Gregory M Scott - The Political Science Student Writer’s Manual and Reader’s Guide

Eighth Edition

Gregory M. Scott

University of Central Oklahoma Emeritus

Stephen M. Garrison

University of Central Oklahoma

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Scott, Gregory M. | Garrison, Stephen M.
Title: The political science student writers manual and readers guide / Gregory M. Scott, University of Central
Oklahoma Emeritus, Stephen M. Garrison, University of Central Oklahoma.
Other titles: Political science student writers manual
Description: Eighth Edition. | Lanham : ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD, [2016] | Series: The Student Writers Manual:
A guide to reading and writing | Previous edition: 2012. | This book was previously published by Pearson Education,
Inc.T.p. verso. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016033680 (print) | LCCN 2016034494 (ebook) | ISBN 9781442267091 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781442267107 (paperback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781442267114 (electronic)
Subjects: LCSH: Political scienceAuthorshipStyle manuals. | Political scienceResearchHandbooks,
manuals, etc. | Academic writingHandbooks, manuals, etc. | Report writingHandbooks, manuals, etc.
Classification: LCC JA86 .S39 2016 (print) | LCC JA86 (ebook) | DDC 808.06/632dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016033680

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

One of the most successful books on counseling psychology is The Skilled Helper, by Gerard Egan (10th Edition, 2013). The titles elegant simplicity immediately directs students attention to the essence of what they, if successful, are to become. We have written this book to help you become a particular sort of skilled observer. Practitioners of all the social and physical sciences are, most essentially, skilled observers. They carefully and systematically observe behavior, accurately record their observations, and then describe how they have conducted their research and the implications of what they have discovered. Underlying all these activities, most fundamentally, is the skill of writing. Much in the way a funnel directs liquid to its intended container, writing refines and directs your thoughts into clear, capable, professional literary vessels through which you communicate with the community of scholars. This book invites and empowers you to join the particular community of skilled observers known as political scientists.

The political science community is now, in 2016, officially 2,351 years old. That is because the foundational work of this discipline, Aristotles (384322 BCE) Politics, was written in 350 BCE. Yes, people before Aristotle had astutely observed and discussed politics. We cannot read Pericles (425429 BCE) Funeral Oration or Aristophanes (450388 BCE) satirical play Ecclesiazusae (392 BCE, Women in the Assembly), for example, without knowing that much acutely insightful discussion about politics was well under way, and Platos (428348 BCE) political thought was both systematic and substantial. But Platos preeminent political work, the (360 BCE), is an account of Socratess (470399) discussions with citizens in Athens, which chronicle the gadflys application of deductive logic to the task of deriving a model of the perfect society.

But political science as known today was born with the very first words of Aristotles Politics, his analysis of political behavior: Observation shows us... With these three profound words political science, and indeed all science, was definitively born. Aristotle then proceeded to observe the politics of his own time, chronicle the politics of previous times, and recommend political cultures for the future. It should be noted that through the centuries, whenever political analysis has been based upon skilled observation of human behavior, political science has taken a step forward.

Political science as an academic discipline was launched in 1903 with the founding of The American Political Science Association (APSA). Today, political scientists study a wide variety of topics, perhaps best illustrated by APSAs list of organized sections of the discipline:

APSA Organized Sections:

African Politics Conference Group

Canadian Politics

Class and Inequality

Comparative Democratization

Comparative Politics

Conflict Processes

Elections, Public Opinion, and Voting Behavior

European Politics and Society

Experimental Research

Federalism & Intergovernmental Relations

Foreign Policy

Foundations of Political Theory

Health Politics and Policy

Human Rights

Ideas, Knowledge and Politics

Information Technology and Politics

International History and Politics

International Security and Arms Control

Law and Courts

Legislative Studies

Migration and Citizenship

New Political Science

Political Communication

Political Economy

Political Methodology

Political Networks

Political Organizations and Parties

Political Psychology

Political Science Education

Politics and History

Politics, Literature, and Film

Presidents and Executive Politics

Public Administration

Public Policy

Qualitative and Multi-Method Research

Race, Ethnicity, and Politics

Religion and Politics

Representation and Electoral Systems

Science, Technology, & Environmental Politics

Sexuality and Politics

State Politics and Policy

Urban and Local Politics

Women and Politics Research

As you peruse this list, you will see that the breadth of the discipline offers a wide variety of opportunities to study human behavior.

We shall make two final notes about this ancient and new discipline. First, its accomplishments within and without academia are generally little appreciated and understood. Everyone understands what a historian does, but many people confuse political scientists with historians. One reason for this is that, in general, these scientists of politics eschew publicly marketing their work or their discipline. But sometimes, political scientists break into public view. Here are a few who have done so: