Political Science paper

POL 370: Final Project Guidelines and Grading Guide

Overview
The final project for this course is the creation of a Research Strategy Proposal. Students will design an original proposal that outlines a research strategy for
addressing a contemporary political issue. This proposal will be written as if it were being presented to the audience of a specific political institution (a think tank,
a nonprofit, a government agency, etc.). The proposal will include an evaluative review of existing literature on the student-selected topic, proposal of a testable
hypothesis, and an examination of the relationship between independent and dependent variables, as well as an account of any control variables. Possible data
collection techniques and ethical concerns will also be considered.

The project is divided into two milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final
submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two and Five. The final project is due in Module Seven.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

• POL-370-01: Analyze data collection techniques for their appropriateness and applicability for diverse research scenarios in political science
• POL-370-02: Determine appropriate statistical techniques for analyzing relationships between independent and dependent variables in political science
• POL-370-03: Evaluate peer-reviewed academic sources for informing the design of original research proposals
• POL-370-04: Propose appropriate research designs for relevant, contemporary issues in political science
• POL-370-05: Evaluate research designs in political science for their compliance with ethical standards governing the use of human subjects as referenced in

the Common Rule

Prompt
Your research proposal should answer the following prompt: What considerations would need to be contemplated in order to perform an appropriate and ethical
research study on a contemporary political issue?

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Research Question
A. What is your research question?

[POL-370-04]

B. How does your research question relate to broader theoretical debates within political science? [POL-370-04]
C. Why is your research question relevant to real-world political practice? [POL-370-04]
D. Who is your target audience for this proposal? Why would your research be relevant for this audience? [POL-370-04]

II. Literature Review
A. What methods and techniques have been used to study an issue similar to yours? Were these methods and techniques the most appropriate for

this study? Why or why not?

[POL-370-03]

B. How will your research contribute to the existing body of knowledge in political science? In other words, to which specific fields in the political

science literature will your research proposal be relevant? [POL-370-03]

III. Variables and Hypothesis
A. What are the conceptual definitions for each of the variables (independent, dependent, and control) you plan on studying?

[POL-370-01]

B. How would you defend the validity and reliability of the variables you have developed? [POL-370-01]
C. What level of measurement do you believe you can achieve for each variable? [POL-370-01]
D. What is your testable hypothesized relationship between your independent and dependent variable?

[POL-370-02]

E. Why do you believe the control variables will affect your first-order relationship? [POL-370-02]

IV. Methods

A. From which population will you gather your data and what technique do you think is most appropriate? [POL-370-01]
B. How would you ensure conformity with political science ethical standards if you were to collect data for this proposal?

[POL-370-05]

C. What statistical technique(s), measures of association, and tests of statistical significance would be most appropriate to test your hypothesis?

[POL-370-02]

V. Conclusion
A. To which other contemporary political issues could this research proposal be applied? [POL-370-04]
B. What kinds of ethical political change could be affected if you were to carry out this research? [POL-370-05]

Milestones
Milestone One: Literature Review
In task 2-2, you will submit a literature review of the political issue you wish to study in your research. The literature review will be 2–3 pages in length (excluding
title and reference pages), formatted according to APA guidelines and include at least three scholarly sources, which may include your course text. This milestone
is graded with the Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric.

Milestone Two: Rough Draft
In task 5-2, you will submit the rough draft of your research proposal. The rough draft will be 5–7 pages in length (excluding title and reference pages), formatted
according to APA style, and include at least three resources that you will use in writing your final paper. The rough draft will include the same elements as the
final paper, but will not go into as much detail. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric.

Final Submission: Research Strategy Proposal
In task 7-2, you will submit your research proposal. The research proposal will be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final
product. The research proposal should be between 8–10 pages in length (excluding title and reference pages), formatted according to APA style, and include
between 4–6 resources. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This milestone will be graded using the Final Project
Guidelines and Rubric.

Deliverable Milestones
Milestone Deliverables Module Due Grading

1 Literature Review Two Graded Separately; Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric

2 Rough Draft Five Graded Separately; Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric

Final Project: Research Proposal Seven Graded Separately; Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

Research Strategy Proposal Rubric

Requirements of Submission: Written components of projects must follow these formatting guidelines when applicable: double spacing, 12-point Times New
Roman font, one-inch margins, and discipline-appropriate citations. The final document should be 8–10 pages, in addition to a cover page and a reference page,
written in APA format, with 4–6 references. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and on the reference page.

Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Research Question:

Define
[POL-370-04]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
research question is innovative

Proposes a researchable empirical
question in a clear manner that is
relevant to a contemporary political
issue

Proposes an empirical research
question, but the question is not
relevant to a contemporary political
issue or is not clearly stated

Does not propose an empirical
research question that is relevant to
a contemporary political issue 4

Research Question:
Broader Theoretical

Debates
[POL-370-04]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
analysis of theoretical debates is
thorough and nuanced

Accurately analyzes broader
theoretical debates within political
science and justifies a claim as to
how the research question fits
within this debate

Analysis of broader theoretical
debates is cursory, makes
inaccurate statements, or not all
claims about the research
question’s place within this debate
are justifiable

Does not analyze the broader
theoretical debates in political
science 4

Research Question:
Real-World Political

Practice
[POL-370-04]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
justifies claims with concrete
examples

Analyzes the relevancy of the
research question within the
context of real-world political
practice

Analyzes the relevancy of the
research question, but not the
relationship to real-world political
practice

Does not address the relevance of
the research question to real-world
political practice 4

Research Question:
Target Audience

[POL-370-04]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
includes concrete examples

Identifies a target audience and
explains why the research is
relevant for this population

Addresses a target audience, but
choice of target audience is not
relevant or lacks explanation as to
why research is relevant

Does not identify a specific target
audience 4

Literature Review:
Methods and
Techniques

[POL-370-03]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
evaluates the differences among
the various techniques

Accurately describes methods and
techniques that have been used in
similar research studies available in
peer-reviewed academic
publications and their
appropriateness within such a study

Describes the methods and
techniques that have been used in
similar research studies available in
peer-reviewed academic
publications, but does not address
the appropriateness of the methods
used or the description is lacking in
detail

Does not describe the methods and
techniques that have been used in
similar research studies available in
peer-reviewed academic
publications

8

Literature Review:
Contribution to Body

of Knowledge
[POL-370-03]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
defends claim with scholarly
research

Makes claims relative to how the
research contributes to the existing
body of knowledge in political
science

Not all claims relative to how the
research contributes to the existing
body of knowledge in political
science are justifiable

Does not make claims to how the
research contributes to the existing
body of knowledge in political
science

8

Variables and Meets “Proficient” criteria and Provides an accurate conceptual Provides a definition of the Does not provide definitions for the 5

Hypothesis:
Conceptual
Definitions

[POL-370-01]

definitions are comprehensive definition for the independent,
dependent, and control variables

independent, dependent and
control variables, but definition is
basic or inaccurate

independent, dependent, or control
variables

Variables and
Hypothesis: Validity

and Reliability
[POL-370-01]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
claim is defended by scholarly
research

Defends the validity and reliability
of the independent, dependent,
and all control variables

Defends only the validity or the
reliability of the independent,
dependent, and all control
variables, but not both

Does not defend the validity or the
reliability of the independent,
dependent, and all control variables

5

Variables and
Hypothesis: Levels of

Measurement
[POL-370-01]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
determination is substantiated
through the use of similar studies

Correctly determines the level of
measurement for the independent,
dependent, and control variables

Makes errors in determining the
level of measurement for the
independent, dependent, or control
variables

Does not make a statement about
the level of measurement of the
variables 5

Variables and
Hypothesis:
Relationship
[POL-370-02]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and cites
similar examples from research

Posits a specific, testable
relationship between the
independent and dependent
variable

Posits a relationship between the
independent and dependent
variable, but relationship is not
testable

Does not posit a relationship
between independent and
dependent variables 6

Variables and
Hypothesis: Control

[POL-370-02]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
justification is substantiated by
comparison to similar studies

Justifies the inclusion of all control
variables in the model and how
they affect the first-order
relationship

Justifies the inclusion of all control
variables in the model, but not how
they affect the first-order
relationship

Does not justify the inclusion of all
control variables in the model 6

Methods:
Gather Data
[POL-370-01]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and the
appropriateness of the technique is
substantiated by scholarly research

