What is Senior Research?
Senior research is a year-long project that will help you build a depth of knowledge and the ability work independently. The choice of topic is left to you, however, you are limited to topics that are political in nature and may be constrained by the expertise and interests of your advisor. Ideally, your topic builds off of coursework you have taken in the department or is related to other coursework you have done that is political in nature (most things are!). Starting from scratch for senior research is quite difficult and not recommended.
There are a number of approaches to senior research in political science. You might want to collect your own data for a project through a survey, through interviews, or other methods (This requires additional time and a summer research grant is almost essential to carrying out primary data analysis). You can also do a thesis based upon primary and secondary written sources or on empirical data that have already been collected. Regardless of what kinds of data and evidence you bring to bear, you are expected to make a theoretically grounded argument that uses data and evidence to support your contentions.
Senior research is not for the faint of heart or those who are unsure about doing a major, original research project. Those who choose to do senior research should be passionate and committed to doing so, otherwise you should opt not to do it. You cannot succeed at senior research if you approach it winsomely. The process is stressful and time-consuming. It is also highly rewarding and intellectually satisfying! It is great preparation for graduate school (MA or PhD work) and a real source of pride when completed regardless of your future plans.
Some majors require senior research. Political Science does not.
General Expectations:
The average course at Denison (well, mine at least) requires 14 weeks of class with roughly 3 hours of class meetings per week. Add an additional 2 hours of reading and an hour of studying per week on average – voila, you have 84 hours over the course of a semester for one class. Double that: 168 hours for two courses. Senior research takes at least that much time; probably more!
Senior research is an “independent” activity! If you do not work well on your own or do poorly without hard and fast deadlines, this might not be for you. Your success will depend upon your effort and though that effort is “guided” by an advisor, it is YOUR effort that will conceive the project and bring it to fruition.
You will need to read widely, digest difficult material, and work with theories. You will need to produce multiple iterations of your argument, your chapters, and be prepared to defend the entire project orally at the end of the year in front of three faculty members.
How Senior Research Differs From Other Paper Assignments:
This is more than a “really big paper.” It is moving towards graduate level work. The expectations are high and the workload is high. The average thesis is around 100 pages and of very high quality substantively, grammatically, and thoughtfully. Theses have chapters. Generally a thesis has:
- an introductory chapter
- a theoretical framework with literature review
- two or three chapters on the cases or substance being discussed
- a conclusion.
These chapters need to reinforce and work with each other to make a cogent and cohesive argument that contributes something to the scholarly debate on the topic at hand.
General Guidelines on Timing:
Fall of junior year. Think about applying for a Young Scholar Summer Research grant to get you started. Approach a faculty member with interests similar to yours and ask about the prospects for summer and senior research. Be prepared to answer questions about your topic and your desire to engage in the process. Something in writing is highly desirable! Young Scholar proposals are generally due early in the spring semester and are pretty competitive!
Spring before your senior year, contact the faculty member you spoke with last semester and submit a preliminary proposal on your proposed research. Apply for Young Scholars program if you can.
Summer. Refine your proposal and begin reading background materials. Once you feel comfortable with the background, start on theoretical readings.Fall. Hit the pavement running. Aim for at least the theoretical chapter and one other as soon as possible. The more you complete in the fall, the better and less stressful spring will be! Winter Break. You will need to work over winter break!!!Spring. More work. Aim for a complete draft by mid-March. That will give you time to revise and hone your work that will be due in early to mid April. Spring Break. You will need to work on this over spring break too!!
Requirements:
➢A written proposal that shows substantial thought about your topic including a preliminary bibliography. This should be started in the spring of your junior year. Ideally, you will apply for a Young Scholar’s Grant and start your senior project as summer research (deadline for those grants is usually in late January or February so the project discussions need to occur in the fall of your junior year)
➢Organization. You need a plan for how you will manage your sources, your writing, and your stress!
oDiscuss organization plans with faculty and friends. File folders, binders, excel spreadsheets…there are many possibilities
➢Your bibliography for senior research should be longer and more in depth than any you have attempted before. Bibliographies of 10-20 pages are not uncommon!
➢Regular meetings with your advisor for which you prepare in great depth. Don’t just stop by and give an oral account of your work. Bring written work to discuss; send drafts by email several days before the meeting; have specific problems to discuss; and so on.
➢A late November defense in front of two professors from the department to ensure adequate progress towards an 8 credit senior research project that must include:
- A well defined, narrow and articulated research question/problem statement
- The equivalent of two or more chapters in good shape
- A plan, including timing, of how the rest of the thesis will get finished by early to mid April for recognition or late April for non recognition projects
➢All work should follow the guidelines set out on the department webpage under the Information about Senior Research Tab.
