Research Question paper add and adjust when is needed

User Generated

znkvab

Writing

Description

I have done part 1 and part 2, and part 3, but it will need to:

Add the data of part 3 attached below to the paper and make it fit. I also attached the instruction of all these parts.

Count pages for each part and make sure you reach the requirement and it's following the rubric.

*NOTE FOR TUTORS: need to reply fast.

----------------------------------------

The Three Files attached are:

1. Research Paper Directions and Guidelines1.pdf

2. American Ignorant Voters Parts 1+2.docx (The paper you will add the data in).

3. Analysis copy 2.docx (This is the data you will add to the American Ignorant Voters Parts 1+2).

Unformatted Attachment Preview

Research Paper Directions and Guidelines 1 POLS 235: POLITICAL RESEARCH METHODS AND APPROACHES Research Paper Directions and Guidelines Together, this research paper counts towards 20% of your overall class grade. There are four parts to this research paper Parti: Research Question and Literature Review (5%)  I Due September 27 (hard copy before class!) _ Part II: Part I + Theory and Hypotheses (5%)  Due October 18 (hard copy before class!) Part III: Parts I­II + Descriptive Statistics (5%)  Due November 8 (hard copy before class!)_ Final Version: Polished parts I ­ III + bivariate data analysis & conclusion (5%)  Due December 10 (via email; mmcbraver@uidaho.edu) „ | J rhe directions and guidelines are written as a checklist. Use the checklist. Late work is heavily penalized. You will receive a zero for Parts I through III if the paper is late for any reason (printer breaks, you oversleep, etc.). For the final version, there is an automatic 20 point deduction for the first 24 hours and 50 point deduction for anything later than 24 hours. You may write this research paper with a classmate of your choosing. After all, social science research is collaborative. The expectations and requirements are exactly the same tor working with a coauthor as not. Research Paper Directions and Guidelines 2 Part I: Research Question and Literature Review (4­5 pages) Due: September 27 at the beginning of class (hard copy) Requirements Introduction and Research Question on a political science topic (1 page) Examples: "What causes voter turnout to vary between countries?" "Why are Republicans, on average, becoming more conservative and Democrats more liberal in their congressional voting?" This must be both 2* a­ Clear. b­ Answerable. Disc"Ssion of the importance of the nrohlem and the research question (1 papel Why is this (e.g. turnout) an important question? Don't explain why you find this interesting. TelUhereader why this is an important issue in general. a> Convincing argument why this is an important problem. 3­ Literature review (7­1 pagpg) Consuhat least 10 scholarly articles and discuss the existing literature relevant to your research question. This should be in paragraph form and cited with in text citations (APA Style). Keep in mind: a literature review does not just list what other scholars have said a out this question. Instead, this is where you identify and describe debates that c°™™n themes behind articles and books < V ( s^h00ls of thought ). In other words: instead of listing the content of 10 articles you C°m m0n 'hemf between these ' group them according to this theme, and f K ^ v d i p u s s s t r e n g t h s a n d w e a k n e s s e s o f e x i s t i n g s c h o o l s o f t h o u g h t . ( J j P : Re­read Baglione Chapter 4 (for good examples of literature reviewsT> a. Consultation of at least ten scholarly sources b. c. Correctly cited sources using in­text citations (APA Style). Paragraph form d­ e­ f­ 8* Outlines what scholars have said about this before Identifies the relevant schools of thought. Discusses strengths and weaknesses of existing schools of thought Identifies one school of thought to be focused on for the paper Research Paper Directions and Guidelines 3 My Grading Rubric Comments (if applicable) for Part Criterion Fundamentals: Style, Language, and Grammar Introduction (1 page): Clear and answerable research question. Sum Max 20 20 Importance of Topic (1 page): Convincing argument why the RQ is important 10 Literature Review (2­3 pages): Consultation of 10 academic sources correct ciuition (APA Style) Outlines what scholars have said about this topic before 10 Organization according to schools of thought Discusses strengths and weaknesses of existing schools of thought 10 10 10 10 100 Points Research Paper Directions and Guidelines 4 Part II: Theory and Hypothesis (3­4 pages) Due: October 18 at the beginning of class (bring two hard copies) Requirements Here you provide the answer to your research question. Recall that a theory has a causal statement and a causal explanation. In other words, you need to make a clear statement which variables cause your phenomenon of interest (e.g. varying turnout levels) and you need to explain in great detail why you expect this effect. From your theory, you then deduce testable hypotheses. For this project, you are required to have 2 testable hypotheses (1 dependent variable and 2 independent variables). Example: To use the question on turnout, the United States does not require citizens to register to vote. Voter registration requirements vary by country. I might argue that this institutional difference causes the discrepancy in voter turnout because it makes voting easier for some citizens and harder for others (taken from Pollock p. 233). This theory is testable and falsifiable (science!).    