Research Paper: Choose a policy problem

Examples: crime, pollution, poverty, traffic, day care, discrimination, morality issues, declining quality of education, drug abuse, the national debt, terrorism, access to health care, etc.

Don’t choose a policy (i.e. national health care legislation, death penalty, etc.)

• Definition of the Problem: society, personal, media, etc.

• Literature Review: previous studies

• Policy History: past policies

• Qualitative Research: interviews

• Conclusion: summary, policy recommendations

From there Discuss the followingFrom there Discuss the following

Social Problem: Local Teen Pregnancy

Department of Political Science

Kenneth E. Fernandez

Definition of the Policy Problem

• 1. How does society view this policy issue? (general public opinion/media)

• 2. How do you view this policy issue?

• 3. How does the academic community see this problem?

• 4. What’s the scope of this problem? Is this an international, federal, state or local problem (or all of the above)

Example: Definition of the Problem

• How society sees the problem:– Socioeconomic problem – Moral Problem– Health Problem

• How I see the problem– Quality of Life Issue

Academic PerspectiveTeen Pregnancy Rates

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1990 1995 2000 2002

San Diego

Cleveland

Las Vegas

The Literature Review

The formal literature review is a very specific piece of writing designed to:

– inform your readers of your topic

– establish your credibility as a researcher

– argue the need for, and relevance of, your

work 

Writing your Literature Review

Writing a good review requires you to:– read a few good reviews– develop a structure – write purposefully (rather than randomly)– use the literature to back up your arguments

(especially in your conclusion)

Academic Sources

• Your literature review section should use only academic sources.

• What is an academic source?

• You can use anything else in any other section (Time magazine, internet source, newspaper, etc.), but in the literature review section use only academic sources.

Use Correct Citation Style

• Use APSA citations style

• Don’t use titles or authors’ full name in text (only in bibliography).

• Look at academic articles in journals like American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Political Research Quarterly, etc.

Example: Pape (2003)

Teen Pregnancy Example

• What does the literature say about?:• Causes: Why don’t teens use contraception?

• Causes: What Factors are associated with Teen Pregnancy?– Parents Married/Unmarried– Lived in same home since age 6– Family Income– Race / Culture

• Solutions: Contraceptive use v. abstinence

What has beenconsidered

What has beenImplemented

What has beenrejected

Policy History

Teen Pregnancy Policy History Examples

• Increased Information– In-School presentations (school board decisions)– Advertisement (state & county public health dept.

programs)

• Promoting Family Values (Federal Govt./Private Sector)

• Increased access to services (Planned Parenthood/State & County Public Health Department)

• New Technology (RU-486; emergency contraception)

Qualitative Research

• Identify the local experts and political actors that are addressing this issue

• Interview at least 2 policy experts

• What is an expert?

If in doubt email me who you will interview

Conclusion:

• What caused this problem?

• What should be done about it (what policies should be adopted)?

• How would one begin to accomplish this (policy implementation)?

• Back up with evidence from lit review and what the policy experts you identified said

Example

• Causes:

• Two parents working (less supervision)

• Mixed messages – elites saying sex is bad, media – sex is good

• Lack of access to birth control.

• Alcohol and drugs.

• Culture/Race/Religion

Recommendations

• High-risk vs. low risk / Street contact vs. School contact

• After-care referrals

• Access to emergency contraception

• Access to information

• Limitations?

The End

• I hope this presentation gives you some ideas on how to approach your problem and how to organize your paper.

• Of course it pretty easy to sit here and talk about a problem and have some bullet points. The tough part is to write up a well-organized, well-researched, paper that articulates all the points discussed above.

• Start early. If writing isn’t your strong point get help.