Reviewer INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL Academic Writing
ANALYSIS & RESEARCH Research-supported arguments
Requires and must demonstrate
subject-matter knowledge (e.g., theories,
POLITICAL ANALYSIS DEFINED models, concepts) and ability to work with
- Study of political processes data You are held responsible for what you
- Political inquiry write!
- Methods, approaches in studying politics
- Analysis of events as they occur in the Definition of Academic Writing
polity. Academic writing is any kind of
- Process of investigating issues or events research-based writing done for an
by systematically organizing this academic audience in response to scholarly
information into categories and then literature or data.
establishing a relationship between
these data for the objective of explanation Features of Academic Writing
and prediction. (ELEPFF)
Evidence-based: What is evidence?
CATEGORIES OF APPROACH Logical
1. NORMATIVE - seeks to describe and Explicit (detailed, clearly stated)
prescribe standards of what “ought” or Predictable in organization
“should be” the right conduct. Formal
2. EMPIRICAL - emphasizes facts and Following strict writing conventions
statistical Inquiries.
Developing a Research Question
OTHER APPROACHES Consider the research question: “To what
extent does employee telecommuting
1. PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH - arrive improve organizational productivity?”
at the truth through the use of reason.
2. GEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH - explain Unpacking the research question:
political phenomena with reference to - What is meant by “telecommuting”?
certain facts such as location, climate, - How would you define and measure
mountains, rivers, seas, availability of “productivity”? (Does it involve the
natural resources etc. productivity of the entire organization or just
3. INSTITUTIONAL APPROACH - certain parts of it?)
traditional approach of studying the political - Which employees? (Are all of them
System. employees or just people holding certain
4. SOCIOLOGICAL - studies human positions?)
behaviors in the context of social - How much improvement is expected?
environment. Interaction within human
groups affect the behaviour of an individual. Steps in Conducting a Research Project
5. POLITICAL ECONOMY - (PTCD)
production, trade, custom, development etc. Conceptualizing The following questions
6. HISTORICAL - uses historical methods should be answered at the beginning of tha
such as historical account of an event or study: What are the purposes and
survey of different views of phenomena or objectives of the study? What is the
both research question? It is common to
address these issues in a section titled
II. STARTING A RESEARCH “Problem Statement.”
PROJECT.pdf
HOW TO WRITE A PROBLEM
Non-Academic Writing STATEMENT:
Personal opinions and personal The first section in writing a proposal or
experiences, sometimes supported by what thesis. Problem statement usually applies to
the writer has seen or heard Requires no social or community concerns or
subject-matter knowledge and little research-oriented proposals
intellectual engagement. .
Examples: e-mails, letters, text messages, PURPOSE: Identify the compelling
newspaper articles, personal journal entries conditions, problems, or
issues that are leading to propose a plan of Variables are also identified and defined in
action. this section.
4 EFFECTIVE WAYS IN WRITING
PROBLEM STATEMENT Variables must be identified as independent
or dependent. Possible control variables
1. Uses supportive evidence to should also be discussed.
describe clearly the nature and
extent of the need/problem facing Research Design and Data Collection
those you plan to serve. Method
2. Illuminates the factors contributing to This includes the plan for how the research
the problem or the circumstances will be done: what data will be necessary,
creating the need. how it will be collected or what data
3. Identifies current gaps in services or source(s) will be used, how variables will be
programs. (A question or a problem measured operationalized and sampling
that has not been procedure.
addressed/answered by existing
studies) Implications
4. Where applicable, provides a In addition to analyzing the data and testing
rationale for the transferability the hypotheses, the researcher
of“promising approaches” or “best should explain what the results mean.
practices” to the population you seek How do they contribute to a body of
to serve literature, analysis of a policy, or solving of a
Problem?
GUIDES TO WRITING PROBLEM
STATEMENT Data Analysis and Interpretation
The data are analyzed to test the
1. THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE hypotheses. The nature and strength of the
PROBLEM relationships between variables should be
“What is the need/problem, and who is described, and the researcher must
experiencing it?” In this section, you will try clearly explain why the hypotheses are
to provide a clear picture of the incidence of supported or not supported.
the problem (e.g., the number of people per
thousand in the population who experience Reporting
the problem and the rates by ethnicity, The researcher writes a report. In doing so,
gender, age, and educational level) the researcher must keep in mind the
2. Factors Contributing to the Problem or audience for the research.
Conditions
3. Impact of the Need/Problem
4. Promising Approaches for Improved
Results
Steps in Conducting a Research Project
Literature Review
Review what others have written about the
selected topic. From the review the
researcher should learn about theories and
hypotheses used by others, about
data collection techniques and about ways
of measuring variables.
Research Objectives and Hypotheses
Typically researchers will have hypotheses
and sometimes objectives and hypotheses.
Hypotheses should clearly state a
relationship between two variables and be
listed separately. The researcher should
explain why each is likely to be supported.
