PG 494 | Research Assistantship

Conducting original, independent research is central to the experience of a student studying Politics and Government. This activity credit course pairs a student with a PG professor to collaborate on a research project in progress. The student contributes to the project through tasks that may include data collection, cleaning, and coding, secondary research developing a literature review, interview or survey administration, and beginning of quantitative or qualitative analysis. Specific details for each project will be specified in a written proposal prepared by the student and professor and approved by the department chair. The proposal will include (1) a description of the research project; (2) the tasks for the student research assistant (3) the student’s learning objectives and (3) the number of hours and supervision expectations. At the end of the semester, the student prepares a written summary of the experience, reflecting on skills obtained, challenges faced, knowledge acquired, and experiences gained through the assistantship.