3124 Home Research Project <Back

The purpose of this project is to use your knowledge of parties and elections from class to address the main questions related to these areas. In groups, you will produce projects that provide information on current political parties, the recent presidential and congressional elections, and the contemporary partisan and electoral problems covered in class (e.g., the state of the parties, campaign financing, and media coverage). When conducting your search for sources, be sure to consult this page: POLS 3124 Research Resources.

This is a group project. Groups are limited to 3 or 4 members (depending upon class size). Please select one member to be "Team Co-ordinator". This person is responsible for writing the project's introduction and for crafting the group's work into one integrated project. While each group turns in one project, each person is expected to contribute more than 6 written pages (in individual, identifiable sections), on average (so a typical group of 4 should write 24+ pages). Note: Page length minimums do not include title pages; pictures, tables, charts/graphs covering more than 1/3 of a page; or bibliography.

Timetable
ASAP! Consider broad topics; potential partners
~10/10 Collect potential sources (COMPLETE citation info)
~10/17 Update sources, focus topic (approval required)
10/20 Annotated bibliography due
10/27 Annotated outline due (keep updating sources)
11/17 Project due (but your work is not yet done)
12/04-06 Presentations (keep updating sources)
12/06-08 Revisions due (use feedback to improve project)
Grading: Project, Presentation, and Revision are each 10% of your course grade.
Scale: A+=10 points, A=9.5, A-=9, B+=8.8, B=8.5, B-=8, C+=7.8, C=7.5, C-=7...

Important: You will lose 1/2 to 1 point (or more) for failure to meet each requirement.
Grading note: For groups of 3+, 2 points of the project and revision grades are determined using the "World Series" share method.

The class will cover 4 to 8 group project topics (depending upon class size; see below):
If your name is not listed below, or is incorrect, please let me know as soon as possible.
Campaigns & Incumbency: What really matters?
Hazel Ley _______________
Owen Carney  
The House and Senate: Which party will win?
Dom Ledesma Gregory Sengsy
Tyler Garner  
Fall 2023: Four groups
Media & Camp. Communications: How important?
Anita Equivel Lopez Letha Pettys
Ana Townsend  
Outside Groups & Camp. Fin.: Money & Influence.
Lelend Padgett Jake DiSimone
Chrisopher Munive  
3 students per group
Projects must examine modern political parties, and recent/upcoming elections. Your work should include background, specific examples, and analysis. Demostrate your knowledge of class material.
Fundamental Considerations Project Basics Project Components
^ Be sure to check out and carefully read each of the above three links ^
           
UNG POLITICAL SCIENCE PROJECT DIGNITY DISCLAIMER
Last modified by Carl Cavalli on Tuesday, January 23, 2024  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fundamental Considerations
For research guidelines, please consult: POLS 3124 Research Resources.

  1. You need to discuss background. Electoral issues do not appear out of nowhere. They develop over time. They are recognized, considered, and addressed over time. You should discuss why the issues you are covering are prominent now. Have they been around in the past, or are they new? Use judgment: you need not cover the entire nation's history to provide an adequate background.
  2. You need to discuss dynamics. Elections are not static. They both evolve and adapt over time (to changes in the population, changes in the political environment, the emergence of new candidates, and of new issues). What caused the evolution? Did society or public opinion shift—and if so, why? To what are the changes attributable? —the people involved? —their positions? —the political parties and/or interest groups involved? —their campaign contributions? —the electoral cycle? Your project may not involve all these factors, but it must involve several of them.

Both academic journals and news magazines are valuable sources. Supplement these with daily newspaper accounts. Use the New York Times or the Washington Post. They are national papers of record, meaning they provide complete coverage of all national issues. You wont find comprehensive information in any other newspapers. There are also many Internet sources to assist you. One caution—use discretion. There are no content restrictions on the Internet, and there is a lot of junk out there! Avoid personal sites in favor of sites attached to established organizations. Note: no more than half of your sources may come from internet-only sites (journal, magazine, and newspaper articles that appear both online and in print do not count towards this limit—but you must use their complete print citations). Please consult: POLS 3124 Research Resources.

