Preaching What We Practice: Bringing Scope and Methods "Back In"

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Preaching What We Practice: BringingScope and Methods Back InMiguel Centellas, University of Mississippi

ABSTRACT Recent discussions of teaching research methods have focused on understand-

ing the relationship between methods courses and the broader discipline, including the

need to integrate qualitative methods and other approaches beyond the traditional statis-

tical approaches still common in the majority of undergraduate research methods courses.

This article contributes to this conversation by arguing that the basic elements of research

design and qualitative techniques should be integrated intosubstantive (ornon-methods)

courses across the discipline. To accomplish this aim, I off

er a brief outline of methodolog-ical benchmark skillsdrawn from the pool of skills necessary for a successful thesisthat

can be taught in various courses across the discipline through a traditional assignment: the

semester research paper.

F

our yearsago, I prepared to teach my first undergrad-uate political science research methods course at aselective liberal arts college. The assignment wasunconventionalas several friends and colleaguesnotedbecause I am not an Americanist. Neverthe-

less, I waseager to teach a course that is an important component

of the discipline, and I believe comparativists can contribute sig-nificant insights to undergraduate research methods courses. Inpreparing the course, I wasguided by three principles: First, I hadto teach a course that fit the general description of a scope andmethods course regularly taught by my Americanist colleaguesat the same institution. Second, I wanted to make sure that mycourse would appeal to students whose interests were outside thescope of Americanpolitics to includearea studies, political theory,and international relations. Third, it was essential that the courseadequately prepare students to write a senior thesis. The latterwas an unnecessary challenge.Neither the course nor a thesis wasrequired for graduation in political science, although it wasrequired for graduation with honors and for graduation in theLatin American studies program to which I was also attached.Since then, I have taught undergraduate research methods at insti-tutions that do require senior theses.

These experiences shaped my attitude toward what I believe ascope and methods course should be and its critical place in anundergraduate political science curriculum. They also led me toquestionwhy methodscourses andsenior thesesare often concep-tually separated from the broader disciplinary curriculum. If ourscope andmethods areessentialcomponents ofthe discipline thatdistinguish us from other social sciences disciplines (e.g., history,

sociology, anthropology, economics), then it makes little sense forthemtoberelegatedtoasinglecourseinthecatalog,particularlyifthat course is not required for majors. A report by Brandon et al.(2006)suggeststhatwhileresearchmethodscoursesarebecomingmore common in curricula,students are often not adequately pre-paredforthem.Suchfindingssuggestthatpoliticalscienceresearch

methods are isolated from the rest of the disciplineexactly theopposite of what proponents of research methods courses wouldlike. One of the goals of this article is to bring scope and methodsback in (to borrow a famous phrase from my subfield) to thedisciplines broader curriculum.

This article offers suggestions, based on my own experiences,for integrating research methods into the undergraduate curricu-lum, with particular foci on both preparing students to write asenior thesis and improving undergraduates understanding ofour discipline. What I propose, then, is a strategy for filling thespace between an undergraduate research methods course and asenior thesis. Although the benchmark skills that I outline in thefollowing sections are essential for writing a senior thesis, theyare also key components of doing political science. The follow-ing recommendations are applicable to a variety of institutions,even those that do not include a senior thesis requirement. I donot argue that a senior thesis is essential for an undergraduatepolitical science program,particularly becausethe majorityof polit-ical science majorswill not go on to pursuedoctoral degrees. How-ever, I firmly believe that learning the basic research skills of ourdiscipline is critical for developing a well-rounded understandingof the discipline. Moreover, the researchand criticalthinkingskillsused in political science have practical value in both public andprivate sector professional careers.

I focus on elementsof research design and methods that canand shouldbe taught across the discipline: developing a man-ageable research question, writing a literature review, crafting an

Miguel Centellas is Croft Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Univer-

sityofMississippi,whereheteachescoursesincomparativepolitics,LatinAmericanpol-

itics, and research methods. He previously taught at Dickinson College and Mount St.

Marys University. He can be reached at [email protected].

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appropriate research design and selection of cases, defining andoperationalizing concepts and variables, and selecting appropri-ate data sources. The core principle driving these recommenda-tions is the belief that we should preach what we practice in

the classroom. That is, we should reflect on the way we dopolitical science and impart those skills to our students. The fol-lowing lessons are derived from my own experience as a compar-ativist. However, they can easily be adapted to other subfields,depending on the methodological approaches used by individualfaculty.