Determines the most appropriate
technique to be utilized when
gathering data and describes which
population to be used

Determines a technique to be
utilized when gathering data, but
the technique is not the most
appropriate or the population to be
used is not described

Does not determine a technique to
be utilized when gathering data

5

Methods: Ethical
Standards

[POL-370-05]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
supports recommendations with
examples from scholarly research

Considers potential ethical issues
within the research process and
describes steps that could be taken
to ensure compliance with ethical
standards in political science

Considers potential ethical issues
within the research process, but
does not adequately describe steps
to ensure compliance with ethical
standards in political science

Does not considers potential ethical
issues within the research process
or unethical data collection
methods are proposed

8

Methods: Statistical
Technique

[POL-370-02]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
questions the differences among
the various techniques

Determines statistical technique(s),
appropriate measures of
association, and specifies tests for
statistical significance that could be
used to test the hypothesis

Makes errors in determining
statistical technique(s), appropriate
measures of association, and/or
tests for statistical significance that
could be used to test the hypothesis

Does not address the issue of
appropriate statistical technique(s)
for data analysis 6

Conclusion: Other
Contemporary Issues

[POL-370-04]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
justifies claim with scholarly
research

Makes claims as to how the
research proposal could be applied
to other contemporary issues

Makes broad claims concerning the
applicability of the research
proposal or not all claims can be
justified

Does not address the applicability
of the research proposal to other
contemporary political issues 4

Conclusion: Ethical Meets “Proficient” criteria and Evaluates how ethical political Not all proposals can be Does not propose ethical political 8

Political Change
[POL-370-05]

provides examples of ethical
political changes within similar
studies

change could be affected if the
research was carried out

substantiated or unethical political
outcomes are proposed

outcomes

Articulation of
Response

Meets “Proficient” criteria, has
excellent syntax and sentence
construction

Submission has no major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization

Submission has major errors related
to citations, grammar, spelling,
syntax, or organization that
negatively impact readability and
articulation of main ideas

Submission has critical errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization that
prevent understanding of ideas

10

Earned Total 100%

POL 370: Final Project Guidelines and Grading Guide

POL 370: Final Project Guidelines and Grading Guide

Overview
The final project for this course is the creation of a Research Strategy Proposal. Students will design an original proposal that outlines a research strategy for
addressing a contemporary political issue. This proposal will be written as if it were being presented to the audience of a specific political institution (a think tank,
a nonprofit, a government agency, etc.). The proposal will include an evaluative review of existing literature on the student-selected topic, proposal of a testable
hypothesis, and an examination of the relationship between independent and dependent variables, as well as an account of any control variables. Possible data
collection techniques and ethical concerns will also be considered.

The project is divided into two milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final
submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two and Five. The final project is due in Module Seven.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

• POL-370-01: Analyze data collection techniques for their appropriateness and applicability for diverse research scenarios in political science
• POL-370-02: Determine appropriate statistical techniques for analyzing relationships between independent and dependent variables in political science
• POL-370-03: Evaluate peer-reviewed academic sources for informing the design of original research proposals
• POL-370-04: Propose appropriate research designs for relevant, contemporary issues in political science
• POL-370-05: Evaluate research designs in political science for their compliance with ethical standards governing the use of human subjects as referenced in

the Common Rule

Prompt
Your research proposal should answer the following prompt: What considerations would need to be contemplated in order to perform an appropriate and ethical
research study on a contemporary political issue?

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Research Question
A. What is your research question?

[POL-370-04]

B. How does your research question relate to broader theoretical debates within political science? [POL-370-04]
C. Why is your research question relevant to real-world political practice? [POL-370-04]
D. Who is your target audience for this proposal? Why would your research be relevant for this audience? [POL-370-04]

II. Literature Review
A. What methods and techniques have been used to study an issue similar to yours? Were these methods and techniques the most appropriate for

this study? Why or why not?

[POL-370-03]

B. How will your research contribute to the existing body of knowledge in political science? In other words, to which specific fields in the political

science literature will your research proposal be relevant? [POL-370-03]

III. Variables and Hypothesis
A. What are the conceptual definitions for each of the variables (independent, dependent, and control) you plan on studying?

[POL-370-01]

B. How would you defend the validity and reliability of the variables you have developed? [POL-370-01]
C. What level of measurement do you believe you can achieve for each variable? [POL-370-01]
D. What is your testable hypothesized relationship between your independent and dependent variable?

[POL-370-02]

E. Why do you believe the control variables will affect your first-order relationship? [POL-370-02]

IV. Methods

A. From which population will you gather your data and what technique do you think is most appropriate? [POL-370-01]
B. How would you ensure conformity with political science ethical standards if you were to collect data for this proposal?

[POL-370-05]

C. What statistical technique(s), measures of association, and tests of statistical significance would be most appropriate to test your hypothesis?

[POL-370-02]

V. Conclusion
A. To which other contemporary political issues could this research proposal be applied? [POL-370-04]
B. What kinds of ethical political change could be affected if you were to carry out this research? [POL-370-05]

Milestones
Milestone One: Literature Review
In task 2-2, you will submit a literature review of the political issue you wish to study in your research. The literature review will be 2–3 pages in length (excluding
title and reference pages), formatted according to APA guidelines and include at least three scholarly sources, which may include your course text. This milestone
is graded with the Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric.

Milestone Two: Rough Draft
In task 5-2, you will submit the rough draft of your research proposal. The rough draft will be 5–7 pages in length (excluding title and reference pages), formatted
according to APA style, and include at least three resources that you will use in writing your final paper. The rough draft will include the same elements as the
final paper, but will not go into as much detail. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric.

Final Submission: Research Strategy Proposal
In task 7-2, you will submit your research proposal. The research proposal will be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final
product. The research proposal should be between 8–10 pages in length (excluding title and reference pages), formatted according to APA style, and include
between 4–6 resources. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This milestone will be graded using the Final Project
Guidelines and Rubric.

Deliverable Milestones
Milestone Deliverables Module Due Grading

1 Literature Review Two Graded Separately; Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric

2 Rough Draft Five Graded Separately; Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric

Final Project: Research Proposal Seven Graded Separately; Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

Research Strategy Proposal Rubric

Requirements of Submission: Written components of projects must follow these formatting guidelines when applicable: double spacing, 12-point Times New
Roman font, one-inch margins, and discipline-appropriate citations. The final document should be 8–10 pages, in addition to a cover page and a reference page,
written in APA format, with 4–6 references. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and on the reference page.

Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Research Question:

Define
[POL-370-04]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
research question is innovative

Proposes a researchable empirical
question in a clear manner that is
relevant to a contemporary political
issue

Proposes an empirical research
question, but the question is not
relevant to a contemporary political
issue or is not clearly stated

Does not propose an empirical
research question that is relevant to
a contemporary political issue

4

Research Question:
Broader Theoretical

Debates
[POL-370-04]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
analysis of theoretical debates is
thorough and nuanced

Accurately analyzes broader
theoretical debates within political
science and justifies a claim as to
how the research question fits
within this debate

Analysis of broader theoretical
debates is cursory, makes
inaccurate statements, or not all
claims about the research
question’s place within this debate
are justifiable

Does not analyze the broader
theoretical debates in political
science

4

Research Question:
Real-World Political

Practice
[POL-370-04]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
justifies claims with concrete
examples

Analyzes the relevancy of the
research question within the
context of real-world political
practice

Analyzes the relevancy of the
research question, but not the
relationship to real-world political
practice

Does not address the relevance of
the research question to real-world
political practice

4

Research Question:
Target Audience

[POL-370-04]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
includes concrete examples

Identifies a target audience and
explains why the research is
relevant for this population

Addresses a target audience, but
choice of target audience is not
relevant or lacks explanation as to
why research is relevant

Does not identify a specific target
audience

4

Literature Review:
Methods and
Techniques

[POL-370-03]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
evaluates the differences among
the various techniques

Accurately describes methods and
techniques that have been used in
similar research studies available in
peer-reviewed academic
publications and their
appropriateness within such a study

Describes the methods and
techniques that have been used in
similar research studies available in
peer-reviewed academic
publications, but does not address
the appropriateness of the methods
used or the description is lacking in
detail

Does not describe the methods and
techniques that have been used in
similar research studies available in
peer-reviewed academic
publications