➢Three complete and formatted/proofread copies are turned in to the Political Science office before the deadline (This deadline is IRON CLAD!) NOTE ON PRINTING: Printing takes a very long time. Go early. Be prepared for paper outages, lines, problems with toner, network issues….so do not wait until the last minute!!
➢Oral Defense. Usually at the end of April with two members of the Political Science Department and one outside reader.
- You will make a short presentation of your research and then respond to questions by the committee. This last about 50 minutes. The idea is to have an intellectual exchange as well as allowing you to further elaborate on your ideas and/or to explain passages of your work that might lack clarity or provoke alternative explanations.
Suggested Books and Materials:
Wayne Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research, 2/e. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Laura Roselle and Sharon Spray. Research and Writing in International Relations. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2008.
Kate Turabian. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 67e. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
3 Smead Pressboard Covers (available at the bookstore)
Your Proposal should include:
- Your research question(s),
- The goal of your research and your primary thesis or hypothesis,
- An answer to the “so what” question – why should anyone care about this research? In other words, how this project will contribute to our understanding or why it is valuable,
- Will you collect data yourself or rely on other evidence/information? What will that be?
- How will you go about answering your research question?
- What is your proposed timetable for completing the project?
Faculty/Student Responsibilities:
Primary Advisor: You need to designate one person as your Primary Advisor. This person will assign the grade and be the primary advisor for your project. Usually, this is the person who has the most expertise in your area of interest. It should be someone in Political Science so that the material will draw on the literature in the field and connect your thesis to your course work. Generally, you should meet once a week with your primary advisor.
You should consult with your primary advisor before you choose additional readers. There are many variables to consider in this choice and they can help guide you.
Second Reader: You should select a second person from Political Science. Your Second Reader may play an active or passive role at your request. You should consult with your primary and secondary readers to determine the appropriate level of consultation.
This person should have some knowledge of the topic if at all possible but given the size of some departments, this may be difficult. If they don’t know your topic, they should at least have a passing interest or the willingness to act as an ‘educated lay reader.’
Third (Outside) Reader: You need to choose a professor outside of the department to read your work and attend the final oral defense. Generally, this person does not consult but is at the defense as another set of eyes and ears to ensure fairness and offer an additional opinion.
Be aware of disciplinary differences and the ways in which people can, or can’t, work together when you make this selection.
Researcher/Student Role: It is up to you to arrange meetings. You need to keep yourself on schedule and regularly consult with and provide drafts to your advisor(s). If more than one committee member participates (and ideally they will), you must coordinate and referee the comments you receive. This can be tricky but is a great learning process and closely akin to the real scholarly process.
It is not a good idea to wait and give the material to your Second Reader after everything is completed. While this is simple, it deprives you of valuable advice and deprives the reader of working with you. Part of the benefit to faculty is working with different ideas and with you. However, different faculty approach the role in different ways so discuss this with your advisors in advance.
Important Hints for Success:
➢Keep a Bibliography in proper format as you go
➢Set, and keep, deadlines!
➢Keep your table of contents/chapter outline handy and refer to it often
➢TAKE NOTES AS YOU READ and ORGANIZE them so you can find them later and keep track of arguments in the literature
➢Read Skeptically and Critically! Read widely enough so that you can recognize subtle (and not-so-subtle) biases.
➢Paginate in order throughout the work as you go
➢Choose a citation style in concert with your advisor and then buy the style guide!
- Common ones include APSA style, APA style, Turabian, Chicago, and others. The library webpages are inadequate for the depth you will need for this project.
➢Use full citations as you write (do NOT wait and backfill later, this is time consuming and prone to errors)
- Avoid op.cit., Ibid., and the like in footnoting. Later cuts and pastes will mean you have no idea to which note these originally referred
➢Be Flexible! You will run into hurdles and frustrations, but you will overcome them as well!
➢Revise, revise, revise!!!!!
Disciplinary Issues to Keep in Mind:
➢Political science, as a discipline, does not always cohere well. What flies with one professor, may not with another so you’ll probably need to ask.
- Examples: the acceptability of the use of the first person, acceptance of passive voice, desirability/use of quotations, types of method and evidence...
- For me (S. Davis), the use of the first person is acceptable, avoid passive voice at all costs, quotations are to be used sparingly if at all (Booth has excellent guidelines on this, pp. 205-207), method and evidence – you should show what you remember about 212 here. Be clear and precise. Choose a research design and evidence that are appropriate. That may mean quantitative data, qualitative information, or a mix (that last is usually ideal)…