Posted: February 17th, 2015

For this assignment you are required to write a mini-research paper on a topic of your choice. The subject matter can be anything that interests you so long as it is related to the topic of political behaviour and the themes covered during the course.

Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

1. A research question.
   2. A hypothesis/hypotheses.
   3. A literature review.
   4. Evidence to support or discredit the hypotheses.
   5. A conclusion.
   Naturally I do not expect you to do a full-fledged analysis in a 3000 word essay. Nonetheless,
   I expect you to present the evidence to support or discredit your hypotheses in an original
   way. There are many databases that contain socio-political data that allow assessing
   hypotheses. If you decide to refer to findings from other researchers, you should present their
   evidence in your own, original way rather than e.g. copying tables. Make sure to reference
   other people’s work correctly! I would like to avoid plagiarism hearings and assume the same
   is true for you.

   The topic should not be
   1. Should the public’s role in political decision-making be drastically curtailed in favour
   of informed political elites?
   2. How has the study of political behaviour developed from the 1930s to date?
   3. Should a rational voter stay at home on Election Day?
   4. Declining social capital leads to lower levels of political behaviour. Discuss.
   5. Discuss the so-called education paradox of political behaviour.