METHODS COURSES ANDTHESES INPOLITICAL SCIENCE:

A SNAPSHOT

Before setting out to write this article, I looked quickly at a num-ber of political science departments to determine how manyrequired senior theses and/or research methods courses from theirmajors. Using the most recent rankings in both US News & World

Reportand Washington Monthly, I selected the top 125 schools.1

While this sample is not representative of US colleges and uni-versities, it does represent the top aspirational institutions andincludes a mix of small liberal arts colleges, private universities,and public universities. Focusing on political science (or equiva-lent) departments left me with a sample of 118 programs whosemajor requirements and course offerings I could examine.2 I thenlooked at three simple variables within the program informationavailable through department websites3 :

1. Did the program require its majors to write a senior thesis?2. Did the program require its majors to take a research methods

course?3. Did the program offer a research methods course through the

department?

Overall, the findings were not surprising and confirmed myexpectations of differences between liberal arts colleges and pub-lic universities (see table 1). None of the top-rated political sci-ence programs at public universities required students to write asenior thesis, although all of them offered a research methodscourse. In contrast, more than a fifth of all sampled liberal artscolleges and private universities required a senior thesis, althoughnot all offered a methods course. Additionally, five of the liberalarts colleges that required a methods course did not offer itthrough the political science or equivalent department, but ratherrelied on offerings from the economics or mathematics depart-

ments. Across all sampled insti-tutions, there was a greater ten-dency to offer or require amethods course than to requirea senior thesis.

This finding suggests aninteresting paradox. The kind

of institutions that were mostlikely to require students towrite a thesis were least likelyto require or offer researchmethods courses. In contrast,the programs that were mostlikely to offer and requireresearch methods courses wereleast likely to require students

to write a thesis. Both extremes are problematic. In the case inwhich students must write a thesis but are not required to takea methods courseor, worse, one is simply not offeredtheburden falls on the student and his or her advisor to develop

appropriate research methods for the thesis. One would hopethat research methods would be taught across the disciplinescurriculum, but personal experience suggests this is either unlikelyor done in a less-than-systematic fashion. In the case in whichstudents must take a research methods course but are notrequired to write a senior thesis, I must wonder whether stu-dents ever have the experience to demonstrate their knowledgeof research methods in a way that goes beyond a test on statisti-cal terminology.

BRINGINGMETHODS BACK INTO THECURRICULUM

It has long been a clich that research methods courses primarilyfocus on quantitative statistical methods and tendto be taught by

Americanists, whose subfieldis dominated by such methods. Tworecent studies on the state of undergraduate research methodscourses do little to dispel that view, although they do provideevidence that nonquantitative methodological techniques arerecognized as essential to a quality undergraduate understandingof political science methodology. In a survey of methods coursesin 106 political science departments,Turner andThies (2009) findsignificant consensus about what a methods course is across thediscipline: more than 70% of courses covered quantitative analy-sis, while less than half covered qualitative methods. Althoughfocusing on ways to alleviate student anxieties about methodscourses, Bos and Schneider nevertheless note that the methodscourse in the large midwestern university of their study fulfilleda liberal arts mathematical thinking requirement (2009, 376,emphasis mine).

Both studies make clear the need for methods courses to domore than merely familiarize students with quantitative analysistechniques. In particular, Bos and Schneider (2009) outline a setof skills that students should learn in methods courses, includinggenerating social science research questions, writing a literaturereview, and choosingappropriate cases. However,significant num-bers of the students they sampled were unfamiliar with some ofthese essential elementsof political scienceresearch methods priorto taking an upper-level methods course. If such findings hold forother institutions, they should be cause for significant concern.As a discipline, we recognize that political science should do morethan teach students a collection of facts about how governments

Table 1

Undergraduate Programs that Require a Thesis or a MethodsCourse, or Offer a Methods Course within the Department, acrossPolitical Science Departments, by Institution Type

LIBERAL ARTS

COLLEGES

PRIVATE

UNIVERSITIES

PUBLIC

UNIVERSITIESDid the program require a senior thesis? 21% 21% 0%

Did the program require a methods course? 42% 36% 49%

Did the program offer a methods course within the

department?

63% 79% 100%

Total N 67 14 37

T h e T e a c h e r : P r e a c h i n g W h a t W e P r a c t i c e .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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work; it should also teach students how to think critically aboutpolitics. To engage in such thinking, political science studentsmust gain an understanding of the disciplines methods.

I believe that the scope and methods of our discipline can andshould be addressed across the curriculum. There are a number ofreasons for using this approach: First, limiting the learning ofpolitical science research methods to an individual course gives

students littlesense of why methods matter acrossthe disciplineparticularly if the methods taught in such a course do not seemapplicable to the questions raised in other courses. Second, anunderstanding of the methods used to answer key questions inthe various subfields of the discipline gives students a more crit-ical understanding of how those questions have been and con-tinue to be answered by scholarsand how those methods shapecontent courses. If nothing else, this knowledge may help stu-dents write betterseminar papers, a common requirement in polit-ical sciences courses. Third, an understanding of which methodsare appropriate to different kinds of questions makes studentsbetter consumers of information and gives them the tools to con-duct their own independent research, whether in a senior thesis, a

semester research paper, or their future professional careers.

TEACHINGMETHODSACROSSTHECURRICULUM

Because the semester research paper is a traditional requirementfor many undergraduate political science courses, giving studentsclear guidance about this assignment is one easy way to incorpo-rate methods teaching into any class.4 Clifford Bob (2001) offersexcellent advice on how to include this instruction in the class-room. Although his concern is primarily with improving stu-dents critical thinkingand researchwriting, he essentially outlinesa wayto use the semester research paper to teach students how todo political science researchnot just write a book report. I havebuilt upon that template over the years, adding additional com-

ponents meant both to guide students through their papers andto help them develop some of the basic research skills and meth-ods of our discipline. Another resource I have found invaluable isLisa Bagliones(2007) Writing a Research Paper in Political Science,particularly the chapters on finding a research question and writ-ing a literature review. Although numerous reference books onresearch writing exist, this was the first one to be aimed specifi-cally at political scienceundergraduates. In additionto theresearchpaper, however, I have found it essential to explicitly introduce inmy classes throughout the semester some of the methodologicalissues my studentswillfaceas they work on their research papers.

The following is a list of benchmark skills that I believe can betaught in various content courses across the discipline. These

skills can either build on students prior experience in a methodscourseor serve as precursors to further exploration in an advancedmethods course. I provide some examples of how to consciouslyincorporate each of the following benchmark skills into a non-methods course. Because I am drawing on my own experience,this list is derived from courses in comparative politics and areastudies (Latin American politics). Nevertheless, I believe thatinstructors can easily find appropriate examples for use in theirown classes.

Research Question andHypothesis

Not surprisingly, undergraduate students often have a difficulttime coming up with a research question, whether for a seniorthesis or for a semester research paper. One problem is that stu-

dents frequently do not appreciate how the discipline is driven bysuch research puzzles. Too often, students seem more inter-ested in learning and cataloging facts than understanding themeans by which we arrive at the theories that explain observedpolitical reality. This approach translates into final products thatbetter fit the category of a report than a research paper.

Students need constant prodding to think in terms of research

questions and develop ones they can then explore on their own.Providing such encouragement might mean framing the coursearound one (or a few) question(s) that students will exploretogether throughout the semester. As someone interested indemocratization, I regularly use that subject as one of the themesof my introductory-level comparativepolitics courses. Asking stu-dents to think about why some countries are democracies andothersarenotcanbeagoodwaytokeepthemfocusedonaresearchquestion.Then, as they explore the basic concepts of comparativepolitics (e.g., states, institutions, political culture) and learn aboutselected case studies, we can return constantly to such questions.

Requiring students to formulate a concise but clear researchquestion is a powerful exercise. One way to do this is through a

multistage semesterresearch paper. While semesteror termpapersare common assignments in political science courses, studentsfinal products are too often less than satisfactory. In my courses, Ihave modified Bobs (2001) recommendations to ask students totreat each research paper as a mini-thesis and insist that theygo through all the steps of a traditional thesis projectthough ina briefer, less arduous format. I first require my students to sub-mit a research question,organized as a short, three-sentence state-ment that clearly states the question, a rationale for why thequestion is important, and a hypothesis (theirbest guess answerto the question).

