Voting Habit of the Black Legislative Caucus

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The Research Design
An Outline Rubric

• Please organize your document under the indicated sections, addressing the questions posed.

• Be sure to fully document your text, paying attention to the rules of attribution and citation.

Section 1. Title Page:

Include the following statements, appropriately spaced and amended to reflect your particular information.

Department of Political Science

The Title of Your Research Topic
A Draft Research Design Presented to
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
CPSC 602 Scope and Methods

By
Your Name

November 18, 2013
Section 2. Statement of the Problem:

In this section you should indicate the substance of your research topic (problematic.) Do so by addressing these questions:

• What is the specific topic (subject matter) of your research?
• Why is this a significant topic/issue?
• Which groups in society are impacted by this topic?
• In what ways are they impacted?
• Why are you interested in this topic?
• What are some of the key issues pertaining to this topic being expressed in the literature you have identified and read so far?
• What are some salient data (facts, figures, controversies, impacts, etc.) pertaining to this topic contained in the literature you have identified and read so far?
• Why should Political Scientists be interested in this topic?
• What sub-fields of Political Science encompass/include this topic?
• What specifically will you be seeking to discover or establish about this topic?

Section 3. Central Research Question & Research Hypothesis

In this section you should make clear the major question you will be researching. If you have an initial answer to this question (a hypothesis), you should spell it out. [Hypothesis: “A tentative explanation of a relationship or a supposition that a relationship may exist. The hypothesis generates an empirical study to confirm or disconfirm the supposition.” (Kidder and Judd)] It is not necessary to have a hypothesis. You may have no initial beliefs about this topic (other than its significance and relevance); thus, you will be carrying out an exploratory study.

Discuss your research question and hypothesis by addressing these questions:

• What SPECIFIC question are you seeking to answer regarding your chosen topic?
• Have you carefully narrowed the question so that you can pursue a systematic answer given the time and resources at your disposal.
• Is the question clearly stated? [Read it to your friends and get their reactions]
• How will answering this question improve our understanding of the political impacts of your chosen topic?
• Do you have a tentative answer to this question?
• What is this tentative answer?
• How did you arrive at this answer?
• What would be an alternative answer to your question?
• What information will you collect in order to provide a detailed, substantive answer to your question?
• Will you be able to obtain this information? [You will provide a more detailed response to this question in Section 5 below]

Section 4. Major Concepts and Theoretical Underpinnings

[Facts are not unambiguous; they do not speak for themselves; they are structured by concepts that are organized by theories.]

In this section you should indicate the major concepts intrinsic to your research topic. You should also indicate the theories that have been developed to describe and explain the relationship among these major concepts. Do so by addressing these questions:

• What are the major concepts contained in your research topic?
• What are the major concepts contained in your specific research question?
• What are the definitions of these concepts?
• How did you arrive at these definitions?
• Can you provide references for these definitions in the literature you have come across so far?
• Are these measurable concepts (that is, are their variations in the occurrences of these concepts) for example, size, age, education, race, gender, population, income/wealth, public infrastructure, housing stock, incarceration, crime, illness, etc.
• How does the literature you have come across so far describe the relationship among the major concepts in your research question?
• How does the literature you have come across so far explain the relationship among the major concepts in your research question?
• Do you agree with the existing descriptions and explanations in the literature you have come across so far?
• If you do agree, why?
• If you do not agree, why not?
Section 5. Research Methods

In this section, you should indicate the method(s) you will use to collect the data you need to answer your research questions and provide substantial, systematic evidence in support of your research hypothesis. You should defend your choice on grounds of appropriateness, and the limits of your resources, and capabilities.

• What information will you need to collect in order to provide a detailed, substantive answer to your central research question?
• If you do provide a detailed, substantive answer to this question, will you have confirmed your research hypothesis and/or arrived at some significant conclusions regarding your research topic?
• Will you be able to access the required information?
• Will your information gathering include library research of existing analyses, documents, and quantitative data?
• Will your information gathering include interviews, focus groups, or surveys?
• Will your information gathering include personal observations?
• Will you use a single information gathering (data collection) method, or will you combine several methods?
• Why are these the appropriate methods (or method) to obtain the required information?
• What steps will be involved in utilizing your research methods?
• How will you sift through the data you have collected?
• What prevalences, trends and relationships will you be looking for in the data?
• What statistical procedures will you perform on your data?
• How will you summarize and comment upon your information gathering and analysis (research) findings?
Section 6. Existing Literature

In this section, you should discuss the existing literature regarding your research topic. For this first draft six pieces will be sufficient. Do this by addressing the following questions:
• Where are you searching for your literature?
• What search engines are you using?
• What search terms are you using?
• Have you sought help from the reference staff at the Robert W. Woodruff, Atlanta University Center library (www.auctr.edu ), Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture & History (www.af.public.lib.ga.us/aarl/)or any other libraries?
• What literature have you located and read to date?
• What are the major facts, arguments, and conclusions contained in this literature?
• Has your specific research question been addressed in this literature?
• Does the existing literature support your research hypothesis?
Section 7 Statement of the significance of your research

In this section, and on the basis of your discussion of the existing literature, you should indicate how your research would contribute to existing knowledge. Do so by addressing the following questions:

• Will your research update the current literature?
• Will your research add new case studies to the current literature?
• Will your research contribute new explanations to the current literature?
• Will your research contribute support for existing policies?
• Will your research criticize current policies?
• Will your research propose new policies?

Section 8 Statement on the structure of the presentation of your research

In this section you should indicate the order and substance of the overall thesis. These chapters will present your data collection activities, your data analysis, your research findings, and research conclusions. Do so by addressing the following questions:

• What will be the titles and sequence of your thesis chapters?
• What will be the specific substance (issues addressed/material covered) of each chapter?