We could create a hypothesis for this theory. For instance, countries that require citizens to register to vote are more likely to have low voter turnout rates in elections. We could test this hypothesis. We could collect data on if and how countries conduct voter registration and collect data on voter turnout. We could also be wrong about this. Perhaps voter turnout has little to do with government requiring citizens to register to vote. Perhaps a voter's satisfaction with democracy drives his or her decision to vote in a given election. Questions to ask yourself about your theory: 1. Does your theory explain something? What relationship does your theory explain? 2. 3. Is the theory causal? Do I explain my theory? Do I spell out exactly how my factor influences 4. the relationship I'm trying to explain? Is this theory testable? Is it plausible for there to be data to help us answer 5. this question? Can I be wrong? How would I be wrong? Research Paper Directions and Guidelines 5 My Grading Rubric for Part II Comments Criterion (if applicable) Fundamentals: Max Points Points Achieved 20 Style, Language, Citations (if necessary) and Grammar. Theory (3­4 pages): 20 Theory answers the RQ Theory has a cl ear causal 20 statement. Theory has a c ompelling and 20 detailed causal explanation. Hypothesis: 20 Two clear and testable hypothesis. Sum 100 Research Paper Directions and Guidelines 6 Part III: Descriptive Statistics (3­4 pages) Due: November 8 at the beginning of class (bring two hard copies) Requirements In this section, you describe the variables that you are using in your statistical analysis, both in text and in chart or table form. After this section, you then describe all of your variables. This means: provide the minimum, maximum, and appropriate measure of central tendency for each variable (in a Table). Plot the distribution of each variable in an appropriate graph.       Identify your independent variables (remember: you need 2). Identify your dependent variable. Provide a discussion of the independent, and dependent variables in paragraph form. Questions include, but are not limited to: o How are your variables measured o Where do these variables come from? For instance, did you code them yourself? Did you find them on the internet? If so, where? o Are there any shortcomings or problems with the way these variables are measured? Provide the minimum, maximum, appropriate measure of central tendency, and standard deviation (if applicable) for each variable in a table. the distribution of each variable in an appropriate graph. Explain each graph and each table in the text. The basic rule is: readers should be able to understand the tables and graphs without reading the text and they should be able to understand the text without looking at the tables and graphs. r Research Paper Directions and Guidelines 7 My Grading Rubric Part III Comments Criterion (if applicable) Fundamentals: Max Points Points Achieved 20 Style, Language and Grammar. Oescriptives (3­4 pages): 20 Clearly identified DV and IV Discussion in paragraph form: 20 (1) Variable measurement (2) Variable source (3) Shortcomings Minimum, Maximum, 15 Mean/Median/Mode and Standard Deviation Plotted Distribution of each 15 variable (appropriate graph) Each graph and table explained in 10 the text Sum 100 Research Paper Directions and Guidelines 8 Final Version: Polished parts of I­III & bivariate data analysis (4­5 pages) & conclusion (2­3 pages) Due: December 10 at 11:59pm (Word document via email) The final version of your paper will include polished parts of I­III as well as a bivariate data analysis (4­5 pages), and a conclusion (2­3 pages). 1­ Bivariate Data Analysis (4­5 pages') For the bivariate data analysis, you need to use all of the appropriate tools learned in class. This list includes but is not limited to: Crosstabs, Scatterplots, Difference­of­means­tests, Chi­ Square tests, and Bivariate Regression. Explain each test in the text and interpret the output that you get. Do you reject or fail to reject your hypotheses? What does this mean for your theory? 2. Conclusion (2­3 papesl In the conclusion, you usually first re­state your research question and you then sum­up your findings. Did you find support for your hypotheses? What are the implications of your findings for your theory? Which other variables would you have to consider in order to conduct a conclusive test of your theory? Research Paper Directions and Guidelines 9 My Grading Rubric for the Final Version Comments (if applicable) Criterion Fundamentals: Style. Language and Grammar. Bivariate Data Analysis (4­5 pages): All Charts (if applicable) Appropriate selection of test for statistical significance. Each test explained in the text and results are interpreted in plain language. Conclusion (2­3 pages): Re­stated research question and summary of findings. Discussion of 5 potential confounding variables. Sum Max Points 20 