Syllabus for Social Science Analysis andMethods II
Instructor: Matthew Linley

1 GOALS OF THE COURSE
This course is an introduction to research methods, research design, and the collection andanalysis of social science data. Through a series of lectures, discussions, and readings students willlearn how the fundamentals of scientific inquiry are applied to political science and other socialsciences by examining the philosophy of social science research, theory building, hypothesis
testing and the basics of applied qualitative and quantitative research in political science. Thegoals of this course are to:-Introduce students to the most frequently used research methods in the social sciences,with an emphasis on those used in Political Science
Teach students how to develop an answerable research question
Teach students to design a research proposal that will help them answer their question
Help students identify the various research designs and methods that can be used toanswer the question
Teach students methods to collect data to answer their question
Teach students methods to analyze their data
Prepare students for drafting a research proposal for their own independent research
project or graduation thesis

2 OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE
Objectives of this course are as follows :-Students will be able to understand basic concepts in social science research and several
quantitative and qualitative methodologies
Students will be able to identify suitable research topics for advanced undergraduate
projects
Students will be able to prepare a proposal for an advanced projectStudents will be able to choose appropriate methods in a particular context
Students will be able to identify techniques for measuring social and political phenomenon
Students will be able to evaluate methods used by other researchers and analysts

3 COURSE CONTENT
The purpose of this course is to prepare students to do their own research project. Students willlearn this through lectures, discussions, brief assignments, peer review of the work of otherstudents, and writing their own draft of a research proposal. We will cover the following topics.
1. Introduction to Research Methods
2. What is the Empirical Approach to Political Science?
3. How to Start a Research Project: Choosing a Topic and Research Question Using theLiterature
4. The Basics of Empirical Research: Hypotheses, Concepts, and Variables
5. The Basics of Empirical Research: Measurement
6. The Purpose of Research Design: Causal Inference
7. Sampling
8. Drafting a Research Proposal
9. Research Methods: Participant Observation
10. Research Methods: Content Analysis of Documents
11. Research Methods: Surveys and Interviews
12. Data Analysis: Data Cleaning and Descriptive Statistics
13. Data Analysis: Statistical Inference
14. Data Analysis: Statistical Analysis
15. Course Conclusion

4 COURSE PREREQUISITES
We recommend this class for upper year undergraduates in the School of Law or School ofEconomics, especially those intending to write a graduation thesis. We strongly recommend thatstudents have already completed Social Science Analysis and Methods I. The minimum grade
required to pass this course is C- (60% or above).
Letter grades are as follows :-A+ 95% or above
A 80% or above, but below 95%
B 70% or above, but below 80%
C 65% or above, but below 70%
C- 60% or above, but below 65%
F Below 60

I will grade students as follows :-

15% Class Participation/Attendance
10% Assignment 1: Topics and Research Questions
10% Assignment 2: Measuring Concepts and Variables10% Assignment 3: Participant Observation
10% Assignment 4: Content Analysis
10% Assignment 5: Interview
10% Assignment 6: Descriptive statistics
10% Assignment 7: Statistical inference
15% Assignment: 1-Page research proposal for a graduation thesis

5 TEXTBOOK
There is no textbook. I will provide material in class via the NUCT system.

6 REFERENCE BOOK
Johnson, J. B., Reynolds, H. T., Mycoff, J. D., & Mycoff, J. D. (2020). Political science researchmethods. Thousand Oaks, California: CQ Press, an imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc.,

7 STUDY LOAD
Students should expect 2 to 5 hours per week of preparation, including reading, reflecting,preparing written assignments, and reviewing notes. Additional practice and study may benecessary for those students unfamiliar with using Excel or who have limited experience in data
analysis.

8 NOTICE FOR STUDENTS
This course will emphasize research methods used in Political Science. I welcome students fromother areas of specialization, such as Law and Economics. But please be aware that most examples(including on assignments) will be taken from the literature on Political Science. I will do my best
to teach the general concepts in a way that is accessible to all social science students. This is NOT acourse on statistics or probability. The statistics that we use for data analysis will be elementarylevel. The emphasis will be on teaching practical skills to students in doing their research. Students
should have access to a copy of Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet program able to do simple
statistical analyses.

9 HOW TO RESPOND TO QUESTIONS
The instructor will be available to answer questions from students immediately after class.
Students can also email the instructor questions they may have atlinley.matthew[at]j.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp

10 LECTURE FORMAT
Seminar format with discussion and occasional in-class activities
List of hybrid classes employing both face-to-face and remote teaching methods will be posted inthe "News" of the homepage of the Graduate School of Law.
URL：https://www.law.nagoya-u.ac.jp*If there are any changes in the teaching methods after the period of course registration, it will beannounced on NUCT.

11 ADDITIONAL MEASURES FOR REMOTE CLASS
Should any student not be able to attend an in-person class, the lecture will be recorded anddistributed to all students. The instructor will be available for answering student questions
immediately after each class. Students can also make an appointment to talk to the instructor
after class.
We conduct remote classes via NUCT. You should ask questions to instructors using the NUCT
"Message" function.
We will conduct student discussions using the NUCT "Message" function. (If the instructor has
added the "Forum" function, the "Forum" can also be used.)
Follow your instructor's directions if your instructor has any other directions.