Methods Training


Our department is committed to providing the very best research methods training in Canada. Each year, we offer the following courses:

  • Research Design and Advanced Research Design;
  • Introduction to Qualitative Methods;
  • Introduction to Quantitative Methods;
  • Regression and Causal Inference;
  • Maximum Likelihood Estimation.

We also offer electives on one or more of the following topics each year:

  • Bayesian Statistics;
  • Experiments;
  • Machine Learning;
  • Measurement;
  • Time Series.

Our methods instructors, anchored by Dr. Dave Armstrong, Canada Research Chair in Political Methodology, are committed to providing students with practical skills and the latest methods in a highly accessible manner, no matter their background level or feelings of trepidation towards research methods. Our goal is for students to be able to read articles that use the full range of the methods in our discipline and to have the confidence to use a variety of tools to produce their own, original research.

In addition to our methods courses, students can access the expertise and training of our senior PhD students, who frequently organize research methods drop-in sessions, reading groups, and workshops.  We also provide some financial support for students who wish to access additional training from ICPSR and other institutes.   

Recent Student Publications (2020-2022) 

Bold indicates graduate student
Italics indicates undergraduate student

Articles

1.  Althorpe, Caleb and Martin Horak. 2021. "The End of the Right to the City: A Radical-Cooperative View." Urban Affairs Review. First View. https://doi.org/10.1177/10780874211057815
2.  Althorpe, Caleb. 2022. "What Is Meaningful Work?" Social Theory and Practice. First View. https://doi.org/10.5840/soctheorpract2022412161
3.  Armstrong, David, Christopher Alcantara and John Kennedy. 2021. "Exploring the Effects of Electorate Size on Indigenous Voter Turnout." Politics, Groups, and Identities. DOI: 10.1080/21565503.2021.1926297.
4.  Biswas Mellamphy, Nandita, Tyler Girard & Anne Campbell. 2022. Interpreting crises through narratives: the construction of a COVID-19 policy narrative by Canada's political parties, Critical Policy Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/19460171.2022.2067070
5.  Caplan, Michelle, Nicole McMahon and Christopher Alcantara. 2021. "Representing the Constituency: Institutional Design and Legislative Behaviour." Representation: Journal of Representative Democracy. 57 (4): 459-474.   https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2020.1842798 
6.  Driggers, Hunter, and Ryan P. Burge. 2021. "Did the Nones Put Joe Biden in the White House? An Analysis of the Voting Patterns of the Religiously Unaffiliated in 2020." Politics and Religion Journal 15(2):313-29.
7.  Driggers, Hunter, and Ryan P. Burge. 2022. "The American Atheist." Bloomsbury Religion in North America.
8.  Driggers, Michael H. 2022. "NATO's Enlargement and Rusia: A Strategic Challenge in the Past and Future." The Journal of Slavic Military Studies 35(1):154-156.
9.  Dyczok, Marta and Yerin Chung. Forthcoming. "Zelens'kyi uses his communication skills as a weapon of war." Canadian Slavonic Papers, Volume 64, Issue 2.
10.  Isley, Joshua and Christopher Alcantara. 2021. "End political manoeuvring over conversion therapy." Policy Options Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy. 29 November. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/november-2021/its-time-to-end-political-manoeuvring-over-conversion-therapy/
11.  Kennedy, John, Anthony Sayers, and Christopher Alcantara. 2022, "Does Federalsim Prevent Democratic Accountability? Assigning Responsibility for Rates of COVID-19 Testing." Political Studies Review. 20(1): 158-165. https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299211001690
12.  Kennedy, John, Cameron D. Anderson and Laura B. Stephenson. 2020. "The Canada-US Relationship: An Updated Evaluation of Public Opinion." American Review of Canadian Studies, 50(1): 9-31.
13. Kennedy, John, Christopher Alcantara and Dave Armstrong. 2021. "Do Governments Keep Their Promises? An Analysis of Speeches from the Throne, 1962-2013." Governance 34(3):917-934. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gove.12548
14.  McMahon, Nicole and Christopher Alcantara. 2021. "Running for Elected Office: Indigenous Candidates, Ambition and Self-Government." Politics, Groups, and Identities. 9(2): 280-299. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2019.1584750
15.  McMahon, Nicole, Anthony Sayers, and Christopher Alcantara. 2021. "Political Donations and the Gender Gap during COVID-19." Party Politics DOI:10.1177/13540688211047768.
16.  McMahon, Nicole, Christopher Alcantara and Laura B. Stephenson. 2020. "The Qualifying Field Exam: What is it good for?" PS: Political Science & Politics, 53(1): 94-99.
17. Miljan, Lydia and Tyler Romualdi. 2022. "Comparing Trudeau and Harper Canadian federal appointments to agencies, boards, and commissions." Canadian Public Administration, 65(1), pp.52-72.
18.  Sayers, Anthony, Nicole McMahon, and Christopher Alcantara. 2021. "The COVID-19 crisis is about physical infrastructure too." Policy Options Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy. 5 May. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/may-2021/the-covid-19-crisis-is-about-physical-infrastructure-too/
19.  Taylor Zack and Shanaya Vanhooren. 2021 "Local Election Campaign Finance Regimes in Canada: Toward a Research Agenda." Canadian Public Administration 64(1), pp. 99-121. https://doi.org/10.1111/capa.12400
20.  Tieku, Thomas Kwasi, and Megan Payler. 2021. "From Paternalism to the Chambas Formula for Mediation: Conceptualizing Cooperation between the UN and Regional Organizations in Mediating Conflicts." International Negotiation 1.aop: 1-27.