10 10 40 10 10 100 Points Achieved This is the data you will copy and add it to the paper probably US Democracy Decline Variables • • The dependent variable is Total. The independent variables are CL and PR. Descriptive Analysis: Measures of central tendencies & Dispersion Descriptive analysis for the independent variables • Below is the measure of central tendencies for both United States and United Kingdom on two key parameters namely; 1. Political right aggregate score 2. Civil liberties aggregate score Aggregated Political Right Aggregate Score for the US and UK Country/Territory Minimum Maximum Mean Median Standard Devation United Kingdom 40 40 40.00 40 0.00 United States 33 37 35.33 36 1.86 Aggregated Civil Liberties Aggregate Score for the US and UK Country/Territory Minimum Maximum Mean Median Standard Devation United Kingdom 40 40 40.00 40 0.00 United States 33 37 35.33 36 1.86 Descriptive analysis for the dependent variable Total democracy outlook score for the US and UK Country/Territory Minimum Maximum Mean Median Standard Devation United Kingdom 94 97 95.33 95.0 1.37 United States 86 92 89.17 89.5 2.71 This is the data you will copy and add it to the paper probably Visualizations Political Right Score Civil Liberties Score This is the data you will copy and add it to the paper probably Total Democracy Score AMERICA’S IGNORANT VOTERS 1 September 27th, 2018 Introduction Without any doubts, the United States is one of the world's most powerful country. It has a globe-spanning network of alliances as well as military bases. In the view of some, many Americans had dreamt of the current United Stare (Somin, 2016). Over a span of years, the country has changed from a detached colony to the most powerful country in the world. Many people expect economically stable nations like the United States of America to reciprocate this supremacy in the establishment of a robust political system based on democracy. However, this has not been the case. The US’s status concerning democracy is declining at a worrying pace. Democracy in its simple terms entails having a system of government that is for the people and by the people (Piven, Cloward, & Cloward, 2000). Ideally, it means having a type of governance by the whole population through elected representatives. Having this in mind, it is therefore; right to say that the United States democracy is under significant threat. It is correct to say that the democracy of the United States is nearing its demise. Research Question This paper will seek to answer the question, “What are the factors that lead to the decline of democracy in the United States? The uninformed electorate is a prerequisite for the death of American democracy. If the voter does not know the happenings in politics, it is hard for them to rationally exercise control over government policies. It is therefore essential to research on the extent to which the United States citizenry is ignorant of matters about voting and the extent to which the uninformed electorate threatens the United States democracy. AMERICA’S IGNORANT VOTERS 2 Discussion The ever-growing electorate ignorance poses a severe threat to American democracy in the upcoming elections. So it becomes imperative to have an understanding of how voters are ignorant in the US and in what ways this threatens the American democracy. Democracy entails power-sharing between people. When this is the case, the citizenry is given the opportunity to take part in the decision-making process about issues facing the nation. Although the decision may not be right, it limits the power of certain groups. Researching on the topic of electorate ignorance is very important since it will enable policymakers to find the extent to which Americans voters are ignorant of issues about elections and other matters about democracy. Failure to have democracy or when the American democracy is threatened, power will accumulate in the hands of few individuals who may not have the interests of people at heart, but instead, they will make decisions that will only benefit themselves. Informed voters will be able to make a rational decision that will help to uplift the democracy. Consequently, the democracy will help to promote equality among citizens, enhance the dignity of individuals, and give citizens to vote a candidate of their choice and who will bring about change. It is therefore much essential and okay for voters to learn the concepts of curiosity and to question. The virtue of reason, logic, clarity, dissent, civility, and debate are the independent basis for democracy that needs to be utilized in great magnitude. The answers to the above question will be used by the concerned parties such as government agencies, human rights groups and other concerned parties to know the way forward to educate the electorate if necessary. AMERICA’S IGNORANT VOTERS 3 Literature Review According to Caplan, (2011), there are three essential conditions for voters to be able to make rational and informed decision in a democratic system of government. First, they must be aware of the public policy, that is, the existence of relevant issues and candidate position on them. Secondly, voters need to have an opinion on the matter, and lastly, they need to be