Research Design for Political Science

Course Number: 84-266

How do political scientists turn complex ideas into rigorous research? This course provides the foundational tools to evaluate, design, and conduct qualitative and quantitative research in political science. The course is divided into three parts. We begin with the essentials of research design, discussing the structure of a scientific paper—introduction, literature review, theory, methods, results, and conclusion. Next, we turn to qualitative methods, focusing on empirical research that does not require quantification. Students will learn methodological tools and gain practical experience with interviews, case studies, process tracing, and counterfactual analysis. Finally, we transition to quantitative research, covering multiple regression models with limited dependent variables. To reinforce this section, we will devote three sessions to hands-on practice in R, applying statistical techniques to real political science data.

Semester(s): Fall
Units: 9
Location(s): Pittsburgh