, and why you have to miss. Then, review the material we will be covering in class by going to my class Website, whose address is near the top of the first page of this syllabus. To receive attendance credit for attending that class, send me another e-mail indicating that you have reviewed the class lecture, ask any question about the lecture that you wish, make any comment about it, or just say that you have read and understood the lecture. While class attendance does not officially affect your course grade, it is still important to attend class whenever you can, since unexcused absences harm a person’s reputation.

UNIVERSITY POLICIES:

"The Mississippi State University Syllabus contains all policies and procedures that are applicable to every course on campus and online. The policies in the University Syllabus describe the official policies of the University and will take precedence over those found elsewhere. It is the student's responsibility to read and be familiar with every policy. The University Syllabus may be accessed at any time on the Provost website under Faculty and Student Resources and at https://www.provost.msstate.edu/faculty-student-resources/university-syllabus"

COURSE OUTLINE:

WEEKS 1-2: January 17-24

1. Introduction to the Course

2. The Scientific Method and the History of the Discipline of Political Science

3. Ethical Concerns:

4. MSU IRB Requirements

5. Theory Building

WEEK 3: January 29-31

6. Research Design

7. Levels of Measurement

PAPER INTRODUCTION, MODEL, HYPOTHESES, METHODOLOGY DUE ON JANUARY 31

WEEK 4: February 5-7

8. Reliability and Validity

WEEK 5: February 12-14

9. Survey Research--Sampling and Survey Types

WEEK 6, February 19

10. Survey Research--Questionnaire Construction, Implementation

11. Review for first test.

FIRST ESSAY EXAM- FEBRUARY 21

WEEK 7: February 26-February 28

12. Descriptive Statistics

PAPER LITERATURE REVIEW AND REFERENCES DUE ON FEBRUARY 28

WEEK 8: March 4-6

13. Contingency Tables--bivariate relations

14. Contingency Tables--multivariate relations

WEEK 9, March 18

15. Review for Test.

SECOND ESSAY EXAMINATION- MARCH 20

WEEK 10: March 25-27

16. Statistical Inference- Chi-squared, t-tests

WEEK 11: April 3

17. Bivariate and Multivariate Regression

PAPER FINDINGS AND TABLES DUE APRIL 8

WEEK 12: April 8-10

18. Experimental Designs

19. Quasi-Experimental Designs

WEEK 13: April 15-17

20. Panel Design

21. Aggregate Data and Ecological Fallacy

WEEK 14: April 22-24

22. Unobtrusive Measures and Content Analysis

23. Students Make Classroom Presentations of Their Research Papers

ENTIRE REWRITTEN RESEARCH PAPER (including Conclusions) DUE APRIL 24

WEEK 15: April 29

24. Review for final examination

FINAL, NON-CUMULATIVE, ESSAY EXAM- Noon, Thursday, May 2