Chapters

Romualdi, Tyler, John Kennedy and Cameron Anderson. 2022. "Class and Immigration Opinion," in Cameron D. Anderson and Mathieu Turgeon (eds.), Comparative Public Opinion. Routledge.

Taylor, Zack and Jonathan Taylor. Accepted. "Boundary Battles in New Brunswick" in Sandeep Agrawal, ed., Municipal Boundary Battles. Edmonton, AB:University of Alberta Press. Publication date: 2023.

Media

Atkinson, Ryan and Erika Simpson. 2022. "Escalating Russian cyber attacks could risk widening the war in Ukraine", The Hill Times, May 11.

Simpson, Erika and Sakhi Naimpoor. "Why buffer zones could combat the ongoing war in Afghanistan", The Hill Times, August 11.

Reports

Bouteiller, Brittany L. 2021. "Election Campaign Finance Rules in Canadian Municipalities: An Overview." Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance Research Bulletin 1. London: Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance, Western University. Research bulletin. 12 pages https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/urbancentre-reports/7

Bridgman, A., Lavigne, M., Baker, M., Bergeron, T., Bohonos, D., Burton, A., McCoy, K., Hart, M., Lavault, M., Liddar, R., Peng, P., Ross, C., Victor, J., Owen, T. and Loewen, P. 2022. "Mis- and Disinformation During the 2021 Canadian Federal Election." Media Ecosystem Observatory.

Taylor, Zack and Alec Dobson. 2020. "Power and Purpose: Canadian Municipal Law in Transition." IMFG Papers on Municipal Finance and Governance 47. Commissioned by the Federaton of Canadian Municipalities and the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto, as part of the Uran Project (https://theurbanproject.ca). Research report. 82 pages. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/99216

Taylor, Zack and Jonathan Taylor. 2021. "Representative ARegionalization: Toward More Equitable, Democratic, Responsive, and Efficient Local Governmanet in New Brunswick." Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance Research Report 4. London: Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance, Western University. Research report. 39 pages. Also published in French. 

Conference Presentations

Driggers, Hunter. 2022. "Determinants of the Gender Gap in the United Kingdom's 2016 Referendum on EU Membership." ISA 2022 Junio Scholar Symposium, Nashville, TN.

Driggers, Hunter. 2022. "Toward a Theory of Gendered Populism: Findings from the EVS/WVS 2017-2021 Dataset." IPSA Special Conference, Elections - Democracy - COVID-19. Lessons from Europe. Online.

Driggers, Hunter. 2022. "Toward a Theory of Gendered Populism: Findings from the EVS/WVS 2017-2021 Dataset." MPSA Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.

Driggers, Hunter. 2022. "Emotions and Opinions: The Causes and Effects of Contemporary Populism." MPSA Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.

Hildreth, Grant and Katharine McCoy. "Together or Separate Cheques: An Analysis of Market-Dependent Warfare and the Future of Collective Defence." The Future of War conference. October 2022.

Romualdi, Tyler, Joseph Lyons and Zac Spicer. "Innovation Hubs or Laggards? Examining the Capacity of Municipalities to Innovate," Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration (CAPPA) Annual Conference, May 27, 2022.

Payler, Megan. "So Call Me a State, Maybe? Theorizing the External Legitimacy of De Facto States." Canadian Political Science Association (CPSA) Annual Conference, Virtual 2021.

Payler, Megan. "Do Diplomats and Experts Think Differently About the Causes of External Legitimacy? De Facto States and the Politics of Recognition." International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Conference, Nashville, 2022.

Selected Dissertation Fieldwork Trips 

Image of PhD students in AustraliaAustralia

PhD candidate Nicole McMahon’s dissertation research focuses on transgender policy change in Canada and Australia. Her trip to Australia involved interviews in Sydney and Canberra and archival research at the National Archives of Australia in Canberra.


Girard London BridgeLondon Bridge

PhD candidate Tyler Girard’s UK trip to London involved interviews and archival work for his own research and work for Dr. Adam Harmes’ forthcoming book that will include a chapter on Brexit.


Guatemala City, Guatemala

Forensic Investigation: The Internal Armed Conflict and Post Conflice in Guatemala

Photo by Amanda Quinn

PhD candidate Tamara Hinan attended a multidisciplinary field school in Guatemala entitled ‘Forensic Investigation: The Internal Armed Conflict and Post-Conflict in Guatemala.’ This field school was organized jointly by the International Field Initiatives and Forensic Training (IFIT) and the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG). As part of the field school, she was given hands-on experience in the various strategies used by the FAFG to identify victims of the genocide and civil war in Guatemala, including forensic anthropology, forensic archaeology and DNA analysis. She participated in an ongoing exhumation, and took testimony from family and community members about their experiences during the conflict. This field school was an invaluable opportunity to begin to understand the complexity of human rights investigations in a post-conflict context, and to problematize the links between truth and memory, and justice and development efforts in Guatemala today.


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