POLS 200 - Approaches to Political Science 3 s.h.

Designed to provide students with an understanding of the fundamentals of both the philosophy and the practice of political science research. The first portion of the course will focus on how political scientists develop research questions, design and conduct projects, and evaluate their findings. Topics will include: the use of evidence in political writing, fallacy in argument, the distinction between empirical and normative arguments, and the “scientific” study of politics. The second portion of the course will focus on the description and analysis of quantitative data. Students will analyze data using statistical software. A-E Only. Offered most semesters.
LA
SS3
Prerequisite(s): POLS or INST major or instructor permission, and SoS or 3 s.h. POLS.