You must also research the issues and theories behind your topic. The best starting place is GALILEO, where you can search a wide variety of academic journals by author, title, or keyword). Finally, our library's shortcomings are not excuses for an under-researched project. Good research is never limited to one location. Plan on both using inter-library loans (and plan on that early, because it takes time) and on traveling to other libraries (e.g., UGA, Kennesaw, Georgia State). Our library is the first place to look, but it is not the last! If you cannot find the information you need there, look elsewhere.
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Project Basics
Automatic deductions for all project components (failure to meet each and any requirement for any component will result in a grade reduction as noted):
  1. Project length (see below for each component)—partial pages (no matter how much) do not count. As noted above, minimums do not include any title pages; pictures, tables, charts/graphs covering more than 1/3 of a page; or bibliography. Deduction: 1 point per page.
  2. Formatting—Your project must be divided into labeled sections (see component 2, below). Deduction: 1 point.
  3. Formatting—12-point or smaller Times or Calibri font, double-spaced, 1-inch or smaller margins (If you use an older version of Word—2003 and earlier—you need to change the 1.25" default margins. For help with this, click here). Deduction: 1/2 point each for font, spacing, and margins.
  4. Citations/References—Minimum number of references (see below), APA style for citations/references. APA exceptions: Page numbering must begin with text, not cover page; Quotes of more than three lines must be single-spaced with 1/2" or 5 character additional margins (NOTE: too many long quotes harms your grade); All bibliographic entries must be single-spaced with one space between entries. Deduction: 1 point each for number and style.
  5. File—must be submitted to Turnitin.com by the due date/time for each component. The file must be in either Word format (.doc or .docx) or WordPerfect format (".wpd"). NOTE: if you use Microsoft Works, you must save your file as a Word (.doc or .docx) file and not as a Works (.wps) file (Turnitin.com does not accept Works files). Click here for help on saving a Works document as a Word file. Deduction: 1 point per day.
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Project Components
For research guidelines, please consult: POLS 3124 Research Resources.
  1. Annotated Bibliography—3 points. The purpose of this is to explore the major literature associated with your topic and to refine your specific proposal. Minimum 8 academic references in addition to any course readings (NOTE: 1 point deduction from project for each reference, beyond half, not used). In your "annotation", provide 1) a brief description of the literature, and 2) a discussion of why it is relevant to your work. Your references should be limited to MAJOR academic literature in the field (not just ANY literature—no newspaper or magazine articles for this part of your project). Use your texts as guides (Check endnotes and references).
  2. Annotated Outline (2 page minimum)—2 points. The annotated outline is a formally ordered, descriptive account of each of the specific sections (see component #3, below, for a general outline) of your project. In other words, you will explain each section of your project. NOTES: 1) Be concise, don't overplan—an outline of 30+ sections and sub-sections for an 24-page paper (i.e., less than one page per section or sub-section) is not a good sign!  2) You must discuss how you will use the sources covered in your annotated bibliography.
  3. Project—10 points. Group projects should average 6+ full pages (typed) per person. Your group must designate a team co-ordinator (responsible for integrating all team contributions into one coherent project and for writing the introduction). You must divide your project into sections, and each section must be assigned to a particular person:
    Sections
    (You need not have these exact headings, but you must have similar sections with some heading):
    • Introduction: What is your topic? Why did you select it? Why should anyone care? 2-4 pages.
    • Background/History: Provide readers with relevant history and context. Concentrate on fundamental #1 (above). 7-10 pages.
    • Analysis: Concentrate on fundamental #2 (above). Apply our class (but don't just repeat—build !). 7-10 pages.
    • Conclusion: Wrap up (but do not just summarize). What did you learn? Does it differ in any way from what we've learned in class? 2-5 pages.
    • Bibliography: Minimum of 11 references in addition to one or more class readings and at least 4 from academic books or refereed academic journals. All references must be cited in the project. At minimum, 50% of your references must be print (non-internet) references (online resources that also appear in print may count as print references if they are properly cited as such).
  4. Presentation—10 points. Presentations will be 10 to 20 minutes, depending upon the number of presentations. You must provide an outline page for class—one class prior to your presentation. Presentations are class activities—two points of everyone's class participation will be determined during presentations.
  5. Revision—10 points. Make significant use of feedback from me (on your project and presentation), and the from the class (on your presentation). You must make revisions to maintain your grade. A revision that is identical to, or substantially similar to, the project you submitted earlier will receive a lower grade. All prior project requirements apply to your revision as well.
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