3.00 Credits
Social Research Design and Writing introduces students to the formal process of social scientific inquiry. As in any scientific discipline, knowledge in political science is advanced through the careful application of the scientific method, emphasizing the development of theoretical explanations, derivation of testable hypotheses, and creation and application of a research design used to empirically evaluate the theoretical claims. This course focuses on the core elements of the scientific research process, including the inception of the research question, preparing an academic literature review, generating theoretical claims, deriving testable hypothesis, and designing an empirical research design.