informed of the position of the opposing candidate over the issue. The above three minimal voter knowledge prerequisites are based on the empirical investigation (Caplan, 2011). To the view of many from research conducted by Driscoll, & Nelson, (2014), our citizenry is inattentive, apathetic and uninterested in matters relating to politics. A significant share of the American population does not know who their leaders are. According to Somin, (2004), 55 percent of Americans could not recognize presidential candidate by during the 2002 election. Another shocking finding relating to the same election is that only a small percent knew that the previous house before the election was controlled by the Republicans (Martineau, 2017). In the view of Driscoll & Nelson (2014), there is two main implication of insufficient electorate knowledge. To start with, voters who are less informed votes for candidates with a weak manifesto. In the end, these candidates when elected fail to live up to their promises. In another sense, voters who do not know the duties of people in certain positions cast their vote carelessly without being mindful of the type of skills and ability of the candidate. When these people finally land in either of the houses, with Congress or the Senate, they fail to live to their mandate which is to make laws concerning the well-being of people. Secondly, inadequate voter knowledge hampers democratic government from manifesting the desires of the citizens in a significant way. In this way, it becomes hard for the government to defend the dogmatism of democracy (Driscoll, & Nelson, 2014). Lastly, voter ignorance provides a pathway for AMERICA’S IGNORANT VOTERS 4 manipulation of the illiterate in matters of politics by the elites. It also facilitates gross policy errors which result from candidates need office through the ignorance of the electorate (Somin, 2004). These two factors risk the fundamental cause of democracy that seeks to serve the interest of the majority. In the words of Piven, Cloward, & Cloward, (2000), the current cable news show (spinning) plays a significant role in misinforming the electorate. Currently, many people are of the view that America is more divided politically than ever (Caplan, 2011). The cause of this is well understood by many as well. Cable news shows have a role in this to a great extent. Most cable news shows can only be described as confused, angry and polarized when it comes to issues of politics (Elmendorf, & Schleicher, 2013). They are confused in the sense that they bring different topics of discussion in between their daily schedules. This sentiment can get support from the 2016 presidential campaign period when Fox used to air a morning show that gave much credit to Trump, and in the evening, it was another show that was against him. Polarization comes in the sense that most news correspondents in different cable news shows provide personal ideas which draw basis from the parties of their affiliation. Instead of giving independent views on specific issue policy, or person most of them get influenced by the political party they identify with (Surowiecki, 2005). The vulnerable viewers and listeners end up confused about what to take and what to leave. Lastly, cable news can be blamed for misinforming voter in relations to statistics. According to Surowiecki, (2005), it is regrettable that most of these shows give baseless information supported by no facts whatsoever. The statistics they sometimes provide concerning opinion polls are misguided are not supported by any empirical research. The end product of this is confusing to voters. AMERICA’S IGNORANT VOTERS 5 Theory and Hypothesis Ignorance about an issue is regarded to be rationale when the expense of educating oneself about an issue in order to sufficiently make a valid informed decision becomes higher than any potential benefit that a person could reasonably expect to gain from that particular decision. Therefore, it would be irrational efforts to waste time doing so. The consequences are seen in the quality of decisions made by large numbers of people. For example, in the general elections, one vote has a very small probability of changing the outcome. Elections and politics provide a display of a similar dynamic. By increasing the issues that an individual requires to consider in order to make a rational decision about policies and candidates, pundits and politicians encourage party-line voting, single-issue voting, selling votes, jingoism, and dartthrowing. However, all these are likely to tip the playing field in the favor of politicians who are not actual portrayers of the electorate. Many people lack the time to devote to doing research on the aspects of candidate’s policies in regards to these people having daily responsibilities that they have to carry out. There is a huge number of people who specifically find themselves making decisions that are rational and in this case, they let other people who are more engaged in the matter to do this research. Consequently, these people form their opinion on a basis of the evidence provided, instead of using their own evidence. This raises a new argument of ignorance on voting among individuals: such people portray a certain form