2211+Research+Paper+Info

More information about the research paper is forthcoming soon...In the meantime:

 //The research paper is due in hard copy on December 8 by class time // This research and writing assignment contributes 40% of your course grade and should be 12-18 pages in length. The purpose of this assignment is to develop and evaluate your ability to conduct a sustained writing assignment, in which you will generate an original research question and hypothesis; review the political science literature on the European country or issue of your choice; collect data in accordance with your research design (note I include foreign and international newspaper articles as a source of data about events and possibly also trends); use theory to interpret the data you have collected; understand and apply disciplinary conventions of analysis and presentation (including writing clearly in an ‘academic voice’ and appending a bibliography to the paper). Your paper must answer an //empirical// research question (rather than discuss some normative issue or simply explore an empirical topic). Your question and analysis may be //descriptive// or //explanatory//. > > Your paper must explicitly state and evaluate //one or more// //hypotheses//. For example: You must include a //literature review// (usually taking up several pages of your paper) which lays out what scholars or others have suggested are the best answers to the question you’re posing. Your hypotheses will be derived from the literature review. Your paper must clearly //conceptualize// and //operationalize// the phenomena you are explaining or describing: You must gather and discuss //evidence// bearing on your hypotheses. You must consider evidence that supports and refutes your hypothesis. So, you’re considering counter-arguments. Overall, your paper must make //argument//. The argument is your answer to the question. You may have some idea of the answer before you begin research, but at that point it is merely a hypothesis. The point of the research process is to test the hypothesis. You will state your argument in the introduction to your paper, which you will write last. Note that it is essential to outline, in order to organize your thoughts and research. You may wish to begin with an outline of the research process and then create an outline for the paper. This is because the ‘logic of research’ is different from the ‘logic of presentation.’ I strongly suggest using the Outlining view in Microsoft Word to write his paper. You will need to include all your sources in a //bibliography// and use //footnotes// or in-text //citations//. I will give instructions on this aspect of the assignment at a later date. You can ask questions about this assignment in class or by email. However, asking questions that I’ve answered in some class that you’ve missed isn’t a good idea. So, you should attend every class. You must agree your research question with me by November 7, by email or in person.
 * Contemporary Politics of Europe, Fall 2008 (Dr. Howard) Research paper assignment **
 * // Descriptive // papers describe and classify some phenomenon. For example, they might answer the question: “Is the British Conservative Party still a Thatcherite party?” or “Do the rise of regional party groups in Italy threaten the Italian state?”
 * // Explanatory // papers attempt to link cause and effect. They answer questions of the form: “What explains increased support for far right parties in Western Europe?”
 * Hypothesis 1: “Increased immigration will be associated with increased vote share for far right parties”
 * Hypothesis 2: “Far right parties will gain a greater share of votes during periods of industrial decline or restructuring”
 * “I conceptualize far right parties as parties which…”
 * “For present purposes, increased support for far right parties is increasing vote share of the xx Party and yy Party”
 * “Increased immigration alone does not explain growth support for European far right parties. Severe economic dislocation is the more important factor.”