211 Silsby Hall
HB 6108
Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
Tel: (603) 646-2544
Fax: (603) 646-2152
E-mail: Government.Department@Dartmouth.EDU
This course will provide students with useful tools for undertaking empirical research in political science and will help them to become informed consumers of quantitative political analysis. The course will first consider the general theoretical concepts underlying empirical research, including the nature of causality, the structure and content of theories, and the formulation and testing of competing hypotheses. The course will then employ these concepts to develop several quantitative approaches to political analysis. Students will be introduced to two statistical methods frequently used by political scientists, contingency tables and linear regression. By learning to systematically analyze political data, students will gain the ability to better conduct and evaluate empirical research in both its quantitative and qualitative forms.
Serves as the prerequisite to the major. Because of the large overlap in material covered, no student may receive credit for more than one of the courses Government 10, Economics 10, Geography 10, Mathematics 10, Psychology 10, Social Sciences 10, or Sociology 15 except by special petition. Dist: QDS.
This course considers explanations of the structure and behavior of public and private bureaucracies and of voluntary groups taken from theories grounded on rational calculations compared with those grounded on social values. Materials are taken primarily from American and Western European governmental and industrial experience, but some attention is paid to bureaucracies and organizations in developing countries. Students will conduct field research on Dartmouth or Hanover/Norwich administrative offices or voluntary groups. Dist: SOC.
This course is an introduction to game theory with an emphasis on political science applications. Particular attention will be paid to the use of game theory in international relations, legislative politics, and the study of public goods. Game theory allows for formal representations of behaviors and is used to study strategic interactions and how individuals and groups of individuals make decisions. Game theory is a standard tool is social analysis, and Government 18 will focus on the theory of choice, normal form games, and extensive form games. Prerequisite: Math 3 or the equivalent. Dist: QDS
This course will enable regular or visiting faculty members to examine political topics not treated in the established curriculum. Subjects may therefore vary each time the course is offered. Dist: Varies.
This course introduces mathematical and statistical models in the social sciences beyond the level of bivariate regression. Topics to be covered include multivariate regression, selection bias, discrete choice, maximum likelihood models, multi-level modeling, and experiments. We will use these models to study voter turnout, elections, bargaining in legislatures, public opinion, political tolerance, the causes and duration of wars, gender bias in employment, educational testing, poverty and income, and a host of other topics. Students will write a paper of original research using some of the methods covered in class. Prerequisite: Government 10, Economics 10, Geography 10, Mathematics 10, Psychology 10, Social Sciences 10, or equivalent Dist: QDS
This course is a continuation of Government 18, Introduction to Game Theory. It will build on the material covered in the prior course and will cover Bayesian games, dynamic game of incomplete information, and repeated games. The emphasis in Government 19 will continue to be political science applications. (Note: the prerequisite for this course is Government 18 or permission of the instructor.) Dist: QDS.
Perhaps it is counterintuitive, but the most important part of any research project is completed before a scholar delves into the archives, compiles a dataset or sends an experiment out into the field. First, a researcher must identify an important question and design a creative and compelling means of answering it. This course is dedicated toward two complementary ends, instruction in qualitative methods and research design. It will begin by providing students with an introduction to the tools and techniques, strengths and limitations of qualitative methods. It then explores how to craft research designs to provide the greatest explanatory leverage and how to communicate most effectively with the intended audience. Somewhat unlike a traditional political analysis course, this class is best thought of as a practicum for those actively engaged in the research process. The course is ideal for those contemplating writing a thesis or a similar project since students will concentrate on one substantive topic for the duration of the term. However, it will benefit anyone interested in methodology and the intricacies of research in political science. Topics include: hypothesis generation, concept formation and measurement, case study design and selection, multi-methodological design, archival research and writing for the social sciences.
Counterfactuals are commonly used as rhetorical strategies, mechanisms for working through problems and benchmarks for assessment and evaluation. In science they help researchers build and test theories. Psychologists use counterfactuals to probe how the mind works. In literature, they have been used since the time of Homer to provide the context for narratives and poetry. For many scholars they nevertheless remain a highly suspect form of speculation. For others they are an essential component of any causal claim because the statement X causes Y assumes, ceteris paribus, that in the absence of X ,Y will not occur. We will examine the diverse uses of counterfactuals, the various objections that have been raised about them, and methods for conducting counterfactual experiments in diverse disciplines. As a class, we will design and conduct our own counterfactual experiment. Dist: SOC.