This assignment is not graded,but students are not allowed tosubmit a final research paper until their brief proposal has been

approved.5 Throughout thesemester, I usethe studentsown state-ments to remind them to stay within the bounds of the courseand not stray away from their research question.6 For many stu-dents, this can be an arduous task, particularly for students morecomfortable writing country summaries or thematic essays. Forexample,a student writing about the effects of the 2001 economiccrisis on democracy in Argentina may have to remember that hisor her paper probably does not require background informationon the Falklands War, the Pern years, or the complexities ofArgentine federalism, no matter how interesting or significantthese issues might be in answering other research questions. Inmost cases, however, students come to appreciate that a narrowresearch question helps guide their research and maintain focus.

LiteratureReview orTheoreticalFramework

Many of theproblems that students face writing a literature reviewstems from their misunderstanding of how secondary sourcesshould be used in the social sciences. Although this understand-ing is particularly difficult for undergraduates to grasp, most ofMcMenamins (2006) observations about difficultiesstudentshavein preparing literature reviews for dissertations can be applied toundergraduate work.Whereas thelevelof work expected of under-graduates should be lower than that expected of advanced grad-uate students, the three lessons McMenamin outlines are essentialat any level: learning to decide what literature to select, learningto read critically, and learning to write criticallyby transition fromprocess to text.

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What students often turn in as a semester research paper isprimarily a review or summary of some (hopefully relevant) liter-ature on a selected topic. For example, a paper on underdevelop-ment in Africawill likely cite a handful of books or articles dealingwith this issue. Most often, this list will reflect the first set ofreferences located in a library catalog search. Although this is cer-tainly a step in the right direction, such a process frequently pro-

duces neither a research paper nor a well-crafted literature review,but rather a summary of the sources used by the particular stu-dent. I have found it useful to devote some class time (often a fullclass period) to explain what a literature review is and its role as acomponent of a semester research paper. I do not only walk stu-dents through the process of selecting articles on their chosentopic, but also remind them to anchor their topic in a broaderdiscussion drawn from key concepts covered in the class itself.

The starting point is the textbook. As a result, the instructormust carefully select a textbook that includes significant discus-sionsabout research areas and/ortheoretical approaches. Becausea basicintroductionto comparative politics textbook is oftenorga-nized thematically, this reference lends itself easily as a starting

point for a short literature review. Although my students writeresearch papers on one or two cases, I expect that these examplesbe grounded by a research question. Each research question canbe slotted into one of the chapters or chapter sections (e.g., revo-lutions,nationalism, underdevelopment). Ironically, thisapproachhas proven to be a greater problem in upper-level courses than inintroductory courses. Many area studies textbooks are organizednot thematically, but as a series of side-by-side case study chap-ters. It is thus a challenge to draw a number of themes or researchareas (e.g., democratization, populism, indigenous movements).One solution is to place one or more introductory-level textbookson reserve at the library and suggest that students examine themas a starting point.

I also frequently assign upper-level students at least onereviewessay (essays that review several books, not just a single bookreview). Area studies journals often include many such excellentessays, which not only do an excellent job of summarizing recentliterature in a given field (and are therefore useful as a stand-alone introduction to an area not adequately covered in the text-book), but also serve as models for how students can go beyond amere summary of their selected sources key arguments to criti-cally and relationally evaluate them and come to some indepen-dentconclusion about their ownposition within a scholarly debate.Whenever I assign a review essay, I set aside significant time forexplicit discussion of how students can use this format as a modelfor their own literature reviews.

Students arerequired to include in their research paper a clearlylabeled literaturereview or theoretical framework section in whichthey discuss at least two perspectiveson their research area, whichneed not necessarily be drawn from their cases. I remind my stu-dents that the rest of their research paper should fit within thedebate outlined in their literature review and should try to resolvethat debate. This section can take several forms. Perhaps a stu-dent is trying to explain why a country has failed to achieve sus-tained economic growth. In the literature review, I would expecthim or her to outline at least two theoretical perspectives thatexplain why some countries achieve economic growth while oth-ers fail to do so. The paper should then describe a case, focusingon the criteria developed by the two competing perspectives, andtry to determinebased on available evidencewhich of the com-

peting theories best explains that particular case. Alternatively, astudent might be attempting to determine whether a particularLatin American leader is a populist or not. To do so, he or shewould have to include a summary of the various definitions ofpopulism in the literature review. The remainder of the paperwould then focus on the question of whether the chosen politicalleader met the criteria of a populist as set out in the literature.