8

Literature Review:
Contribution to Body

of Knowledge
[POL-370-03]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
defends claim with scholarly
research

Makes claims relative to how the
research contributes to the existing
body of knowledge in political
science

Not all claims relative to how the
research contributes to the existing
body of knowledge in political
science are justifiable

Does not make claims to how the
research contributes to the existing
body of knowledge in political
science

8

Variables and Meets “Proficient” criteria and Provides an accurate conceptual Provides a definition of the Does not provide definitions for the 5

Hypothesis:
Conceptual
Definitions

[POL-370-01]

definitions are comprehensive definition for the independent,
dependent, and control variables

independent, dependent and
control variables, but definition is
basic or inaccurate

independent, dependent, or control
variables

Variables and
Hypothesis: Validity

and Reliability
[POL-370-01]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
claim is defended by scholarly
research

Defends the validity and reliability
of the independent, dependent,
and all control variables

Defends only the validity or the
reliability of the independent,
dependent, and all control
variables, but not both

Does not defend the validity or the
reliability of the independent,
dependent, and all control variables

5

Variables and
Hypothesis: Levels of

Measurement
[POL-370-01]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
determination is substantiated
through the use of similar studies

Correctly determines the level of
measurement for the independent,
dependent, and control variables

Makes errors in determining the
level of measurement for the
independent, dependent, or control
variables

Does not make a statement about
the level of measurement of the
variables

5

Variables and
Hypothesis:
Relationship
[POL-370-02]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and cites
similar examples from research

Posits a specific, testable
relationship between the
independent and dependent
variable

Posits a relationship between the
independent and dependent
variable, but relationship is not
testable

Does not posit a relationship
between independent and
dependent variables

6

Variables and
Hypothesis: Control

[POL-370-02]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
justification is substantiated by
comparison to similar studies

Justifies the inclusion of all control
variables in the model and how
they affect the first-order
relationship

Justifies the inclusion of all control
variables in the model, but not how
they affect the first-order
relationship

Does not justify the inclusion of all
control variables in the model

6

Methods:
Gather Data
[POL-370-01]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and the
appropriateness of the technique is
substantiated by scholarly research

Determines the most appropriate
technique to be utilized when
gathering data and describes which
population to be used

Determines a technique to be
utilized when gathering data, but
the technique is not the most
appropriate or the population to be
used is not described

Does not determine a technique to
be utilized when gathering data

5

Methods: Ethical
Standards

[POL-370-05]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
supports recommendations with
examples from scholarly research

Considers potential ethical issues
within the research process and
describes steps that could be taken
to ensure compliance with ethical
standards in political science

Considers potential ethical issues
within the research process, but
does not adequately describe steps
to ensure compliance with ethical
standards in political science

Does not considers potential ethical
issues within the research process
or unethical data collection
methods are proposed

8

Methods: Statistical
Technique

[POL-370-02]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
questions the differences among
the various techniques

Determines statistical technique(s),
appropriate measures of
association, and specifies tests for
statistical significance that could be
used to test the hypothesis

Makes errors in determining
statistical technique(s), appropriate
measures of association, and/or
tests for statistical significance that
could be used to test the hypothesis

Does not address the issue of
appropriate statistical technique(s)
for data analysis 6

Conclusion: Other
Contemporary Issues

[POL-370-04]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and
justifies claim with scholarly
research

Makes claims as to how the
research proposal could be applied
to other contemporary issues

Makes broad claims concerning the
applicability of the research
proposal or not all claims can be
justified

Does not address the applicability
of the research proposal to other
contemporary political issues

4

Conclusion: Ethical Meets “Proficient” criteria and Evaluates how ethical political Not all proposals can be Does not propose ethical political 8

Political Change
[POL-370-05]

provides examples of ethical
political changes within similar
studies

change could be affected if the
research was carried out

substantiated or unethical political
outcomes are proposed

outcomes

Articulation of
Response

Meets “Proficient” criteria, has
excellent syntax and sentence
construction

Submission has no major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization

Submission has major errors related
to citations, grammar, spelling,
syntax, or organization that
negatively impact readability and
articulation of main ideas

Submission has critical errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization that
prevent understanding of ideas

10

Earned Total 100%

POL 370: Final Project Guidelines and Grading Guide