Writing a Research Paper in Political Science - International Student Edition

Dr. Lisa A. Baglione is a professor in the Department of Political Science and a member of the International Relations Program at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Currently, Dr. Baglione also serves as the co-director of the Gender Studies Program. During her career, Dr. Baglione has conducted research in five areas, and while they are varied, she has benefited from the ways that insights from each have interwoven: negotiations between adversaries, authoritarian transformation, peacebuilding, gender in politics, and pedagogy. She has published two other books, To Agree or Not to Agree: Leadership, Bargaining, and Arms Control with University of Michigan Press and Writing a Research Paper in Political Science: A Practical Guide to Inquiry, Structure, and Methods, now in its fourth edition, with Sage.

PREFACE
CHAPTER 1: So You Have to Write a Research Paper
What Is a Research Paper? A Few Helpful Metaphors
What Research Paper Writing Entails
Blueprint of the Book
CHAPTER 2: Getting Started: Finding a Research Question
Characteristics of a Good Question
Practical Summary
Recipe 1: The Research Question
Exercises
CHAPTER 3: Learning Proper Citation Forms, Finding the Scholarly Debate, and Summarizing and Classifying Arguments: The Annotated Bibliography
What Are Bibliographies, and Why Do We Bother With Them?
Plagiarism versus Paraphrasing and Avoiding Drop-Ins and Transcripts, Too
Annotating the Bibliography
Identifying the Key Conceptual Issues
Searching for Sources
Identifying Similar Arguments and Grouping Your Sources
One Last Word of Advice: Generic Schools of Thought
Writing the Annotated Bibliography
Practical Summary
Recipe 2: The Annotated Bibliography
Exercises
CHAPTER 4: Making Sense of the Scholarly Answers to Your Research Question: Writing the Literature Review
Preparing for and Understanding the Literature Review
The Fundamentals of the Literature Review
Writing the Literature Review
Practical Summary
Recipe 3: Literature Review
Exercises
CHAPTER 5: Effectively Distilling Your Argument: The Thesis, Model and Hypothesis
The Thesis
The Model
The Hypothesis
Applying These Insights
Recipe 4: Model and Hypothesis Section
Exercises
CHAPTER 6: Revising and Editing Your Work: The Research-Writing-Thinking Spiral
Practical Summary
Recipe 5: Revising and Editing
Exercises
CHAPTER 7: Making Your Plan and Protecting Yourself from Criticism: The Research Design
Research Design: The Courtroom and Medical Science Analogies
Writing the Research Design Focusing on Hypothesis-Driven Research
The Research Design: Two Examples
Practical Summary
Recipe 6: Research Design
Exercises
CHAPTER 8: Evaluating the Argument: The Analysis and Assessment Section
Qualitative Analysis
Mixed (Qualitative and Quantitative) Analysis
Quantitative Analysis
Practical Summary
Recipe 7: Analysis and Assessment
Exercises
CHAPTER 9: Bringing the Paper Together in Three Essential Ways: The Conclusion, Introduction and Title
Considering the Significance and Limitations of Your Findings: The Conclusion
Writing a Good Introduction
A Last Element in Attracting Readers: Developing an Appealing Title
Almost Done: Writing an Abstract and Giving a Presentation
Are You Done? The Joy (and Continued Responsibilities) of Finalizing Your Draft
Practical Summary
Recipe 8: Conclusion, Introduction, and Title
Exercises
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX