Analyze the Article

Instructions

Step 1: Obtain the Article

You have three options for obtaining and viewing the article.

1. Option 1 – Read on Accessible Webpage:
   • Grumbach, Jacob M., and Alexander Sahn. 2020. “Race and Representation in Campaign Finance.” The American Political Science Review 114 (1): 206–21. (Links to an external site.)
   • The article’s tables, charts, or graphs are unfortunately not accessible for some screen readers. However, the contents of tables, charts, or graphs are sufficiently explained in the body of the article.
2. Option 2 – Download PDF: Download (Links to an external site.) a PDF copy of the journal article from OPoliSci.com.
3. Option 3 – View in Canvas: Grumbach, Jacob M., and Alexander Sahn. 2020. “Race and Representation in Campaign Finance.” The American Political Science Review 114 (1): 206–21. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055419000637.Actions

Step 2: Analyze the Article

• Identify the 12 parts of the article, as described in the Anatomy of a Journal Article and elaborated upon in the Details of Analyzing Journal Articles, and you can also review the Walkthrough.
  • Optional: Schedule a tutoring appointment with the Writing Center or meet with a NetTutor (if available) if you want a 3rd party to help you think through this assignment.
  • Optional: Upload a picture of you Writing Center Tutoring slip or a screenshot of your NetTutor interaction as evidence.

Step 3: Demonstrate identification of parts

Recall there are twelve parts of a journal article:

1. The Title of an article appears on the first page of the article. The Title is brief, typically no more than 5-10 words, and identifies for the reader the subject of the article.
2. The Main Point of an article is typically found in the Abstract. An Abstract is a summary of the article which is located on the first page, after the Title. The main point may be in the Introduction of the article.
3. The Question of an article is typically found in the Abstract. The question may be in the Introduction of the article as well.
4. The Puzzle is a missing piece of knowledge that the article seeks to fulfill.
5. The Debate is how scholars currently argue the subject of the article. Debates have at least two sides, and the two sides we are most familiar with are “pro” and “con”. However, debates can be more complex.
6. The Theory is how the author thinks something works. For example, we may have a theory about how campaigns influence voters. Theories consists of constants, variables, and the relationships between variables.
7. The Hypotheses are derived from the Theory. A hypothesis is the expectation that one variable affects another variable in a specific way.
8. The Research Design is how the author compares the effect of the explanatory variable (X) on the outcome variable (O) in a group (G) or set of groups.
9. The Empirical Analysis is the use of quantitative or qualitative evidence to explore whether the hypothesized relationship between two variables does indeed occur in the world.
10. The Policy Implications are how the findings of the article should influence the behavior of individuals, groups, organizations, or governments.
11. The Contribution to the Discipline is how the article helps fill the missing Puzzle piece.
12. Future Research offers suggestions for future research that build on the findings from the article.

You need to identify each part, with the exception of needing to write out a Research Design, which is explained in the next step.

Where you annotate each part depends on whether you are annotating on a paper copy or electronic copy of the journal article.

• Electronic: electronically highlight the text and/or comment in margins of the page.

Step 4: Write Out the Research Design

• Of the 12 parts, only one of them needs to be written out: Research Design. The Research Design is how the author compares the effect of the explanatory variable (X) on the outcome variable (O) in a group (G) or set of groups.
• I want to emphasize that you need to use the G O X notation when writing out a Research Design.
• Again, I want to emphasize that you need to use the G O X notation when writing out a Research Design.

Step 5: Use Student Annotation within Canvas or Upload your file

• Student Annotation within Canvas: Visit Assignments: Student Annotation Submissions (Links to an external site.) for brief overview of using Student Annotation within Canvas.
• Electronic Option 1: If you used Adobe PDF software to annotate, then you can upload the annotated file.
• Electronic Option 2: You can try annotating in the Canvas Student App.
  • How do I submit a PDF assignment with annotations in the Student app on my iOS device? (Links to an external site.)
  • How do I submit a PDF assignment with annotations in the Student app on my Android device? (Links to an external site.)

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Rubric

Rubric

Criteria	Ratings	Points
Title Identified	Yes No	1 0
Main Point	Yes No	5 0
Question	Yes No	5 0
Puzzle Identified	Yes No	10 0
Debate Identified	Yes No	10 0
Theory Identified	Yes No	10 0
Hypotheses Identified	Yes No	15 0
Research Design Written	Yes No	19 0
Empirical Analysis Identified	Yes No	10 0
Policy Implications Identified	Yes No	5 0
Contribution to the Discipline Identified	Yes No	5 0
Future Research Identified	Yes No	5 0