In either case, the literature review serves as an anchor for theresearch paper, linking the research question to subsequentsections.

Unlike other components of theresearch paper,I do notrequiremy students to submit a draft literature review prior to submis-sion of the final research paper,7 primarily because I realize thatliterature reviews are time-consuming and will likely be devel-oped throughout the semester. However, I do require my studentsto submit a brief (one paragraph) theoretical framework state-ment, bundled with theresearch designand case selection state-ment describedin the next section, early in the semester. My mainexpectation for the theoretical framework statement is that thestudent identify two or three competing schools of thought as

relevant to his or her project and provide a sentence stating whichapproach he or she finds most convincing. This last requirementforces students to take a stand in a disciplinary debate.

Research Design andCase Selection

Issues of research design are often intertwined with the literaturereviewandoftendependonwhetherthestudentiswritingasinglecase study, an explicitly comparative study, or a large-Nanalysis.Inmycomparativepoliticscourses,Iregularlyrequiremystudentsto write a comparative studyof two cases. I do this to reinforce theidea that comparative politicsis defined not by the factthat it cov-ersnon-Americanpolitics,butbyitscentralattachmenttothecom-parative method. I also adopt this approach because students do

seem to enjoy and have a priori interests in and familiarity withsingle-case studies (which lend themselves to traditional reportwriting).Requiringa comparative analysis of two cases forcesstu-dents to think about the comparative method explicitly.

I require students to base their research paper on a compara-tive study of two cases within the framework of the two classictypes of comparative studies identified by Przeworski and Teune(1970): most-similar systems (MSS) and most-different systems(MDS).This framework gives students an opportunity to demon-strate their understanding of the most basic methodological toolof comparative politics. Students are free to select their cases andthe kind of comparative study they wish to pursue. Such anapproach does put a burden on the instructor to shepherd stu-dents through their research papers, especially to make sure thatstudentsare selecting appropriate cases.Theresults,however, havesometimes been quite impressive.

As a step toward the final research paper, I ask students towrite a brief research design statement (usually one to two para-graphs) that explicitly justifies their case selection and definestheir research design (either MDS or MSS). As with the earlierresearch question assignment, students are not allowed to submita final research paper until their research design and case selec-tion have been approved.

Concepts,Variables, andData Sources

As they move forward with their papers, I ask students to clearlydefine their concepts, variables, and data. Students often have an


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easier time thinking and writ-ing about concepts than work-ing with variables. However, akey element of the researchpaper assignment asks studentsto explicitly connect their con-cepts to variablesthat is, to

operationalizetheirconcepts. Forsome concepts (e.g., revolution)this process may be relativelyeasy, but for others (e.g., devel-opment) this may be very diffi-cult. Students often have adifficulttime locating publicly available dataor incorporating theminto a research paper. However, the ability to locate data relevantto a research question is an invaluable skill that translates intopostgraduate professional careers.

Asking students to write a research paper that links concepts,variables, and data requires instructors to pay careful attention tothese connections in the classroom throughout the semester. I

constantly remind myself to use the language of concepts andvariables during class discussions. I also must remind (or teach)students the various kinds of variables that can be used (ordinal,nominal, categorical, or scale). A simple class exercise for almostany text (e.g., textbook, article, film) is to ask students to brieflyoutline the concepts and variables that the author uses. A moreadventurous approach is to initiate a class discussion aboutwhether the variables are appropriate or accurately measurethe underlying concept. This exercise has the added benefit ofhelping students read their text critically and distinguish opin-ions about politics from scholarly claims based on evidence.

My approach to explicitly integrating research methods intomy non-methods courses faces the same limitations that I have

encountered in many methods courses. After looking at numer-ous sample syllabi, reviewing potential textbooks, and reflectingon my own undergraduate experience, I was struck by the realiza-tion that while courses paid substantial attention to the analysisof data, little (if any) attention was paid to the collection of data.Instead, many textbooks and syllabi developed statistical exer-cises based on an existing dataset, such as the American NationalElection Study (ANES). Although such exercises are excellent forteaching students various statistical techniques, they are con-fined to the subfield of American politics and do little to helpstudents wrestle with the issue of data collection, coding, andapplication.

