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WEEK11: EXPERIMENTS IN PIR

WEEK11: EXPERIMENTS IN PIR. This Term: (mainly) Qualitative Methods. Experiments Comparisons Historical analysis Interviews and Focus Groups Ethnographic observation Discourse and Content analysis. Second Assignment. 2000-2500 word essay on research design

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WEEK11: EXPERIMENTS IN PIR

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  1. WEEK11: EXPERIMENTS IN PIR

  2. This Term: (mainly) Qualitative Methods • Experiments • Comparisons • Historical analysis • Interviews and Focus Groups • Ethnographic observation • Discourse and Content analysis

  3. Second Assignment • 2000-2500 word essay on research design • Deadline: 20th March 2012/ 12pm (noon) Imagine that you are applying for a research funding to British Political Council. You need to provide a detailed and feasible research project in order to get the funding.

  4. Suggested Topics • 'The Political Economy of the Global Financial Crisis' • 'US Foreign Policy under Barack Obama' • 'Constitutional Reform in Britain' • Democratisation in the Middle East • Social and Political Unrest among young people in UK • Far-right extremism

  5. Your research project in 6 simple steps • Research question • Literature Review ----revisions----------------------------------- III. Hypotheses IV. Methodology ---- revisions----------------------------------- V. Ethical issues VI. Bibliography

  6. First Homework: 30th January Hand in the first part of your project (~1000 words): I. Your research question: choose a topic, a relevant research question, and explain convincingly why you find it important to study it. II. Literature Review: Read at least 5 academic works (academic articles or book chapters) on that topic. Summarize their research questions and findings. Explain how your research would relate to these: Would your research confirm, clarify, refine or falsify their answers?

  7. 'US Foreign Policy under Barack Obama' Examples of relevant research questions: How does Obama’s foreign policy differ from Bush administration’s foreign policy after September 11? • How successful is Obama in his Middle East policy? • Be as specific as possible! Use ‘How’ or ‘Why’

  8. Second homework: 27th February • Hand in the second part of your project (~1000 words) III. Hypotheses (max. 3 hypotheses): Offer possible answers to your research question. Explain why you think they seem to be valid. IV. Methodology: Explain what kind of evidence/data would prove your hypotheses. What research methods will help you to gather those data/evidence?

  9. Official deadline: 20th March • Hand in your final report which covers all 6 steps! -Submit 2 hard copies to the administrator’s office. -ANONYMOUS MARKING: NO NAME! Put your candidate number! Good luck 

  10. Case I • Topic: Media effects on authoritarian regimes • Research question: Were the East Germans who were watching west German TV more or less supportive of the communist regime in East Germany? • Read the handout with your group and answer the questions about the Case I.

  11. Case II • Topic: The effect of social pressure on people’s willingness to vote Research question: Do mails encouraging people to vote increase turnout? Read the handout with your group and answer the questions about the Case II.

  12. Information missing from the handout • According to the researchers, prior experimental studies on the topic might have been misleading because: [T]he mailings … announced to the subjects in large, bold type that they were part of an experiment, a feature that might be expected to induce a Hawthorne effect of its own. (2006: 36, fn 3)

  13. 4th letter: ‘Neighbours Mailing’

  14. Dido’s office hours for this term • On Monday from 2.30 to 3.30pm at FW102 • Or e-mail: m.d.buhari@rhul.ac.uk • Next week: COMPARISONS IN PIR

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