1. General Instructions

The major requirement in this course is completion of a research project, the results of which will be presented both orally in class and in a written paper.

Your research project should be on a topic of interest to you and approved by me. Since student topics should not overlap unduly, some negotiations may be required. Two students may collaborate on a single research project with my permission, but quantitative expectations will be increased accordingly. Quantitative expectations are also higher for students taking this course for honors credit and for graduate students.

While conceptual, theoretical, or statistical research projects are quite acceptable, you probably will do better to chose an empirical case study exemplifying some general topic considered in class. Probably your research project will fall in one of these three categories:

(a) an in-depth case study of the electoral institutions in a particular country or jurisdiction;

(b) a comparative case study of a particular electoral system used in several countries;

(c) an in-depth case study of some decennial reapportionment or redistricting in a particular state; or

(d) an in-depth case study of a court case, or some issue not yet the subject of litigation, arising under the Voting Rights Act (or the Equal Protection Clause).

Class presentations will be scheduled during the final two or three weeks of the semester, depending on class size. If class size permits, approximately 50 minutes will be devoted to each presentation -- about 25 minutes for the presentation itself and 25 minutes for questions, comments, and discussion. Your student colleagues will be asked to evaluate your presentation on anonymous forms, and I will take account of these evaluations in grading your project. Also the substance of student presentations will be covered on the final exam.

The final paper should be typed or word processed in appropriate format. The expected length is about 15-20 (typed double-spaced) pages for single-authored papers and about 20-30 pages for collaborative papers and single-authored papers by honors and graduate students.
 

Schedule for completion of project (adjusted from schedule in syllabus and subject to further adjustment):

By February 20: Submit proposed topic for project

By February 27: Final approval of topics by instructor

By March 13: Submit preliminary outline and bibliography for project

By April 17: Submit detailed outline or preliminary draft of paper

Prior to presentation: Preliminary draft returned with comments

Class presentations: April 24-May 9:

By May 16: Submit final paper
 
 
 

2. Research Procedures
 

Many of these suggestions pertain to any kind of library research project -- not necessarily one on electoral systems and representation. Two more extensive guides are listed below and will be placed on reserve in the library together under my name and POLI 426. I strongly recommend that you check out and read both of these items. (The first item, by Holland, is from a student handbook sold with a leading introductory American Government text book. The second item, by Weissberg, is more detailed and advanced, but note that it was written ten years ago before card catalogs and many reference materials were computerized.)
 

Kenneth M. Holland, Studying American Government: A Vade Mecum, pp. 50-94 (Topics include: the writing process, writing term papers, avoiding plagiarism, learning to use the library, how to use reference works, documenting sources)

Robert Weissberg, Politics: A Handbook for Students, Chapter 14 ("Finding Information at the Library") and Chapter 15 ("Writing Term Papers")
 
 
 

(a) As a first step, do (in advance, as necessary) the required readings related to your topic, and use the citations and references in these readings to lead you to other sources.
 

(b) You will receive an extensive Bibliography on Electoral Systems and Representation that includes some annotation. This should provide many other references and I can provide more specific guidance.
 

(c) Do not be reluctant to seek help from the UMBC reference librarians. They are both very knowledgeable and very willing to help.
 
 
 

(c) You may find it useful to use subject headings in the library catalog. Note that the UMBC Library stopped updating its traditional card catalog (such as is described by Weissberg) some years ago. Recently acquired materials, together with much earlier material, may now be conveniently searched by means of the on-line catalog ("VICTOR") at any of the computer terminals scattered about the library (and elsewhere). You could choose to search by "Word" and type in the key words "electoral systems", for example.
 

(d) If a UMBC book related to this course that you want to see is checked out, please do not recall it before checking with me. I may have checked the book out myself and have the copy in my office; if so, I will be glad to loan the book to you. (I will also be glad to loan you personal copies of books and papers that I own and that may be useful to you; I certainly don't own everything listed in the Bibliography, but I do own a fair portion of the items. Please feel free to check with me.)
 

(c) Standard library catalogs include only books, of course, not journal articles, which are often more useful. Also using a computer terminal, you can search in the same manner for recent (since about 1988) articles in journals by using the "UNCOVER" system. Alternatively, or for older articles, you can use the bound indices in the reference room, such as:
 

Readers Guide to Periodical Literature (includes news magazines [Time, Newsweek, etc.] and journals of opinion [National Review, New Republic, American Prospect, etc.])

Social Science Index (more strictly scholarly journals)

Public Affairs Information Service (P.A.I.S) Annual Bulletin

International Political Science Abstracts

ABC Political Science Index
 

These and other indices are described further in the Holland and (especially) Weissberg readings and in the Library's Info Center pamphlet #17 (attached along with a couple of other Library pamphlets). All of these indexes and reference databases are in the Library and most are now available in computerized form (typically CD-ROM) as well print. If you have problems, consult a reference librarian.
 

(d) The journals are in the Serials Department on the second floor of the library. Current and recent issues are unbound on shelves in the reading room. Back issues are bound by volume and placed in the stacks. (Unfortunately, the most recent back issues may be at the bindery and not immediately available.) Not all journals that are covered by these indices or by the UNCOVER system are in the UMBC library, of course.
 