In my methods course, we devote significant attention to non-statistical techniques, such as elite interviews, participant obser-vation (soaking and poking), and content analysis. The goal isto give studentsthe tools they need to develop a successful seniorthesis or similar research project. A non-methods course offersonly limited time for instruction on how to personally gather datafor a research projectwhich is one reason why methods coursesshould be sure to explore such issues. My personal experience inboth overseeing theses (mostly in Latin American studies) andparticipating in thesis defenses has brought me to the conclusionthat most students who write theses do not actually use statisticalanalysis. Many theses come from other subfields of political sci-ence: area studies, international relations, and political theory.Such students typically rely on comparative analysis, careful casestudies, interviews, textual analysis, or reflections on their study

abroad experiences (in which carefully thought-out soaking andpoking can play an effective role). I would encourage depart-ments to look at their own theses, if they have them, and askwhether and how students learned the techniques used in theirsenior theses.

In my non-methods courses, I make a concerted effort topresent students with appropriate data sources for their research

papers. This entails not only pointing students to resources suchas the Human Development Index or the Failed States Index, butalso setting aside class discussions to address the importance ofand controversies surrounding various data sources. This atten-tion canrange from themost minimal discussion about theimpor-tance of critically evaluating the sources of data to the morecomplex question of resolvingdifferences between competing andcontradictory data sources. Such discussions have the added ben-efit of helping students become critical consumers of informa-tion, a key goal of a liberal arts education.

The key point of this section is that I require students to usesome kind of data in their research papers. As a result, in additionto citing relevant literature, students are expected to draw on pri-

mary data sources whenever possible. I do not, however, expectintroductory-level students to use sophisticated statistical tech-niques. Students often use national election results, public opin-ion data, or economic indicators taken from reputable onlinesources.

PUTTINGITALLTOGETHER:THEFINAL

RESEARCHPRODUCT

The final research paper that my students typically turn in isbetween 10 and 15 pages ( longer in an upper-level course, shorterin an intro-level course). In the guidelines, I make it clear that thepaper must be divided into subheadings (see table 2): introduc-tion (which states the research question), literature review, caseselectionand research design (whichincludes a discussion of vari-ables and data sources), and analysis or discussion. My studentsoften remark that this structure leaves little room for discussionof the many interesting things about their cases. After they getpast the introduction (roughly one page), the literature review(two to four pages), and the research design (two to three pages),most of the remainder of the paper is left for analysis. The con-straints of the assignment make it difficult for students to writelong sections of prose summarizing the interesting facts abouttheir cases and make these papers easier to grade, because eachsection is clearly labeled and can be spot-checked.

A number of additional elements can be incorporated into thisassignment. Like Bob (2001), whenever practicable, I set aside atleast one class period for peer review. This activity has a number

Table 2

Suggested Template for a Comparative Politics Research Paper

SECTION COMPONENTSLENGTH(PAGES)

Introduction Research question, rationale, and hypothesis 1

Literature Review Discussion of 23 competing schools of thought 24

Case Selection and Research

Design

Introduce cases and specify MSS or MDS research design;

define concepts, variables, and data sources

23

Analysis Discussion of results 34

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of benefits: Students must produce a draft for peer review andmust therefore start their final draft earlier. Students also oftengain valuable insights from small peer-review groups. However,these advantages come at the cost of time that couldbe devoted toimportant substantive material.

Another element that I like to incorporate is an oral presenta-tion,which allowsstudents whomay be betterat nonwritten forms

of communication to exercise their skills. In upper-level classes, Ioften set aside a week for students to deliver five- to 10-minutepresentations (typically using PowerPoint) to the class, allowinga minute or two for questions and comments. Obviously, thisapproach is not feasible in extremely large classes. I also find ituseful to require students to give their oral presentations at leastone week before the final paper is due. This schedule allows stu-dents to incorporate comments from their presentation into theirfinal paper.

CONCLUSION

Explicitly incorporating research methods into non-methodscourses adds value to the undergraduate political science experi-

ence. First, this approach reminds students that political scienceis a discipline defined by methods of study. Students should, forexample, be able to distinguish between a political science and ahistory course on Latin America. Second, exposure to differentkindsof methodological approaches and concerns throughouttheundergraduate curriculum better prepares students for lateradvanced studies in research methods. Third, such an approachmakes it clear to students that methods matter to the disciplineand are relegated neither to a single subfield (American politics)nor to specifically defined methodologists. Finally, regardless ofwhether students pursue graduate studies in political science, asolid understanding of research methods and practical experi-ence with research writing is a valuable professional skill.

The approach sketched out in this brief reflective article sug-geststhat carefully structured, methodologically consciousresearchpaper assignmentsand courses explicitly organized aroundthemcan contribute to the teaching of research methods acrossthe undergraduate political science curriculum. Although myapproach is explicitly drawn from my experience as a comparativ-ist, I think that it translates easily into courses in American poli-tics and international relations. Courses in political theory would,of course, need to be structured differently. Nevertheless, it wouldbe valuable for students to learn the methods of inquiry used intheory, and how these methods are both different from and sim-ilar to the methods used in other subfields. The result of myresearch paper approach, when successful, has been that studentswrite research papers with a clearly articulated research questionthat isanchored in a well-definedbodyof literatureand uses appro-priate data to discuss particular cases. Ideally, the product is acondensed form of what most of us would recognize as a seniorthesis. Moreover, students (it is hoped) come away from both theresearch paper and the overall class experience with an under-standing not only of the subject matter, but also of the methodspolitical scientists use to study that subject.

An important caveat is that research paper assignments arenot the only way to design a methods-conscious approach to non-methods courses in political science. Shorter assignments, includ-ing those drawn from problem-based pedagogy, can serve equallywell in the classroom. Recently, class-size pressures have forcedme to abandon the research paper assignment in my introduction

to comparative politics courses. In its place, I now assign a seriesof shorter (two to three pages) assignments that ask students toreflect on selected materials (e.g., the annual Failed States Indexissue ofForeign Policyor Sick Around the World, a PBS docu-mentary on health care policies in advanced industrial democra-cies). However, I makesure that the assignment requires studentsto anchor their reflection in the relevant theoretical discussion in

the textbook, select two cases for comparison, and apply the pro-vided data to their analysis. Often, these assignments also requirethem to apply their analysis to a real-world example, writing doc-uments such as a brief policy statement to a development agencywith recommendations for solving a key problem facing a failedstate or a memo to their congressional representative on healthcare reform. The bottom line, however, is that political scienceundergraduates should be expected to successfully complete theirmajor having developed a basic understanding of the methodsused in the field, the ability to find and critically evaluate evi-dence, and practical experience applying these skills in originalwork.

NOTES

1. My sample did not include the military service academies.

2. Six schools did not have a major in political science or an equivalent depart-ment. Two others (Georgetown and Harvard) did not post information on theirdepartment website that would allow me to determine their major require-ments or course offerings.

3. Clearly, a better approach would have been to construct a more detailed set ofvariables to include in either a survey of department chairs or a more in-depthanalysis of department programs. However, time and resource constraintscompelled me to adopt this more limited procedure.

4. I am aware that a significant and possibly growing number of faculty do notrequire research papers in their courses, relying instead on in-class exams andperhaps some additional short writing assignments. One additional implicitargument of this article is that research writing should be a key component ofthe political science undergraduate curriculum.

5. The approval of the mini-proposal can be a multistage process itself. Becausestudents may not be familiar with course subject matter early in the semester,these brief statements often require substantialand even repeatedrevisions.However, the disadvantage of potentially locking students in to researchprojects they may later wish to abandon are outweighed by the benefit of forc-ing them to begin work on their projects early.

6. I do allow students to revise or even formulate a new research question later inthe semester, based on mutual consultation.

7. Not requiring this component is partly a function of class size. When I havebeen fortunate enough to teach small sections (usually specialized topicscourses), I have required students to submit a draft literature review severalweeks before submission of the final product.

REFERENCES

Baglione, Lisa B. 2007. Writing a Research Paper in Political Science: A Practical

Guide to Inquiry, Structure, and Methods. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.Bob, Clifford. 2001. A Question and an Argument: Enhancing Student Writing

through Guided Research Assignments. PS: Political Science and Politics34 (3):65355.

Bos, Angela L., and Monica C. Schneider. 2009. Stepping around the Brick Wall:Overcoming Student Obstacles in Methods Courses. PS: Political Science andPolitics42 (2): 37583.

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822 PS October 2011

Documents

Preaching What We Practice: Bringing Scope and Methods "Back In"