Methods Courses

Students may choose Political Methodology as their Focus Field or Minor. The requirements for each are the following.

Focus Field

  • PS 7551 Quantitative Political Analysis I (required for all students) 
  • PS 7552 Quantitative Political Analysis II (required for all students)
  • PS 7553 Quantitative Political Analysis III
  • Two electives

Minor

  • PS 7551 Quantitative Political Analysis I (required for all students) 
  • PS 7552 Quantitative Political Analysis II (required for all students) 
  • PS 7553 Quantitative Political Analysis III 
  • One elective

Methodology Electives

  • PS 919 (PoliSci-U) Experimental Methods (Jonathan Renshon) 
    • Experimental methods in the social sciences, with specific application to political science. Covers the logic of experimentation and how experiments can be used to investigate social phenomena, and ways to interpret, design, execute and analyze experiments. This is an PoliSci-U course that takes place at UW-Madison and is available for enrollment and participation via zoom for students from the Ohio State University, along with University of Illinois, University of Minnesota. 
    • Comments from Students: “The course follows a reading-list that contains up-to-date works with materials that are a must-read for students interested in experimental methods. I was able to improve both my substantive knowledge and the practical skillset required as an experimentalist. Dr. Renshon made his time available for students to discuss in-class projects as well as working papers, and provided thorough and useful feedback. Highly recommended for students using experimental methods, especially for those who had no prior exposure.” - Christy Oh, SP24
  • PS 7780 Research Design for Advanced Students (Marcus Kurtz)
    • An advanced class in research design. It is a class that is typically aimed at second-year graduate students. This does not foreclose enrollment by others, more or less advanced. It simply highlights that our discussions will presuppose some level of comfort with basic methodological concepts and techniques. The focus in this class is on concrete approaches to constructing research designs of many different types—it is as much a class designed to provide you with a sense of where to look for design strategies for your own projects rather than a cookbook of allegedly uniformly ‘best practices.
    • Comments from Students: “The course will be incredibly helpful for all those planning to take the candidacy exam on methods, as it helps you to think critically about research designs in all its components - conceptualization, measurement, identification strategy, etc. - which is also what the students will be asked to do in the candidacy exam. The critical eye I have developed in this class helps me to this day, and the readings are organized in such a way that allows you to consider some of the key issues you may encounter in designing your research in a structured manner.” - Christy Oh, AU23
  • POLITSC 7888 Field Research Methods (Amanda Robinson)
    • This seminar introduces students to various field methods for developing and testing theories in the social sciences. The course is best suited for PhD students who are currently developing a dissertation prospectus, applying for research grants, or preparing for dissertation field research, but the course will also be helpful for those planning more preliminary field research. The course is focused on readings and discussions on different types of field research methods, as well as the development of a detailed field research plan. (Excerpt from AU 2022 Syllabus)
    • Comments from Students: “The work I did during this course was such a valuable resource when I started writing my prospectus and grant applications. We applied different methods to the same research topic which demonstrated how the same research is altered by the method of examination. I highly recommend it to anyone who is planning to collect original data.” – Karis Neufeld, AU 2022
  • ANTHROP 8891 Ethnographic Research Methods (Mark Moritz, and various)
    • The goal of the course is to train students in ethnographic methods. We cover a selection of methods that are central in ethnographic research – participant observation, writing fieldnotes, semi-structured interviews, surveys, and grounded theory. In addition to data-gathering methods, students will also learn to use quantitative and qualitative data analyses. And because methods are meaningless if they are not part of a well thought through research design, students will also learn how to design a research project and write it up in a research proposal. Students will learn these skills through participation in a collaborative research project. In the past, we have studied technology in the classroom, group work, eating behaviors, diversity, and behavior in the library at Ohio State. In this collaborative research project, we will design a study, collect data, analyze data, and write up the results in a report or presentation. (Excerpt from AU 2022 Syllabus.)
    • Comments from Students: “This course was critical for expanding my ability to apply qualitative and quantitative methods for empirical research. The ethnographic approach is the core subject of the course and can be applied to a variety of data gathering methods, not just participant observation and interviewing. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in mixed- or qualitative-methods.” – Karis Neufeld, AU 2022
  • Courses in statistics program
    • Students can take courses in the statistics department for two electives. 
    • Comments from students: “The courses in statistics will be helpful for students who aim to study advanced Quant I and Quant II materials. The courses cover mathematical statistics, probability theory, applied regression analysis, and computational statistics.” - Seobin Han
    • Statistics course list