Political science

1. “Critical Reading in
the Social and
Political Sciences”

2. Table of content
1. Critical Reading in the Social and Political Sciences
2. THE PURPOSES OF DIFFERENT READING
3. MATERIALS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
4. PURPOSE FOR READING IN THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCES
5. MAPPING IN ECONOMICS
6. ACADEMIC JOURNAL
7. LEFT TO DISCOVER
8. THE RESEARCH? ON IT
9. WHAT DID WE FIND
10. SHORT-CUTS TO READING JOURNAL
11. CONCLUSION

3. THE PURPOSES OF DIFFERENT READING
MATERIALS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES:
Types of Materials Potential Purposes
Textbook Background knowledge, details, related
information
Peer-reviewed Papers, Abstracts Essay writing, class discussions, specific
examples of broader topics
News, Magazine Articles Class discussions, “real-world”
situations/application, details
Primary/Secondary Sources Essay writing, class discussions, “real-world”
situations/applications
Graphics (charts, graphs, pictures, tables, etc.) Class discussions, background knowledge,
details, to get the “big” picture

4. PURPOSE FOR READING IN THE SOCIAL
AND POLITICAL SCIENCES
Purpose could be any, all, or any combination of the following things:
• To identify arguments.
• To weigh evidence.
• To evaluate sources (and resources).
• To look for conflicts of interest and opinions disguised as facts.
• To question assumptions.
• To understand the “big picture.”
• To add additional details to other sources (such as lecture).

5. MAPPING IN ECONOMICS
GRAPHS
FLOW CHARTS
PROCESS GRAPHS

6. ANOTHER IMPORTANT
ELEMENT OF READING IN
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IS
DISSECTING ACADEMIC
JOURNALARTICLES.

7. “WHAT IS AN ACADEMIC JOURNAL?”
• Academic journals are periodicals in which researchers
publish articles on their work. Most often these articles
discuss recent research.
• Journals also publish theoretical discussions and articles that
critically review already published work.
• Academic journals are typically peer-reviewed journals. Some
search engines that search for periodical sources identify
whether or not the sources are from peer-reviewed
publications, so look for that information when you do
searches.

8. “WHAT DO WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT
THIS TOPIC, AND WHAT IS LEFT TO
DISCOVER?”
• Literature review:A review of existing research and theory on the
topic is either included in the introduction or comes after the
introduction under its own subtitle.
• The review of literature is meant to discuss previous work on the topic,
point out what questions remain, and relate the research presented in
the rest of the article to the existing literature.
• Here should also be a clear discussion of what the hypotheses were
at the beginning of the project.

9. “HOW DID WE DO
THE RESEARCH? ON IT”
• Methods and data gathering: There is always some
discussion of the methods used to conduct the study being
reported.
• Sampling: Information about who the subjects were, how
they were selected, and what roles they played (control or
variable group, etc.)
• Instrumentation: Interview guides, surveys, normed tests,
journals, questionnaires, etc.

10. “WHAT DID WE FIND AND
HOW DID WE FIND IT?”
• Analysis: Another important section or sections will be
devoted to discussing the kind of analysis that was
conducted on the data and
• Results: The research will then reveal the results of the
study. If it is quantitative in nature, the results will usually
have statistical significance and be in numerical form.
Qualitative results will reveal the words, essence, and/or
descriptive qualities of the subjects.

11. “WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN AND WHY IS IT
IMPORTANT?”
• Discussion and Conclusion: Articles typically end by
discussing what the results mean and how the study
contributes to existing knowledge.
• Here the research questions are answered, and it should be
clear at this point whether or not the hypotheses were
supported or not.
• The conclusion is usually the final section. It typically places
the research in a larger context, explaining the importance of
the research and discussing where future research on the
topic should be headed.

12. Read the
Abstract
First
Introductio
n and
Conclusion
Next
Analysis
and
Results
Next
Methods
Last
SHORT-CUTS TO READING JOURNAL
ARTICLES
Here are some hints on how to sift through the multiple
possibilities, discard articles that are less helpful, and
recognize potentially important sources:

13. • Titles don’t always give much information. The abstract should give
you just enough information to let you know the basics of the article.
• From this you will know whether you should read on or look elsewhere
for your project.
• Some journals print a list of keywords pertaining to the article as well.
These are further clues about the article.
READ THE ABSTRACT FIRST

14. •These sections will give you the main argument of
the article, which should be helpful in determining its
relevance to you and your project.
•You’ll also get a glimpse of the findings of the
research being reported.
INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION NEXT

15. • If you decide that you are committed to this article, you
should read in more detail about this research.
• Do the results support or refute your hypothesis, thesis, or
argument?
• Are the results important or significant to you? Why or why
not?
ANALYSIS AND RESULTS NEXT

16. • If what you’ve read so far interests you, then spend some
time on understanding how the research was done.
• Is it a qualitative or quantitative project?
• What data are the study based on?
• What can you learn from the methodology about doing
research?
METHODS LAST

17. CONCLUSION
PURPOSES
Understand humanity
Evaluate scientific
evidence
Understand arguments
And more…
MAPPING
Venn diagrams
Flow charts
Cause/effect charts
Timelines
Process Charts
Graphs
JOURNALARTICLES
1. Abstract
2. Introduction and
Conclusion
3. Results and Analysis
4. Methods

18. References
1. Bourdieu, P. (1990). The Logic of Practice. Stanford University Press.
2. Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Vintage Books.
3. Gerring, J. (2012). Social Science Methodology: A Unified Framework (Strategies for Social Inquiry).
Cambridge University Press.
4. Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Sage Publications
Ltd.
5. Kuhn, T. S. (2012). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press.
6. Lasswell, H. D. (1971). A Pre-View of Policy Sciences. American Elsevier Publishing Company.
7. Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1848). The Communist Manifesto. Penguin Classics.
8. Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Harvard University Press.
9. Weber, M. (2012). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Dover Publications.
10. Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (Eds.). (2016). Methods of Critical Discourse Studies. Sage Publications Ltd.