of ignorance as a result of lacking the time, in spite of showing any form of interest in the topic. Additionally, if a solution for this matter arises, then it should be based on creating time for these individuals or even providing more information regarding the policies of the given candidates. AMERICA’S IGNORANT VOTERS 6 Politicians usually tend to protect their policy decisions from public preferences. This is the same effect that is experienced between the cost ratio and benefits: the cost ratio is known to increase with the decrease in benefit or increase in costs. To the level that the electorate recognizes their individual votes to count for less, this means that they will contain less incentive to spend their time learning the details and crucial information regarding the candidate and the candidates’ policies. Just as in the first argument, the implication here suggests a kind of reluctance and ignorance in voting which is not related to the lack of interest in the details and policies of the candidates but instead, it is related to the factor of time. An accurate example occurs when voters identify themselves with a particular political party or political leader, similar to the adoption of a favorite movie critique. Based on previous experience, a voter who is regarded to be responsible would seek a political party or a politician who points out conclusions regarding the social policy that are similar to their conclusions: if they had undertaken a good and complete analysis. However, when a voter finds themselves to be in the same line of argument and belief with a certain politician or party across a number of elections, this voter may simply vote by “default”, trusting that the situation will continue to be true. This is where the concept of “vote the ticket” comes from. Ultimately, such type of voter will see no reason for doing a research on the policies of the party of interest or the politician of interest. The empirical support for the rational ignorance idea was gotten from previous studies such as studies of voter apathy. At least most of these studies have been associated with very strong conclusions that are helpful in understanding the ignorance of voting as well as coming up with solutions for this problem. This empirical point of view brings about the question of whether individuals acquire information for the purpose of voting. This has not been fully settled AMERICA’S IGNORANT VOTERS 7 as different countries have different forms of political influence. Additionally, people may have different engagement levels towards politics and most specifically voting. For example, young people may lack to understand the concept of voting or following a certain political party or leader. However, these individuals may follow their relatives or other people they look up to base their political beliefs. The result of this occurrence is usually people voting just for the sake of completing the norm. Forced voting, directly or indirectly, has been considered as a solution for reducing the ignorance in voting. However, forcing people to vote is proved to be a much less powerful approach that induces involvement in politics than giving people appropriate information regarding political leader and their policies. On the other hand, compulsory voting may indicate and present positive implications where the approach serves as an equivalent form of political stimulation and civic education. However, the changes in political knowledge among individuals are not present while moving from a voluntary to a compulsory voting system. Conclusively, voters have more information on the political parties as well as leaders than the nonvoters. The outcomes of elections are highly affected by the electorate being under full and forced democracy or the self-selected electorate. In this case, there may be direct effects caused by the nature of the electorate in regards to the voting habit of the population at hand. AMERICA’S IGNORANT VOTERS 8 References Caplan, B. (2011). The myth of the rational voter: Why democracies choose bad policies. Princeton University Press. Driscoll, A., & Nelson, M. J. (2014). Ignorance or opposition? Blank and spoiled votes in lowinformation, highly politicized environments. Political Research Quarterly, 67(3), 547561. Elmendorf, C. S., & Schleicher, D. (2013). Informing consent: voter ignorance, political parties, and election law. U. Ill. L. Rev., 363. Martineau, H. (2017). Society in America. Routledge. Page, B. I., & Shapiro, R. Y. (2010). The rational public: Fifty years of trends in Americans' policy preferences. University of Chicago Press. Piven, F. F., Cloward, R. A., & Cloward, R. A. (2000). Why Americans still don't vote: and why politicians want it that way. Beacon Press. Schudson, M. (2000). America's ignorant voters. The Wilson Quarterly (1976-), 24(2), 16-22. AMERICA’S IGNORANT VOTERS 9 Somin, I. (2010). Deliberative democracy and political ignorance. Critical Review, 22(2-3), 253279. Somin, I. (2016). Democracy and political ignorance: Why smaller government is smarter. Stanford University Press. Surowiecki, J. (2005). The wisdom of crowds. Anchor.
Purchase answer to see full attachment
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

