Writing a Research Paper in Political Science

WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER IN POLITICAL SCIENCE teaches research methods and research paper writing skills to undergraduates. This concise text discusses both the parts of a research paper and what students should seek to accomplish in them. In addition, the text explains details such as how to choose and use headings and titles, examines different types of sources, stresses that each part of a paper requires different types of information, and considers different ways of evaluating data. Topics include how to develop a research question, write a literature review, design a study, analyze information, write introductory and concluding sections, and edit and revise a paper. Thus, this book is more than a typical research methods text: it trains students in writing, methodological, and research skills.

Lisa Baglione received her Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University in 1992. She is currently an Associate Professor of Political Science at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia and the Director of the International Relations program there. In her last years of graduate school, Lisa taught at the Cornell-in-Washington Program, where she supervised undergraduates who were writing public policy theses. That experience, along with teaching research methods at St. Joseph's, made Dr. Baglione realize that a textbook that combined a focus on writing and methodology was needed.