POLn6010 Experimental Political Science

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Lenka Hrbková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. PhDr. Roman Chytilek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Michal Tóth, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Roman Chytilek, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Lucie Pospíšilová
Supplier department: Division of Politology – Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites
! POL565 Experimental Political Science && !NOW( POL565 Experimental Political Science )
The Course is open to all students who are interested in experimental research.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 52 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
introduce students into an idea of experimental research in political science discuss applications of experimental methodologies in the PS
Learning outcomes
deepen students understanding on research into causality ;
students being able to design, proces and interpret their own experiments ;
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction into experimental PS: Lesser Evil in Your Face. 2. Experimental PS and causality 3. Experiments and control, randomization 4. Experimental validity and replication 5. Seminar 1 Experiments in PS: psychological and economic tradition (position paper) 6. Experimental design, participants and motivation 7. Seminar 2 Presentation of student´s proposals 8. Seminar 3 Presentation of student´s proposals 9. Experimental ethics 10. Presentation of "winning" experimental project 11. Experiment conducted 12. Use of experiments in PS. 13. Analysis and interpretation of the results.
Literature
    required literature
  • • Kellstedt, P.M-Whitten, G. 2014: Experimental Research Designs. In The Fundamentals of Political Science Research, 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, s. 70-77
  • • Leeper, T. J., Druckman, J. N., Freese, J. 2016. Generalizability of Survey Experiments. Journal of Experimental Political Science 2, 109-138.
  • • Herrera, C. D. 2001. Ethics, Deception, and „Those Milgram Experiments.“Journal of Applied Philosophy, 18(3), 245-256.
  • • Druckman, J. et al. 2010. The Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Political Science. Kapitola 5.
  • • Gaines, B., Kuklinski, J., Quirk, P. 2007. The logic of the survey experiment reexamined. Political Analysis. 15, 1-20, https://doi.org/10.1093/pan/mpl008
  • Druckman, J. N. (2022). Experimental thinking. Cambridge University Press. Kapitoly 2-3
  • • Bowers, J. 2011: Making Effects Manifest in Randomized Experiments in Druckman et al. Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Political Science New York: Cambridge University Press. s.459-480.
  • • Druckman, J. et al. 2010. The Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Political Science. Kapitoly 1 a 2.
  • • Hrbková, L., Chytilek, R. 2015. Příliš dobré kauzální argumenty na to, aby byly pravdivé? Experimentální validita v postlacourovské době. Sociální studia 4, 7-16.
  • • Morton, R.B.- Williams, K. 2010: Experimental Politicial Science and The Study of Causality, New York: Cambridge University Press. s. 58-74, 353-364
  • • Easton , M.J., and Holbein, J.B. 2021. The Democracy of Dating: How Political Affiliations Shape Relationship Formation. Journal of Experimental Political Science 8, 260-272.
  • Fried, B. J., Lagunes, P., Venkataramani, A. 2010. Corruption and Inequality at the Crossroad. A Multi-Method Study of Bribery and Discrimination in Latin America. Latin American Research Review, 45(1), 77-97
    recommended literature
  • • Bassi. A. 2019. Weather, Risk, and Voting: An Experimental Analysis of the Effect of Weather on Vote Choice. Journal of Experimental Political Science, 6(1), 17-32.
  • • Webster, M. Jr.-Sell, J. 2014: Laboratory Experiments in Social Sciences. London: Academic Press (kap.3. Logical and Philosophical Foundations of Experiments in Social Sciences, jen s. 53-67).
  • • Clark, S. 1999. Justifying Deception in Social Science Research. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 16(2), 151-166.
  • • Morton, R.B.- Williams, K. 2010: Experimental Politicial Science and The Study of Causality, New York: Cambridge University Press. s. 75-84
    not specified
  • • Webster, M. Jr.-Sell, J. 2014: Laboratory Experiments in Social Sciences. London: Academic Press s. 119-138- části kapitol 5 a 6).
Teaching methods
lectures, seminars
Assessment methods
Participation in a class is a necessary precondition for course completition (two no shows allowed). The grading consists of position paper (15%), project (45%) and final exam (40%).
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Spring 2022, Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
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