17.850  Political Science Scope Method

Dear Scope and Methods,

I'm sure you all breathed a sign of relief when you turned in your research proposals, thinking our work for the semester was done. But there is still one more thing to do: please complete the online class evaluation form!

http://web.mit.edu/subjectevaluation/

So far, only 40% of our class has completed the evaluation. I'd like to see that percentage go up to 100%! The evaluation website closes Dec. 15 at 9 am, so I'd suggest doing the evaluation before going to bed on SUNDAY, DEC. 14.

The evaluation may seem silly, but it's actually very important. Rich and I will be teaching Scope and Methods again in fall 2016, so we'd like to know what worked well for the class this year, and what changes we should make the next time around.

Moreover, the department teaches Scope and Methods every year, and it's our department's foundational class, so all the faculty members read the evaluations carefully. We'll likely discuss changes, improvements, the class format, the syllabus, etc. at our faculty meeting in January. Please let us know what readings/weeks were helpful to you, what materials were confusing or seemed irrelevant, etc. You can make your voice heard and help us improve the class (or keep the sections you liked) for future cohorts! Thanks!

-Gina (& Rich)

Dear Scope and Methods,

The end is near! This is just a reminder that your research proposals are due on Thursday, Dec. 4.

Please submit your papers as PDFs, emailed to both of us. The deadline to submit your papers is 11:59 pm on Thursday.

Thanks -- we're looking forward to reading your work!

I will not be holding my regular office hours on 11/24 because I will be at the annual MESA conference.
Best, -- Rich

I will not be able to hold office hours at the usual time this week.  I'll hold office hours from 9am to 11am on Tuesday 10/21.  Sorry for the inconvenience. -- Rich

Dear Scope and Methods,

You'll notice that there are many readings posted for next week. Please consult the syllabus and focus on those that are listed as required. The others may be useful, but they will not be central to our class discussion.

I have just posted the introductory chapter to Bennett and Checkel's forthcoming book on process tracing. The book should be out in November. I encourage you to buy it when it is available. For now you should read this PDF of the first chapter, but please consult and quote the actual, published book in future work (as the language may have changed slightly from this 2012 draft). Additionally, please do not forward the draft chapter outside our class. Here is the book's website and more information: http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/political-theory/process-tracing-metaphor-analytic-tool

I recommend that you do the readings in the following order:
1. Collier, who gives a basic overview of process tracing.
2. Bennett and Checkel, who propose standards for evaluating process tracing.
3. Fairfield INCLUDING APPENDIX A, which is an example of a process tracing article with detailed explanation of methodology. Pay attention to the appendix.
4. Parkinson. Several questions to consider: Is this process tracing? If so, is it done well? If Parkinson wrote a methodological appendix to her article, what could she include? What would you want to see?

Thank you, and sorry for the delay in distributing the Bennett and Checkel chapter. -Gina