Overview
Complete an assignment portfolio essay with examples and also a PowerPoint presentation needed. dealing with a topic of some choices I have.
game theory
The portfolio consists of a literature review, a theory and a corresponding rational-choice formal model, and hypotheses derived from (that is, proven to be logical implications of) the model. There are several milestones that must be met
it is broken down in draft sections to make it seem simpler but all sections will need to correlate together in one unified final draft.
Course portfolio (40%). The centerpiece of the course is a portfolio in which students will apply
a formal model of politics to answer a puzzle in political science. The portfolio consists of a literature review, a theory and a corresponding rational-choice formal model, and hypotheses derived from (that is, proven to be logical implications of) the model. There are several milestones that must be met:
o Draft 1. Puzzle, Question, and Article Review. This is a brief draft focusing on your puzzle (see Appendix A for some ideas), its practical and disciplinary importance, and at least one journal article or scholarly book that addresses the puzzle using a formal model. Follow these steps to construct this initial draft (worth 25 points): ? Create a cover page. Come up with a title other than “POLI 4395 Draft” or the like (you may want to save this part for last, since you may not know your thesis yet); add your name and institutional affiliation (Texas A&M University – Central Texas). ? Begin the draft by offering a puzzle in politics; then establish your research question and its importance for both political life and political science. This should take a paragraph or two. [6 points] ? Then provide a thesis about where the solution to the puzzle may lie. Incorporate strategic interaction between political actors in your explanation. ? Now discuss an article from an academic journal, a thesis or dissertation, or an academic/scholarly book that used a formal (mathematical) model to address part of all of your puzzle. If you are trying to access academic journal articles and the like from home, then you may wish to follow the advice in Appendix B. Once you’ve found a study with a formal model (typically expected utility theory, game theory, or social choice theory), describe its dependent variable, its theoretical approach (answer) to the question, its research design, and the author’s conclusions. Conclude your discussion of the article by examining the weaknesses of the author’s approach (especially the formal model itself, to the extent that you can figure out what assumptions it makes) and what knowledge we gain from the study (if any) over previous studies discussed by the author(s) in their literature review.
o Draft 2. Literature Review. The literature review (50 points) should revise the first draft in accordance with comments received and substantially expand the portfolio from a discussion of one article’s approach and findings to a discussion of five such pieces of academic literature and their approaches to the puzzle. Describe and critique the theories and results of at least five peer-reviewed articles, dissertations/theses, or research monographs from scholarly presses (or all of them, if five such sources do not exist – which is the student’s burden to prove).
o Draft 3. Revision and Model Development. The student must revise the question and literature review of the portfolio in accordance with criticism of that work. In addition, the student must now add a formal model that addresses the issue. The model should be fully specified – its assumptions and definitions should be clear, as should its structure. Meeting this milestone is worth up to 75 points, depending on the quality of the work. ? The question and literature review are worth 20 points. You will receive these points in proportion to the amount of required revision that was made in this draft. In other words, simply tacking the old literature review (without revisions) onto the new draft will result in the loss of 20 points. ? Clearly stating the attributes of the formal model (e.g. a game, an expected utility model, an evolutionary model, etc) is worth 10 points. ? Defining the non-standard terms in the model and listing its non-standard assumptions are worth 10 points. A non-standard term or assumption is something not already embedded in the generic class of model. For example, a game-theoretic model of deterrence need not define terms such as strategy, node, or Nash Equilibrium – these are part of game theory, and anyone who understands game theory already knows what they mean. However, the term “deterrence” would need to be defined, and any assumptions about players’ preferences would need to be clearly stated.
o Draft 4. Revision and Hypothesis Generation. The student must revise the earlier sections of the portfolio in accordance with criticism of that work. In addition, the student must solve the model and prove that it leads to at least three testable hypotheses. Meeting this milestone is worth up to 100 points, depending on the quality of the work.