POSC 300: Methods for Empirical Political Analysis

Remember, there are a series of small assignments that will culminate in a final project and presentation. This area is only re-stating instructions given by your professor on the assignment sheet for easy reference - be sure to review the full assignment details for more information!

Parts of Research Papers

1. Introduction: Establishes what you want the reader to know about your topic and research & identifies the research problem.
2. Literature Review: Critically evaluates existing research in greater detail & describes the theoretical framework underpinning your study.
3. Methodology: Describes how each objective will be achieved in detail, including the study population and sampling, data collection, and data analysis.
4. Results & Analysis: Reporting your findings objectively and succinctly, and includes statistical analysis.
5. Discussion: Addresses questions of "what have we learned?" and "where should we go next?" through interpretation of results, description of trends or relationships among variables, discussion of the implications of results, and limitations or unavoidable bias in your study.
6. Conclusion: Should directly relate to your introduction while discussing a summary of your findings, recommendations when appropriate, and any potential for future research.
7. References: Cite all sources throughout your work in consistent APA 7th edition style.

Possible adaptations for research design:

• Budget
  Include costs and justifications in your budget if necessary, be sure to research real funding sources for accurate information.

• Timetable
  Your timeline should be realistic and to the point, including a series of objectives with expected completion dates and a justification of these decisions.

This graphic shows the "shape" of research mimicking an hourglass shape to remind you of a few things:

• Start broad in your introduction and gradually focus down to your specific research topic through a focused literature review.
• Remain focused on your direct research interest through the analysis, then consider more broad implications in your continued discussion and/or conclusion.