Thank you

AMERICA’S IGNORANT VOTERS

1

September 27th , 2018
Introduction
Without any doubts, the United States is one of the world's most powerful country. It has
a globe-spanning network of alliances as well as military bases. In the view of some, many
Americans had dreamt of the current United Stare (Somin, 2016). Over a span of years, the country
has changed from a detached colony to the most powerful country in the world. Many people
expect economically stable nations like the United States of America to reciprocate this supremacy
in the establishment of a robust political system based on democracy. However, this has not been
the case. The US’s status concerning democracy is declining at a worrying pace. Democracy in its
simple terms entails having a system of government that is for the people and by the people (Piven,
Cloward, & Cloward, 2000). Ideally, it means having a type of governance by the whole population
through elected representatives. Having this in mind, it is therefore; right to say that the United
States democracy is under significant threat. It is correct to say that the democracy of the United
States is nearing its demise.
Research Question
This paper will seek to answer the question, “What are the factors that lead to the decline
of democracy in the United States? The uninformed electorate is a prerequisite for the death of
American democracy. If the voter does not know the happenings in politics, it is hard for them to
rationally exercise control over government policies. It is therefore essential to research on the
extent to which the United States citizenry is ignorant of matters about voting and the extent to
which the uninformed electorate threatens the United States democracy.

AMERICA’S IGNORANT VOTERS

2

Discussion
The ever-growing electorate ignorance poses a severe threat to American democracy in the
upcoming elections. So it becomes imperative to have an understanding of how voters are ignorant
in the US and in what ways this threatens the American democracy. Democracy entails powersharing between people. When this is the case, the citizenry is given the opportunity to take part
in the decision-making process about issues facing the nation. Although the decision may not be
right, it limits the power of certain groups.
Researching on the topic of electorate ignorance is very important since it will enable
policymakers to find the extent to which Americans voters are ignorant of issues about elections
and other matters about democracy. Failure to have democracy or when the American democracy
is threatened, power will accumulate in the hands of few individuals who may not have the interests
of people at heart, but instead, they will make decisions that will only benefit themselves.
Informed voters will be able to make a rational decision that will help to uplift the democracy.
Consequently, the democracy will help to promote equality among citizens, enhance the dignity
of individuals, and give citizens to vote a candidate of their choice and who will bring about change.
It is therefore much essential and okay for voters to learn the concepts of curiosity and to question.
The virtue of reason, logic, clarity, dissent, civility, and debate are the independent basis
for democracy that needs to be utilized in great magnitude. The answers to the above question will
be used by the concerned parties such as government agencies, human rights groups and other
concerned parties to know the way forward to educate the electorate if necessary.

Literature Review

AMERIC...


Anonymous
Great study resource, helped me a lot.

Studypool
4.7
Trustpilot
4.5
Sitejabber
4.4

Related Tags