Welcome
Notes on political science research
A Strong History
Back in grad school, we used to exchange 1- or 2-page summaries of journal articles with my peers. All of us read the articles (at least I did), but we shared the task of writing notes about them. We would collect summaries from fellow grad students at UCSD and post them to wikisum.com. You’ll find lots of summaries of classic books and articles there, although the summaries vary widely in quality depending on who wrote them.
Now that grad school’s over, we still read books and journal articles. And I still take notes on them. We post the notes here mainly for my own benefit–storing them in this format makes it easier for me to search through them. If these summaries are useful to you, great. If you’d like to discuss my reviews, please post a comment. If you’d like to start blogging here with me, please do, as long as you’re a professor or doctoral candidate in political science.
Political Reviews
Barack Obama’s Achievement as an American President
Barack Obama's Achievement as an American President President Barack Obama will forever be remembered for the excellent work that he did for the United States of America when he was the president. He was the first African-American president, and his...
7 Best Activities for Retired Politicians
7 Best Activities for Retired Politicians The vast majority of politicians don't want to retire. That's because they fear the inactivity that comes with retirement. Perhaps you've been a politician for decades. However, you shouldn't see retirement as the "end...
Large-scale Field Experiment on Voter Mobilization
In 2008, Gerber et al. published a pioneering study of mobilization. Using heavy-handed tactics, they found that they could shame people into voting. Using heavy-handed tactics might be fine for academics, but real-world campaigns can’t use those tactics without...
U.S. State Election Reform and Turnout in Presidential Elections
If you move from one state to the next, you may find dramatic differences in election administration. Back in my home state of California, I registered as a permanent absentee voter. Prior to each election, I received my ballot in the mail, which I completed at my...
Leadership Power in U.S. State Legislatures
Those who study Congress have engaged in long arguments about the importance (or lack thereof) of Congressional leaders in influencing outcomes. Among others, see Cox and McCubbins 1993 and 2005, Krehbiel 1993 and 1998, Binder 1996,...
Timing Is Everything
In recent years, political scientists have run a variety of field experiments to show exactly which methods of voter mobilization are most effective. However, those experiments have focused mostly on method, not on timing. In a recent article, Costas Panagopoulos used...