ClassInfo

Grades are based on points.

For Fall 2020, all work will be group-based. This serves a few purposes. First, collaborating in research projects is increasingly common in political science as a field, in large part because it allows people to bring their different strengths to the table to create a better end product than one person could alone. Second, it means no one necessarily needs to be operating at 100% effort all the time. This is a nice feature usually -- since life happens! -- but especially with the uncertainty of COVID-19, working in teams means that if anyone gets sick or has caretaker responsibilities, the person can take some time to take care of themselves while the team continues.

Each team will produce a final research project. Homework will also be team-based, and team members will have the opportunity to explain who did what part of the assignment. Students will take frequent quizzes to evaluate their own individual knowledge.

Assessment:

Grading for this class will be based on six items:

1. Lecture quizzes. There will be five (5) quizzes throughout the semester. The dates the quizzes will be assigned are posted on the syllabus. You can take each quiz as many times as you want and only your highest grade is recorded. You must complete each quiz within one week of its assignment date. Quizzes are not timed and are all administered on Google Forms, with a link to the quiz on Canvas. Each quiz is worth 15 points.

2. Lab quizzes. There will be a quiz assigned at the end of every lab section to assess your knowledge of R. You can take each quiz as many times as you want and only your highest grade is recorded. You must complete each quiz within one week of its assignment date. Quizzes are not timed and are all administered on Google Forms, with a link to the quiz on Canvas. Each lab quiz is worth 5 points.

3. Paper chunks. Your co-author group will have to complete and submit eight ``paper chunks'' throughout the semester. Each chunk is a draft of a section of your final paper. I emphasize that these are drafts -- they are not expected to be perfect, and should reflect your best effort at completing the task at the time that it is assigned. Each paper chunk is worth fifteen points.

4. Check-Ins. Co-author teams are required to send at least one person (and preferably more) to meet with me during office hours to check in at least six times per semester (at least once every 2-3 weeks). These check-ins are worth five points each.

5. Final presentation. Near the end of the semester, your group will present your project to the class and to the ``public'', both to practice communicating about research and to get feedback for your final paper. More detailed information about these presentations will be provided later on. The final presentation is worth 50 points.

6. Final paper. For your final paper, you will edit those paper chunks with the feedback I have given you, and you will incorporate them into a paper, which you will turn in as your final project. Although final papers can seem intimidating, remember that you will be be working on this paper bit by bit throughout the semester. Ideally, by the end of the semester, all you need to do is copy and paste and edit. The final paper is worth 50 points.

Grades are based on points.

For Fall 2020, all work will be group-based. This serves a few purposes. First, collaborating in research projects is increasingly common in political science as a field, in large part because it allows people to bring their different strengths to the table to create a better end product than one person could alone. Second, it means no one necessarily needs to be operating at 100% effort all the time. This is a nice feature usually -- since life happens! -- but especially with the uncertainty of COVID-19, working in teams means that if anyone gets sick or has caretaker responsibilities, the person can take some time to take care of themselves while the team continues.

Each team will produce a final research project. Homework will also be team-based, and team members will have the opportunity to explain who did what part of the assignment. Students will take frequent quizzes to evaluate their own individual knowledge.

Assessment:

Grading for this class will be based on six items:

1. Lecture quizzes. There will be five (5) quizzes throughout the semester. The dates the quizzes will be assigned are posted on the syllabus. You can take each quiz as many times as you want and only your highest grade is recorded. You must complete each quiz within one week of its assignment date. Quizzes are not timed and are all administered on Google Forms, with a link to the quiz on Canvas. Each quiz is worth 15 points.

2. Lab quizzes. There will be a quiz assigned at the end of every lab section to assess your knowledge of R. You can take each quiz as many times as you want and only your highest grade is recorded. You must complete each quiz within one week of its assignment date. Quizzes are not timed and are all administered on Google Forms, with a link to the quiz on Canvas. Each lab quiz is worth 5 points.

3. Paper chunks. Your co-author group will have to complete and submit eight ``paper chunks'' throughout the semester. Each chunk is a draft of a section of your final paper. I emphasize that these are drafts -- they are not expected to be perfect, and should reflect your best effort at completing the task at the time that it is assigned. Each paper chunk is worth fifteen points.

4. Check-Ins. Co-author teams are required to send at least one person (and preferably more) to meet with me during office hours to check in at least six times per semester (at least once every 2-3 weeks). These check-ins are worth five points each.

5. Final presentation. Near the end of the semester, your group will present your project to the class and to the ``public'', both to practice communicating about research and to get feedback for your final paper. More detailed information about these presentations will be provided later on. The final presentation is worth 50 points.

6. Final paper. For your final paper, you will edit those paper chunks with the feedback I have given you, and you will incorporate them into a paper, which you will turn in as your final project. Although final papers can seem intimidating, remember that you will be be working on this paper bit by bit throughout the semester. Ideally, by the end of the semester, all you need to do is copy and paste and edit. The final paper is worth 50 points.

Grades are based on points.

For Fall 2020, all work will be group-based. This serves a few purposes. First, collaborating in research projects is increasingly common in political science as a field, in large part because it allows people to bring their different strengths to the table to create a better end product than one person could alone. Second, it means no one necessarily needs to be operating at 100% effort all the time. This is a nice feature usually -- since life happens! -- but especially with the uncertainty of COVID-19, working in teams means that if anyone gets sick or has caretaker responsibilities, the person can take some time to take care of themselves while the team continues.

Each team will produce a final research project. Homework will also be team-based, and team members will have the opportunity to explain who did what part of the assignment. Students will take frequent quizzes to evaluate their own individual knowledge.

Assessment:

Grading for this class will be based on six items:

1. Lecture quizzes. There will be five (5) quizzes throughout the semester. The dates the quizzes will be assigned are posted on the syllabus. You can take each quiz as many times as you want and only your highest grade is recorded. You must complete each quiz within one week of its assignment date. Quizzes are not timed and are all administered on Google Forms, with a link to the quiz on Canvas. Each quiz is worth 15 points.

2. Lab quizzes. There will be a quiz assigned at the end of every lab section to assess your knowledge of R. You can take each quiz as many times as you want and only your highest grade is recorded. You must complete each quiz within one week of its assignment date. Quizzes are not timed and are all administered on Google Forms, with a link to the quiz on Canvas. Each lab quiz is worth 5 points.

3. Paper chunks. Your co-author group will have to complete and submit eight ``paper chunks'' throughout the semester. Each chunk is a draft of a section of your final paper. I emphasize that these are drafts -- they are not expected to be perfect, and should reflect your best effort at completing the task at the time that it is assigned. Each paper chunk is worth fifteen points.

4. Check-Ins. Co-author teams are required to send at least one person (and preferably more) to meet with me during office hours to check in at least six times per semester (at least once every 2-3 weeks). These check-ins are worth five points each.

5. Final presentation. Near the end of the semester, your group will present your project to the class and to the ``public'', both to practice communicating about research and to get feedback for your final paper. More detailed information about these presentations will be provided later on. The final presentation is worth 50 points.

6. Final paper. For your final paper, you will edit those paper chunks with the feedback I have given you, and you will incorporate them into a paper, which you will turn in as your final project. Although final papers can seem intimidating, remember that you will be be working on this paper bit by bit throughout the semester. Ideally, by the end of the semester, all you need to do is copy and paste and edit. The final paper is worth 50 points.