(e) The journal Electoral Studies is especially relevant for this course. If includes scholarly articles on the nature and properties of electoral systems and voting methods and on the electoral process in many countries. It also includes regular reports on recent elections around the world.
 

(e) For historical or factual details, authoritative newspapers such as The New York Times or the Washington Post may be useful sources. Both are indexed. The New York Times Index is so detailed, providing abstracts of major articles, that in some cases you may be able to get the information you need from the index itself. Current issues (the last two months) of the Times, Post, and other newspapers are in the journals reading room. Back issues are on microfilm.
 

(f) Other reference works that may be helpful for the course are listed below. All can be found in the Reference Room under the catalog number shown. (Many are issued annually or at other intervals; only the general catalog number is showed for such multi-volume series.)
 

Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report (JK1 C15)

CQ's Guide to Congress (JK1021 C565), sections on elections, reapportionment, and districting

CQ's Guide to U.S. Elections (JK1967 C662)

CQ's Congressional Districting in the 1980s (JK1341 C63)

CQ's Politics in America (JK1010 P64)

Almanac of American Politics (JK271 B343)

Richard Scammon, America Votes (JK1967 A8)

George E. Delury, World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties (JF2011 W67)

Alan J. Day and Henry W. Degenhart, Political Parties of the World (JF2051 D39)

Thomas T. Mackie and Richard Rose. The International Almanac of Electoral History, 2nd ed. (JF1001 M17)

Thomas T Mackie, Europe Votes (JN36 E8937)

John Sallnow, An Electoral Atlas of Europe (JN94 A956 S24)

Matthew Cossolotto, The Almanac of Transatlantic Politics (JN94 A11)

Michael Kinnear, The British Voter: An Atlas and Survey (JN1037 K55)

Robert Waller, The Almanac of British Politics (JN561 W28)

Supreme Court Reporter [texts of court decisions] (KF101 S8)

Facts On File (D410 F3)

Keesing's Contemporary Archives (D410 K4)

Lexis/Nexis, computerized database of legal cases and news (see pamphlet #17)
 
 
 

(g) As you know, the Internet is becoming a significant source of information that previously was available only in print and in libraries. In my experience, however, the amount of information actually available at most "sites" remains often disappointing. For this course, at least one site may useful: the Lijphart Elections Archive at http://dodgson.ucsd.edu/lij/ . Another may be the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research at http://icpsr.umich.edu/ .
 

3. Presentations
 

The presentation will give you the opportunity to get significant feedback on your project prior to making final revisions to the paper itself. Both you and your student colleagues will benefit if you make the effort to present the findings of your research as effectively as possible. (Also, the development of good oral presentation skills is very valuable for many career objectives.) I will make Departmental resources available to you if you want to make Xerox handouts, transparencies, etc., for your presentation. Please see me a few days in advance of your presentation to make the necessary arrangements.
 
 
 

4. Final Paper
 

Your final paper should be well organized and clearly written, using correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. (Remember that the spell-checker of a word processing program does not catch all spelling errors, let alone other errors.) In my experience, a well organized and clearly written paper emerges only after multiple revisions.
 
 
 

3. Typing and Formatting
 

Your final paper should be typed or, preferably, word processed in double-spaced format. Footnotes (if used) may be placed either at the bottom of the page (recommended only if you are using a word-processor that adjusts spacing automatically) or gathered at the end of the paper. If you type your paper, minor typographical errors may be corrected in ink.
 
 
 

4. Citations and References
 

Your paper should include proper citation of important facts (that are not common knowledge), quotations, opinions, and arguments. There are many different styles for providing citations. The traditional footnote style is no longer commonly used in social scientific writing. (Legal writing continues to use this style, however.) Most political science books and journals now use the more convenient "scientific" style, by which an abbreviated citation is provided within the text, for example:

According to Taagepera and Shugart (1989), most European electoral systems....

Various studies have shown that district magnitude is the decisive factor influencing the seat-votes relationship (Rae, 1967; Taagepera and Shugart, 1989; Lijphart, 1993).

A list a references, including all items cited and following any standard style, is then placed at the end of the paper. I do not care what citation and reference style you use, but I do insist that proper citations be provided.
 
 
 

5. Plagiarism
 

Plagiarism is taking written work of others and passing it off as your own. In academic life, plagiarism is an extremely serious offense. An Ph.D. student found to have committed plagiarism would be expelled from graduate school; a professor found to have committed plagiarism would be fired. Consider how you would feel if you had "sweated blood" to produce the best paper you could, and you then discovered that another student had copied large portions of your paper and turned it in as his or her own work. It should be added that plagiarism of this sort is often both easier to detect and easier to prove than might be supposed. Submission of a plagiarized paper in this course will result in a grade of F for the course, regardless of exam or other grades, and the matter will be referred to the Academic Conduct Committee.
 

In an undergraduate or beginning graduate course, I do not deem errors, evidently made in good faith, in handling sources to constitute plagiarism. (But I will note and correct such errors.) But deliberately copying or paraphrasing extended portions of someone else's writing and pretending that it is your own writing is inexcusable conduct at any level (even if citations are provided) and it will be punished. (A "paper" that consists largely of direct quotation, presented as such and properly cited, does not constitute plagiarism but at the same time does not constitute an acceptable paper.)